E-mail & social media: don’t use your personal account for business!
Do you wear a tux on the golf course? Of course not, you dress appropriately for any endeavor you are about to undertake. Business is certainly no exception!
Even a seemingly innocuous thing such as your e-mail address is a very important part of your professional appearance and should not be overlooked.
I am always amazed when I am handed a business card that has an @gmail or @yahoo address listed. This speaks volumes to your prospective clients about you, your mindset, your business size and capabilities…none of it good, which is likely inaccurate.
The most common argument I get in favor of using personal e-mail is the convenience factor. But how convenient is a poor impression? You know what they say about first impressions, so why blow it with something that is so easily remedied?
At this point in time any business that wishes to be taken seriously has a website. As such you have already secured a domain name, so why not go the extra inch and set up an e-mail address using your domain. This little thing reinforces you are a real brand, reinforces your website address, and frankly is just good business.
The extra two minutes it takes to check a second or third email account is nothing compared to the poor impression a personal e-mail address will leave on those looking at your business card. Not to mention the improved organization you get when you separate business and personal accounts. Set up outlook to check multiple accounts set up your iphone to do the same, use the provided webmail interface etc.
The bottom line is, if you are guilty of this indiscretion fix it ASAP and pay for new business cards, you really can’t afford not to.
