5 Mistakes that Undermine Credibility of Your Business

Many work-from-home businesses have low entry barriers. In other words, one can a business started in a matter of days and on a tiny budget. In their rush to open for business, some entrepreneurs skip or cut corners on essential elements that affect credibility of their business. The 5 most common mistakes I see are

1. Not having a professional e-mail address – mamabear1235@hotmail.com might work for your family and friends, but it will put off most of your potential clients. Understandably, you might not have time or money to create a website just yet. In this case, the simplest solution is to open a FirstName.LastName@gmail.com account – it’s free and takes less than 5 minutes.
2. Not having a website – yes, I know that creating even a basic site can take a while and blow your budget (especially if you have to hire a web designer). But you might not even need a traditional website. A Wordpress blogsite might be a quick and inexpensive solution. All you will have to pay for is domain registration and a hosting account, such as BlueHost. But if even such a modest investment is out of your budget, consider at least opening a free business page on Facebook.
3. Cheap business cards – you know which ones I’m talking about, right? Yes, the ones that are free. Services such as VistaPrint are great for budget-minded entrepreneurs. But rather than going with their Free versions with limited design choices and VistaPrint logo on the back, upgrade to Premium. Not only will you be able to choose from and customize hundreds of designs, but substitute VistaPrint logo with business-relevant information on the back of your card.
4. Inappropriate photos – frankly, I see some awful photos used as profile pictures. What’s awful about them? First, many are of very poor quality – grainy images, poor lighting, messy background, you name it. Secondly, some entrepreneurs choose photos that are too personal or simply not appropriate for business - extreme close-ups, photos with children and pets, and photos in which they wear clothing that screams “vacation” rather than “business”. If getting a professionally done headshot is out of your price range, dress up in your best ”networking” outfit and have a friend or family member take a simple portrait-style digital photo of you. 
5. Problems with testimonials and recommendations - the 3 most common problems that I see are

• No testimonials/recommendations – having testimonials prominently displayed on websites is a common practice. If you don’t have any, it’s a red flag and a negative differentiator that works against you. If you don’t have any clients yet, ask your friends (and possibly your friends’ friends) if they can use your services. Do a couple of small projects for free and ask for feedback to be used as a testimonial.
• General, rather than service-specific testimonials – “Jane is a great virtual assistant who helped me a lot” sounds rather empty. Avoid general statements and ask for very specific feedback. For example, ask to list three things that were “great” about working with you (i.e. timely delivery, you responded quickly to all e-mails and phone calls, you offered unexpected solutions, etc.). Have your clients list specific tasks you helped them with and the end-result of your assistance: “Jane’s creativity and research skills helped me to quickly optimize and re-write 10 articles for my article marketing campaign”.
• “Shadow” client – ok, this needs to be explained a bit. You know how sometimes you see testimonials from clients that provide only their first names - Sally R., James D., Lori K., etc? These might be wonderful testimonials, but the people behind them just don’t seem real. Ask your clients to allow you display their first and last name, location (city, state), and a company name (hyperlink it to the company website). Go a step further and ask for a headshot to go with their testimonials.

I see these 5 marketing mistakes made by professional organizers, home decorators, crafters, life coaches, etc. These mistakes can be corrected with very little time and money, yet the impact on your business reputation can be huge.

Technorati Tags: business reputation, work-from-home business

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