What Is the Impact of How You Present Yourself to the World?

As Christians we are called to be in the world but not of the world.  You can do your best evangelizing in the trenches.

But you must be shrewd as a fox and strong as a lion. This includes concerning yourself with your personal and professional image and understanding what exactly you are communicating.

I tried to make that point with our soon-to-be 13-year-old as we planned to sign him up for his first email account.

With an Xbox user name of  “Poison Salmon”, I wanted to give Ian adequate time to consider the implications of a good email name choice.

To make the point, brother, sister, and I  joked with Ian on the ride  to school. We asked him to picture telling his tough-as-nail history teacher Mrs. Canada that she could send the email homework instructions to him at  superfart1@yahoo.com.

Or he could announce to his prospective employer following the job interview to reach him  at chicksdigme@gmail.com or babemagnet@reagan.com.

As it turned out, Ian was too young to get an email account. But the exercise drilled the power of image and words.

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You must be careful when choosing a business name and all that goes with it.

What  message does your business name say about you and your business?

And it’s not just your business name, but everything you produce and present, like:

• Your website,
• Your business cards and letterhead,
• Your blogs,
• Your products,
• Your correspondence,
• Your social media posts,
• Your presentations,
• Your interviews,
• Your presence.

Switching hats from mom by day and mompreneur by night isn’t easy.  Accustomed to dressing down in sweats or workout clothes, it  can be a challenge to consider the importance of a professional image.

It’s easy to have flashbacks of when kids were spitting up on us and it didn’t make sense to dress nice.

But as you take your business more seriously, you must scrutinize the impression you are making.

So, is your personal and professional “package” communicating:

• Excellence?
• Professionalism?
• Success?
• Consistency?

Or are you screaming that you and your business are cluttered, average, and amateurish?

Being polished in how you look, talk, and walk along with a consistent professional brand in all of your business collaterals reassures clients you’re the real deal and worth the investment.

It’s not superficial. It’s understanding the psychology of your potential customers.

Catholic Mompreneur Biz and Life Tip:  It’s fine to accept your imperfections and indulge in comfy clothing days, but consider doable ways you can level up your professionalism so you level up your revenues.