Get a central business address.
If you’re running your business from home, its not a good idea to list that address online. Including your address on your website could immediately show that yours is a home-based business (e.g. Flat 2a Block 4, Bashir Road, New Towns’). Even if it’s not obvious, potential customers can search online to find your location, and if that’s in a residential area, they’re likely to work out you’re a small home-based business. You should pay for a virtual office, perhaps in a more desirable area of town. There’s nothing wrong with being a home-based business, of course, but bigger companies aren’t usually operated from someone’s home.
Use larger invoice numbers.
If you’re sending out quotes and invoices to clients, start with higher numbers.
This gives the appearance that you’ve been in business longer than you have been and facilitates buyer trust and confidence. If you use a small invoice number like 12 or 20, it may make the customer feel like you just opened your business last week. Even if you did just open your business last week, you don’t want to project that image to your customers.
Many invoicing solutions, such as www.acuteinvoice.com allow you to choose your starting invoice number, so you can keep things organized for your accounting and bookkeeping needs.
Use a virtual private branch exchange (PBX).
A PBX is a telephone system that allows you to switch calls between various lines while allowing all employees to share the same single phone system. Instead of investing hundreds of thousands of naira in a physical PBX system, turn to a cloud-based option that uses voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) like Skype.
You’ll get to choose your own phone number, or port an existing number over, and you’ll be able to provide multiple extensions for extension-to-extension dialing within your company. With a virtual PBX, you can also back your business with a toll-free number and have a virtual answering service direct users to the right department to address their issues.
Don’t use a formal title on your business card.
If you’re a one-person operation, it’s clear you’re the CEO. But, what’s not clear is why the CEO would be doing everything in the business. Until your business grows to include multiple employees or contractors, just skip using a title on your business cards and other communications altogether.
Pay special attention to your website.
Your website is the face of your business and is open 24/7. There are many ways you can create a professional looking, quality website, even on a budget.
With free platforms like WordPress, you can invest a few hundred dollars into your domain, hosting and a premium theme and be up and running in a couple of hours. Or, you can hire a professional designer to create a completely custom look for you.
Regardless of which route you take, make sure to include essential information such as your address, phone number, hours of operation, email address and a contact form, so people can easily reach you.
If your sell physical products or services, one way to make your company look bigger is to include an online store option. This is also affordable and easy to do with a number of solutions online. Just make sure you have the tools you need to ship orders in a timely manner.
When it comes to the copy on your website, use plural language like “we” instead of “I.” This will automatically suggest you have a larger team of employees working for you.
Incorporate your business
Though it will take a bit of cash, being a limited liability company can make your business look bigger. Incorporation (ie forming a company by registering with Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria) can be a quick, cheap and relatively easy task – it might even enable you to pay less tax and take more out of your business. Working out whether you would be better off as a limited liability company is simple enough to do, although you should seek tailored advice from a qualified accountant before making definite plans to change the structure of your business.
Under a corporation, the owners are protected from liability. You are not personally liable for any judgments or debts against the company. As such, if your business runs into legal or financial trouble, your creditors are forbidden from seeking your personal assets, such as your home or car.
Though it may feel deceptive, there’s nothing wrong with putting on a bigger face to the world. As your company grows, you’ll bring on additional staff to handle the load, and this way, you’ll be ready for it all from the start.
