New Jersey Entrepreneur

Your "look" or "image" or "first impression" includes everything a person sees when they first look at you. That not only means your face and body, but also the things you can instantly control -- your haircut, your personal grooming and your clothing. Your first impression gives the person you are meeting immediate clues as to who you are, what you’re about and what you want from life.

However, entrepreneurs are often so focused on how great our product is, we often forget that it is also ourselves that we are selling. We need to network with people, pitching our ideas or our services in order to grow our businesses. Whether it’s an elevator pitch, information interview or networking event, your first impression is going to communicate something. The question is – is it what you want to communicate?

Chances are, you could tell me without hesitation what your "look" is. My client Emily* confessed immediately that her look was disheveled and messy. What you may not be thinking about is what that look is telling the world. This is a very important but subtle distinction.

As an entrepreneur, you want someone to feel like they can walk up to you, but you also want that same person to feel confident investing their money or time into your company. If your look is messy or your personal grooming is not up to snuff (and I mean that literally), people may not be walking up to you in the first place. Opportunity lost.

On the other hand, perhaps you’ve mastered looking approachable, but the person you’re networking with thinks you’re in academia rather than electronica – just from the way you look. Now you have to spend valuable time righting that first impression instead of talking about your ideas or how you can work together. When you think about image this way, it becomes clear how powerful that first impression can be.

But, this is not high school. Owning your image does not need to be a daunting task. You can do many things on your own to achieve success – whatever that means to you – and one of the biggest things you can control is how you look to other people. A great first impression can propel you forward. A negative one can hold you back. It really is that simple.

Consider Einstein – he was a genius, right? But why is it that people have posters of him on their walls in college? It wasn’t just because of his formula – it was his look! Now, here was a man who had a great deal to share with the world. You can see that just by looking at him. He looks approachable. He looks like someone it would be fun to talk with. He looks interesting. And, he has great hair!

So ask yourself -- when you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see the person you want to be?

*Name has been changed to protect client identity.