The digital age is an age of opportunity. It’s an age in which business has been taken out of the hands of the wealthy elite and truly democratized. So long as you have a great original idea, a strong work ethic and a little startup capital, the digital era can enable you to run a thriving business from the comfort of your own home.
Yet for all its opportunity, it’s worth remembering that the internet is not a meritocracy. The streets of the information superhighway are not paved with gold. Many an aspiring entrepreneur has struck out because they have not been able to hold their own in the face of overwhelming competition from multinational corporate titans of industry and other nascent small businesses like their own.
In light of this, the prospect of launching your business can be daunting. But that’s no reason to quit before you’ve truly started.
If your brand is going to resonate with consumers it needs to offer the dependability of one of the big businesses with the intimate and reassuring level of customer service offered by a small outlet.
You can do the second part standing on your head. Your business plan has “boutique” written all over it. You know your target market and you know exactly how to give them what they want. But if you’re to win the trust of key clientele you need to present yourself as a larger and more established outfit.
In short, you need to give your small business a big presence. Here’s how you do it…
Invest in an address
In your early days when every penny of profits counts, the last thing you want to do is max out on overheads like premium office space. But you don’t want your clients to think you operate out of your Mom’s basement, either.
You need a prestigious physical address from which you can receive mail which you can get for less than $8 a month at https://physicaladdress.com/.
This will lend your business a sense of prestige and make you seem more established while assuring your clients and investors that your operation is legitimate.
Get a virtual receptionist.
If your business’ only point of contact is your cell phone number, this may prove problematic. Not only does it signify that you’re a small one man (or woman) operation, it also makes your personal number vulnerable to untold legions of nuisance calls.
Guard yourself against this by hiring a virtual receptionist. These are a low-cost solution which will redirect calls to you while lending your business a sense of breadth and prestige.
You can also consider getting a vanity phone number.
Ensure your online presence is on point.
Whether you run an eCommerce business or not, it’s more than likely that your business is reliant on its digital presence to market itself to your target demographics. Thus, it’s extremely important that your business’ online presence gives the right impression as it will be many people’s first taste of your enterprise.
Fortunately, all you need is a little coding knowledge and an awareness of some dos and don’ts of web design and you can ensure that your website, social media presence and app give users the exact right impression of your organization.