This page was inspired by meeting and talking to volunteer managers and other business colleagues who were supporting young business people through the Prince's Trust. I hope it is useful to you and anyone else who may be interested!

I would like to share a few simple tips and ideas that I learnt whilst setting up my own company, Milton Contact Limited. They relate to creating your company image in a way that can help you improve business. The following topics are covered:

Overview Your Company name Your logo Your business card The company website Using e-mail Meeting People Your reputation

Overview

When establishing your business, you want to make it easy for potential customers to recognise and find you. You also want to increase your chances of actively finding new customers.

To do this, you need a clear identity that people come to recognise by continued exposure. Choosing a good company name and then promoting it repeatedly helps. The logo, business card, website and e-mail are good tools to achieving this.

Ultimately however, it is about people - your customers - and what they think about you. Getting a good reputation linked to a clear identity will be your best way to growing your business!

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Your Company Name

Take your time to get this right! Ideally, your company name should reflect what your company does or at least how you go about your business.

Try to avoid any geographical reference or using your name. Why? Think of your company as something you are making. When you want to sell it as a budding international empire for several £ million in 5 years time to a hotshot from Sweden, "Egberts of Yaxley" might not be quite what he/she wants! See "Nobody's Perfect" on left.

To help get some good ideas, spend a day looking at business names around you, on your shopping trip, on products at the Supermarket, in yellow pages. Then brainstorm! (see left)

Getting close friends and family involved helps because they might see things you have missed, like "Smashing Windows" giving the wrong impression for a glazier!

It is also worth checking whether your name is used by other companies

If you can, check your company name, or something very like it, is still available as an internet domain name (see Domain names on the left).

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Your Logo

Your logo is your company name's appearance and/or symbol or image linked to it.

It's appearance is a matter of your choice (and obviously not blatantly copying someone else's design). The aim is to make your company recogniseable visually - it is your Brand.

This is another good point to take time out and just look at company and shop signs around you or letterheads arriving through the post. The only basic rule I can think of is that it's appearance should at least fit with your company and it's aspirations. Airy fairy? Yep! Does it matter? It is your personal choice, though some like Nike, Coca Cola and the Magic Arches take it very very seriously indeed.

Whether you make your own or have someone design your logo for you, make sure that you have versions available for printing and for the web (see Logo Formats, left).

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Your Business Card

What do I need one of these for?!? They are a lasting reminder of your existence to a potential client. Like a gold fish, my memory lasts about 6 seconds after I have heard someone's name. If I have their card, it is something that helps me remember them AND it tells me how to get in touch if I want to. A leaflet pushed through a letterbox has the same advantages.
A business card should have:

• Your company logo
• Your name
• Your address
• Your telephone number
• Your fax number (if you have one)
• your e-mail address
• your website

Cards will get discarded sooner or later. One trick to give them a longer life, is to put something useful on the back like a calendar or lines for notes.

Many people still have them made and printed at printers, however, you can make them yourself - see Making business cards left

A reference to your web site is very useful!

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Your website

According to internetstats.com, 35 million people in the UK use the internet. It has become a favourite source of information.

Whilst people may come across you in general searches, the real strength of the site is that people can be directed to it via your e-mails and your business cards or leaflets.

If your site domain name is similar to or the same as your company's then it is easier to remember and adds to your company image.

It is a 'safe' way for people to get more information about you and also a second opportunity for you to persuade them you are worth buying from or doing business with. Things to include are your unique selling point and benefits you can provide the potential customer; your contact details and free things that provide added interest.

Free give-aways can be useful tips or interesting information and news. Are you a carpenter? perhaps you can tell me the best way to protect my garden fence! Update your site with new information or tips regularly so that people come back again. They might recommend you to others too.

See left for some useful website facts.

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Your e-mail

Your e-mail is another extension and useful tool for your company. Even the address can be important. For example, Startup.co.uk report that in a survey of 1500 people by web hosting firm Easily.co.uk, customers found fictitious company addresses such as sales@londonplumbing .com more trustworthy than londonplumbing@hotmail.com.

Again, consistency between your company name, your website/domain name and your e-mail address gives you a more professional look.

Your e-mails can also be used to direct more visitors to your site. PC based email software like Outlook or Outlook express allow you to add a message (a signature) at the bottom of every e-mail you send. You can include your logo and company contact details here with a link to your website.

Emails are also a very economical way to send out advertising material, informing customers of new offers or services. However, you must avoid spamming as it is illegal and more likely to irritate your future clients.

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Meeting People

Despite the apparent dominance of technology in our world,people are still the driving force for business. For a business, this means meeting new people, strangers, whether future customers or other business people, and this may seem very daunting at first!

To make life easier for you and to maximise your chances - be prepared. Take both the impression you intend to make (see left again for Impressions)and how to make communicating easier into account.

Remember, people may need to meet you, hear from you or see you several times within a year before they are willing to do business with you.

First, prepare your 30 second introduction in advance. This is what you would say when someone asks you what you do. It must be simple, clear and concise so that the listener can remember it and their eyes do not glaze over. Write it down, learn off by heart and practice it!

For future customers - send them your leaflet or flyer in advance. Then when you call, you can ask, "did you receive my ...". irrespective of whether they then answer yes or no - you can then go onto your 30 second introduction. Follow with your questions to establish whether you can help them with your excellent services or products. If yes - great! If no, ask if they know of anyone else they know who might be interested. This is called asking for a referral and is key to getting further business. Thank the person for their time, leave a leaflet or card and then move on.

A neat strategy for meeting business people that I learnt from a talk by Frank Furness is to:

• Ask them how they got to where they are now
• Ask where they see themselves now
• Ask where they see their company going in the future

By this time you may have been able to find some common elements where you might be able to help them to bring into the conversation.

A great way to meet people in a non-threatening environment and to help each other to find business is Networking (see Networking left).

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Your Reputation

Having created a consistent image and appearance in an effort to create the right impression, you come to the trickiest part of your company's existence - its reputation!

Having a clear identity is a double edged sword. Customers who are pleased with your service and the way you conduct business will develop a positive association with your image. Let your clients down and your brand becomes a millstone around your neck.

You will never be able to keep everyone happy but hopefully, you can strive to keep the balance of a positive reputation well in your favour by running your business properly, to the best of your ability and with your clients needs always foremost in your mind.

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Good Luck with Your business!