8 Ways to Make Your Small Business Look Big

The NCAA basketball tournament is in full swing this month, and bracketology is the talk of every physical and virtual office water cooler. Every year, fascination turns to the teams in the tournament that just snuck through the selection process and teams from schools with automatic seeds at the very back of the field—14th, 15th, and 16th seeds. And it goes without saying, there are a handful of “David’s” that upset the “Goliath’s.” This year, little St. Peter’s Peacocks, which received a No. 15th seed, upset Kentucky in a memorable overtime game and then repeated the feat by beating Murray State in the next round. Suddenly, the Peacocks no longer looked so small. 

The Challenges Small Businesses Face in Appearing Big

The business world is full of little St. Peter’s small businesses and entrepreneurs that want to look just like big businesses. Digital transformation is a critical enabler, and services that tap those like those from Davinci Virtual are also important. In many ways, the ability to compete with the big companies, which was virtually impossible for many entrepreneurs and small businesses a decade or two ago, is quite possible today. Yet, at the same time, those possibilities and opportunities can be flipped around and they become challenges. Namely, because of digitization of our personal and professional lives, most of us now expect the same experiences with all businesses—regardless of their size.

How To Make Your Business Look Bigger

There are a lot of different things that a small business or entrepreneur can do to make their business look bigger. Following are some of the more prevalent ways to do so.

Focus on What You’re Good At

Too many small businesses try to be all things to all people and lose their focus. The reality is there is only one Amazon in the world. Rather, entrepreneurs and business leaders need to remain laser-focused on a specific market. Getting too far afield can burn cycles—both budget and resources—that produce little, if any, tangible returns. 

Certainly, you can entertain expansion into new markets and development of products and services that complement their core capabilities. Becoming complacent and failing to tap new business opportunities is also a sure way to position your business for decline. An important rule of thumb for business leaders is the question, “Does this expansion contribute to your core business or does it detract from it?”

Use a Virtual Office Address

Long-term, fixed workplace arrangements lock businesses into office locations that lack the flexibility most require. Quite often, businesses secure office leases that include some workspace they don’t initially need (viz., they pay for workspace they don’t use)—with the expectation they eventually will need it as their business scales over time. In addition, premium office space is expensive and many entrepreneurs and small businesses simply cannot afford it. They must look for office space in other locations that may not cull the right professional impression for customers and partners. 

Virtual office addresses, such as Davinci Virtual Offices, give entrepreneurs and small businesses the opportunity to secure an office address in a location that demands respect. They also come with services like mail receipt and forwarding, a lobby directory listing, a lobby greeter, and entity formation services, that enable business owners to stay focused on running their business. 

Scale With Virtual Office Addresses

Virtual office addresses can be used to expand a business into new locations without securing a physical mailing address. For example, a gardening and landscaping business in Orlando, Florida can expand its operations into the Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Tallahassee metropolitan areas by securing virtual office addresses in those locations. And as these virtual office addresses include mail receipt and forwarding services, the business doesn’t need to worry about messing with mail received at each address.

Leverage Virtual Workspace On Demand

Working from home is here to stay. The “genie is out of the bottle” and stuffing the genie back into the bottle is going to be next to impossible. Employees resoundingly indicate they are not going back to permanent workspaces full time, and most businesses recognize the value of hybrid and remote workplace models. 

For many small businesses, permanent office space makes no sense at all. Yet, at the same time, working from home all of the time isn’t feasible. Some professionals struggle from loneliness and disconnect when working remote most if not all of the time. Businesses and workers also see the value of face-to-face collaboration and interactions. This is where virtual workspace, such as coworking space and day offices, has an advantage. Specifically, as virtual workspace booked through Davinci Meeting Rooms is only paid for when it is in use, it is a highly affordable alternative to leasing permanent office space. Plus, there is an added advantage in that coworking space and/or day offices often are also in the same location as virtual office addresses. 

Avoid Using Your Title on Business Cards

Every entrepreneur and small business owner are proud of owning a business, and it is logical that you would want to put your title (e.g., President, Owner, etc.) on your business card and email signature. But doing so can be a detractor and make your business look small. Instead, you may want to consider putting your core capabilities or areas of experience such as “20+ Years in Legal Services,” “Award-winning Content Marketer,” “Personalized Insurance Solutions Specialist,” etc. Without a title on your business card or email signature, you have the flexibility to introduce yourself and your business however you wish.

Build and Maintain a Professional Website 

First impressions count, whether in-person or online. A poorly designed website can quickly turn off even the most enthusiastic and engaged prospect. There are some easy-to-use website builder tools for those wanting to design and build their own website. But for most entrepreneurs and businesses, the best course is to seek assistance from a third-party expert. 

It starts with messaging and writing compelling copy that articulates that messaging and ends with a great design—which includes the selection of images. Relatively cost-effective providers can be found on some of the freelancer sites like Upwork and FiveR. Here, it is important to vet freelancers based on the number of projects completed (that are similar to your website) and their satisfaction ratings. 

Get Virtual Live Receptionists to Help

Entrepreneurs and small businesses can quickly find themselves spending half or more of their workdays answering phone calls and responding to emails. The deleterious impact is more than just diminished productivity. It also can affect customer service and revenue growth. This is where virtual live receptionists such as Davinci Live Receptionists can really help. A team of live receptionists become experts in your business and they form your first line of contact for incoming phone and email. Those that are critical get routed immediately to the right person for response. For phone calls and email that are not urgent, those can be routed to the right mailbox or even pushed through an automated answering service like Davinci Auto Receptionist.

Use Rented Meeting Rooms

Holding meeting with employees, customers, prospects, and partners at the local coffee shop lacks the professional touch needed for most meetings. Even using rented conference room space in a local hotel isn’t a great idea. Coffee shops lack privacy and have numerous distractions. Hotel conference rooms are expensive and often don’t come with the collaboration and presentation tools needed for a productive meeting. 

Rented meeting rooms like those from Davinci Meeting Rooms can be booked by the hour, half-day, or day. They offer first impressions that count for customers, prospects, and partners. They are about half the cost of a hotel conference room, offer privacy, and come with a list of great presentation and collaboration tools. 

Appear Bigger Than You Actually Are

There are obviously numerous other ways for small businesses to look bigger—from project management tools, to chat communications and collaboration, to mature marketing and social media approaches. But for many entrepreneurs and small businesses, the eight above recommendations are a good starting point. They will help you focus your business on what matters and efficiently and cost-effectively drive results—all while appearing bigger than you actually are.

About Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer (Ph.D.) is the President and Founder of TIRO Communications that helps companies develop, build, and manage content, customer, advocacy, and demand-gen programs. Included in its offerings is TIRO Cognition Insights, a data analytics tool that enables B2C and B2B businesses to pinpoint what their customers and competitors’ customers are saying and to identify corresponding actionable product, services, competitive, sales, and marketing intelligence.

LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn
Website: www.tirocommunications.com