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Come as You Are

WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO JUDGE PEOPLE based on appearances alone. Yet we do. Every one of us makes assumptions and forms opinions about people based on their image. We judge more than people. We judge buildings, packaging, and vehicles.

If you went to the doctor and the parking lot was all broken up with huge cracks and holes in it, you wouldn't be too impressed. If inside the office you found a lovely 1970s decor and plastic plants, you would start to get a little nervous. You'd begin to question how up to speed this doctor really is.

If you went to the grocery store and saw a colorful box of well-packaged cookies sitting next to a generic box that simply said “cookies,” you're going to assume the one with better packaging tastes better. You're not judging based on taste, you're judging based on appearance.

We all judge things based on appearance. Every element of your business affects your brand's image. Imagine for a second that you are listening to someone speak about fitness. You find their tips on eating healthy and exercising to be very helpful. So you go to their website to possibly purchase one of their courses or products, and you find a website full of clip art that looks like an eight-year-old made it. You aren't going to be too impressed.

I'm not a big fan of business cards. For the most part I find that they are irrelevant, but my biggest issue with them is that 99.9 percent of them are boring. Of course, if you attend any type of networking event ...

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