First Impressions – On Running a Business
Most of my closest friends have told me that when they first met me, they thought I was a bit of a snob. Coming from what was known as one of the elitist schools in Pune, it was never surprising that they thought of me that way too.
However, as we spent some time together, they realized I was just someone who took her time opening up to people – appearing anti-social at first, but transforming into something quite the opposite once they got to know me better.
But that was all good as long as it came to being friends. When stepping into the world of entrepreneurship, things are a little different from that. On retrospection, I feel, like most others (or so I hope), that I was such a naïve little girl when I stepped out. I walked into office every single day wearing the most random things, with the strong belief that ‘my work will speak for itself’. Had I been an employee, as long as my employers were ok with it, I doubt it would have been a problem, but as a business owner, oh my, was I wrong!
Yes surely your work will end up speaking for you, but only when you get the work in the first place, and bitter as it sounds – the way you present yourself matters more. You need to look the part to get the work. The work is actually step two.
I discovered this when I was meeting with a mentor / friend over coffee once to discuss work and over a conversation he mentioned that ‘you don’t pledge the part right – there is no build up’ – to which I almost felt like he is going to jump right into a magic trick after this (if you have watched The Prestige, you know what I am talking about, if you haven’t watched it yet, shut this and go watch the movie first, this will be here for you to read when you get back…on second thoughts, finish reading this and then watch the movie, the movie isn’t going anywhere either…)
But to continue – he said to me that when he walks into a meeting – he sets his stage. He walks in wearing a suit, always wearing a suit, carrying with him a briefcase, some files, an Apple phone, and IPad. Neatly laying them out on the table in front of him, he casually switches off his phone or turns it on silent with an “everything else can wait now that I am with you” and then he proceeds to work the IPad, only another prop in the play. I smirked at him with a ‘you show off!’ and walked out of the meeting, subconsciously thinking about it.
The next day onwards, I thought of giving it a try and to my surprise, it really works! Apparently, people see you as the brand you represent (no shocker there), but I was really surprised to find that it was these tiny details that actually made the difference.
From that day onwards I began to understand the phrase ‘first impression’ much better, trying to ensure that I devil-wears-Prada myself to work every morning – what’s more, apart from actually getting people to take me more seriously, I began actually feeling the part of strong independent woman myself.
So to all those naïve little people out there who believe that your work will speak for itself, looks don’t matter and the likes, you’re right, but this is just super fun. Do give it a try and let me know how you feel, if anything different at all!
