Investments matter. This holds especially true when times are tough, which is precisely when most small business owners and solo consultants decide to hold back and wait for the next contract before spending anything.
Do not wait.
Your attire needs to be immaculate. If your suits, shirts, or shoes are showing their age, replace them. Looking crisp is not vanity. It is a sign of respect for the person across the table.
Your tools need to be current. Do not walk into a buyer’s office with a battered laptop and a pen that barely works. Buyers notice these things, and the conclusion they draw is not flattering. If a consultant cannot invest in their own business, why would a client trust them to add value to theirs?
Invest in staying relevant. There is no value in recycling insights from a decade ago, particularly in technology where much of that knowledge is already obsolete. Focus instead on synthesising the principles from your experience that are timeless, and layer current knowledge on top of them.
First impressions have always mattered. They still do.
