How to Overcome Client Skepticism as a Startup Entrepreneur
So you’ve made the decision to launch your own startup business. Congratulations! It’s an incredibly courageous choice, one that will require a great deal of hard work and personal sacrifice to see to fruition.
One of the hardest obstacles you’ll face as a new startup entrepreneur is in convincing your first clients and investors of your professional viability. After all, you know how hard you work and how passionate you are about your field, but others will only see just another startup with limited experience and resources. In order to prove yourself in clients’ eyes, you’ll have to do some work managing how you present yourself.
Address Your Business’s Address
You probably know the importance of having a well-designed website and a solid social media presence. But what about your physical address? Look into setting up some affordable office space in NYC in order to convince clients that you have your act together.
No matter how hard you work, no one will believe you’re worth the time of day if you’re running your business out of your mom’s basement. Get yourself a respectable address to prove that you’re for real, and this will go a long way toward allaying clients’ fears about your viability.
Manage Your Image
First impressions are everything, especially in business. The image you project in your initial contacts will forever stay in your clients’ minds, so make sure it’s one of professionalism, poise, confidence, and respectability.
Hire a professional to design your website, and make sure that your social media pictures are done with careful photography. The last thing you want is to post a blurry cellphone picture of your business at work and convey to potential customers that you’re an amateur operation with no real serious experience. Project your best self in your marketing materials, and watch the clients roll in.