Comments on: Friday Q&A: How do you make a startup look like a professional business?

By: Scott Horlbogen

Scott Horlbogen — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 11:43:31 +0000

Another great post Alex! Whenever I read one of your posts I end up opening 6 new windows by the time I am finished with all of the valuable links to great content! I just reread your post on gaining influencers! Thank you!

By: Grow

Grow — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 20:27:41 +0000

Great post. When we first saw the title we were worried. Don’t act bigger than you are! Show who you are. You can act more professional and awesome. Can a small business have great communication? Yes. Can they have a wonderful return or refund policy? Yes. People only want big companies, because they seem more trustworthy. So be as trustworthy as the big guys, while still maintaining what and who you are!

By: Black Thorne

Black Thorne — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:11:03 +0000

Here’s a maybe less-obvious one: have your customer-facing processes well polished (and the implication – systematize your work into processes). Keep an eye on recurrent customer complaints, suggestions, etc. Have an EASY way for customers to deliver their suggestions and complaints – i love it how many SaaS solutions these days use in-app communication solutions where you can immediately offer feedback or request support without going through the hassle of a support request form and tens of clicks. And I love it even more when they answer, and even better – FIX their problems. If they do it quickly enough, I know I’ll be able to rely on them for the long run.

By: Cheresa's Cosmetics

Cheresa's Cosmetics — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:55:26 +0000

Thank you, reading this 100 times over!

By: Daniel Lang

Daniel Lang — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:03:18 +0000

What a great piece of advice Alex! I extend that by saying that even if you target businesses as your customers, not just if you’re B2C, I would try very hard to find a differentiated positioning that is based on being small. Offer something that you can only offer because you are small. Something that intentionally doesn’t work at scale. Obviously you’ll have to shift to other differentiators over time, but very early on, it’s so much about creating momentum and getting that flywheel turning.

By: Anca Mosoiu

Anca Mosoiu — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 16:22:06 +0000

First off, congratulations on starting your business.

You got some great advice about content from Alex. I do want to add something to the advice about making your business LOOK more professional.

If you’re selling product, spend the time and money to get great photos. Professional-looking photos go a long way towards selling physical products (just look at etsy!)

Even if you can’t afford to hire a designer, don’t ignore design. Take some time to learn how to use image editing software to make your photos and partner logos look good. Make sure pictures, text blocks, and of logos line up and are orderly. Avoid putting logos too close to each other (even if your partner gives you a logo with no space around it).

Don’t change the size of your text arbitrarily in the middle of the page, and try to avoid changing the colors of text on individual pages (unless there’s a good reason). Change things on a site-wide level to match with your brand.

Use the same fonts and colors on you business cards, on your website, and on your social media account images. Even if you don’t have a formal logo, you can pick a typeface and colors, and just stick with them.

A lot of what makes something look professional in marketing and brand is about care and attention to detail.

One last bit of advice: Don’t take advice about your technical infrastructure (your web publishing or storefront system) from people on the internet who don’t have the particulars of your experience in front of them. WordPress is awesome, and so is Genesis (it’s how I make a living, after all), yet they aren’t the best fit for everyone. Make sure you experiment with these platforms before you get yourself into a technical debacle. There are other platforms you should look at: Shopify, Squarespace, and WordPress.com – all of which will minimize the technical complexity while giving you a lot of what you need.

By: Kris Kaplan

Kris Kaplan — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 15:59:35 +0000

Define your core purpose first, then live eat and breath it 24/7. It doesn’t matter at that point if you are new or old, big or small, its all about being true to the purpose. How you look won’t matter if how you are act is aligned with your purpose. Purpose eats strategy for breakfast, each and everyday.