How You Can Create the Illusion That Your Small Business is Big and Successful Without Lying.

Photo by Microsoft 365 on Unsplash

Chances are, you’ve heard of “fake it til you make it,” right? Well, honestly, there’s a lot of truth to it; if you fake something, it’s going to get to the point where whatever it is you’re faking will most likely come to, well, to a degree at least. But what about your business? 

It might sound odd, but in a way, if you give it the illusion that it’s all big and successful, then you can win over people way easier. It’s easier to get people within your industry to take you seriously, and it’s way easier for customers to trust you, too. While authenticity is key when it comes to your entrepreneurial journey, it doesn’t immediately mean that you need to lie either when it comes to creating this illusion. 

In fact, you can still be transparent, authentic, open, and honest, all while still creating this illusion. You don’t need to lie like some business owners and say, “I just made my first million”; in fact, that’s going to turn people off. It’s all about coming off as clean, professional, and tidy, just like what the big businesses do, and there’s no falsehood there. So, here’s exactly how you create the illusion of having a successful business (even if you don’t), all without having to lie or show any falsehood!

Professional Branding

Every business benefits from having professional branding. While sure, you can use templates on Etsy or even templates on Canva, you’re going to massively benefit if you opt for professional logo design and professional branding services in general. When it comes to branding, it’s not only the logo. Sure, the logo plays a major part in it, but it’s only one component. You’re also going to need to think about the vibes your business gives off, the purpose of the business, the colours, the audience, and so on. All of these little things add up together to create the big picture: your brand. 

When it comes to branding, everything needs to look polished; that’s something that anyone can do, really, not just big and successful businesses. It’s all about creating that perception of a big company. So, outside of a solid logo, you’re going to need to ensure that there are consistent branding materials. This includes always using the same font and brand colours. It even includes having a sleek and user-friendly website, and having a solid social media presence helps a lot, such as no typos, good camera quality, and, in general, strong (engaging) content.  

Virtual Address or Office Space

So this is a mix of looking professional but also keeping yourself safe. If you want office space, then you should go for it; while it’s, of course, going to depend on your business, this could lead to a nice opportunity for expansion. But of course, not every business needs a special workspace, such as renting an office or a warehouse; some businesses can be fully at home. So, if you’re running your business at home, then you need to know that you need to be careful with how much information about your business is online.

Usually, when you register your business, you need to register your address, and depending on where you live, you might need to register that your business is in your private residence, meaning that you’re opening yourself up for vulnerabilities such as unwanted visitors, identity theft, potential vandalism, theft, you name it. 

This is a major risk, and you never know who’s going to want to look up your business address and why. So, if you’re able to get a virtual address or register your business somewhere that is not your private residence, you’ll be helping your business stay safe, and it’s also going to help it look professional, too. 

Strong Customer Support

No matter how big or small a business is, customer support should always be put first. It’s the customers who will get you to where you want your business. So, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re able to get a responsive and professional customer support team; this can give the impression of a larger business. It’s going to help to provide quick and helpful responses to customer inquiries. 

But of course, you can’t do all of this on your own, so it’s going to help massively to utilise automated chatbots and ticketing systems to manage inquiries efficiently. Even outsourcing the service to Zendesk will help a lot, too, if you want. But you can even take it a step further and offer a knowledge base or FAQ section on your website to address common questions.

Gather and Showcase Your Positive Testimonials

Nowadays, most websites will have testimonials right on their homepage, and most website templates for businesses automatically come with them, too. So, why not do yourself a favour and share what positive feedback you’ve already gotten from past clients and customers? 

No matter the industry you’re in, this is a winning format. Automotive websites have different design approaches and these can contrast wildly! However, incorporating a showcase of their most positive customer testimonials is a theme they all have in common.

You can even encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, or industry-specific websites. All of this is going to help out in building trust and credibility that’s going to help give the illusion that your business is huge, super profitable, and expansive.

Strategic Partnerships

Honestly, collaboration is key. It’s going to get your name out there to a wider audience; your partnership is going to benefit, too!  If you’re able to, try collaborating with larger, reputable businesses since this can give the perception of success. It helps if you can collaborate with a well-known brand in your industry, co-host events, or even leverage endorsements.  

Can it be challenging? In all honestly, yes, it can since the other party is going to want to benefit from this partnership, too. But you can always collaborate with influencers instead; it’s something that a lot of smaller businesses do since collaborations are a pretty nice indicator of “making it” out there in the business world. This one is usually one of the tougher ways of creating the illusion, but once you’re able to get through it the first couple of times, it becomes easier to do partnerships!