Health

Tip and tricks for taking care of your health! 

Dress for Success… And Create Your Personal Brand!

By Janise Flinkman

“You cannot NOT communicate,” says Judith Rasband, founder of the Conselle Institute of Image Management. Every time you step out your front door, you are communicating a message whether you realize it or not. Your outward appearance comprised of your grooming, clothing and body language is already speaking loudly for you before you ever utter a single word.

As female entrepreneurs, we are often the only employee in our business, at least in the start-up phase. We are the president, the salesperson, the customer service rep, the administrative assistant and the fulfillment personnel. Initially, the main reason customers decide to buy our products or services is because they like us or are confident in our ability to meet their needs. Your greatest asset, therefore, is you.

First impressions are critical

What inspires customers to have confidence in you? Unfortunately, we cannot tattoo our IQ, our education or our experience across our foreheads so that potential customers can immediately trust us and part with their hard-earned dollars. However, we do have a powerful tool at our disposal to represent all of those non-tangibles. That tool is our personal image.

I recently attended a conference with a group of men and women who were, like me, interested in growing their businesses. The organizers provided us with formal and informal networking times. I made choices at every networking opportunity about with whom I wanted to talk. I consciously sought out those who appeared confident and professional and I was not disappointed with my choices. There were, however, some individuals in the room that I did not make an effort to meet. Why? Their casual, sloppy or frumpy appearances communicated a message to me and I judged those individuals as less interesting or sharp. Was that fair? In all cases, probably not, but a successful image is an invitation to become acquainted with the person inside.

Accentuate your strengths

So, what creates a successful image, your personal “brand”? Firstly, it is about being attractive in the sense that you want to draw people to you. It’s about being the best you that you can be! Beauty is genetic but the good news is that everyone can be attractive. You can make the most of what you have by finding a great hairstyle that suits you, by taking care of your skin and knowing how to apply cosmetics to enhance your features and by buying age-appropriate clothing in colours that flatter you and styles that suit your body type while reflecting your personality.

Secondly, it is about knowing how to dress appropriately for the occasion. One tool that can help with this is The Style Scale^©. At the top of the scale is the Tailored level. If you want power, presence and confidence, choose a matched suit. Add to that a collared shirt or blouse and you have the most influential image possible. The next level is Softly Tailored which still utilizes a jacket but the jacket does not need to match your pants or skirt. At this level, you will still look credible but more approachable. Following that is the Casually Tailored level, a collared shirt or blouse which, I believe, is a minimum for an office environment. The final level, Untailored, is non-collared apparel which is typical of casual and weekend wear.

Details matter!

Finally, there are the picky little details that can ruin an otherwise successful image. A few of these image-breakers include a worn-out or dirty outerwear coat, a shabby handbag, using a backpack or grocery bag instead of a stylish tote, scuffed shoes, ragged fingernails, roots that need touching up, eyeglasses that need upgrading, wearing sparkly evening jewelry or tops during the day, showing too much skin, or wearing a watch that is too casual for business attire. It’s worthwhile to be mindful of these details because you don’t want there to be anything about your image that could distract someone from the message you want to communicate.

Women with a successful image use their appearance as a tool, a resource, to help them reach their goals. So, is your image working for you or against you?

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Pull Quote:

Your image will be most important when you are with people who don’t know you or when the opinion of others is important to the achievement of your goals.

 

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