We need to talk about a touchy subject, your appearance. Now there's no universal right or wrong way to dress or appear as a freelancer. You always have to look at it on a case by case situation based on your industry, your field, the expectations your clients customers have of you and someone like you. They shouldn't be confused. You don't want to wear a traditional blue pinstripe suit and tie if you're a tattoo artist, it's going to confuse your customers. On the other hand, if you're going to provide professional consulting services to a large hedge fund, and everyone is sort of straight laced and conservative, that's not the time for wild wild Prince flowers, decorative things tie dye, it's going to confuse them they're not going to understand they're going to try to fit Figure out what's going on.

Now in some fields, people have a very set perception of who you are. If you are coming to someone's home to paint a portrait of their family, they expect you to look like a painter, not like a corporate executive, not boring, bland, it should be creative and interesting, then maybe the tie dye works. On the other hand, if you're going to work with a very straight laced, white shoe law firm, going in without attire without a business dress can look like a real football. On the other hand, if you're going to work with a billionaire out in Silicon Valley, and you wear a suit and tie or expensive Chanel outfit that can stand out as weird and inappropriate because out there it there are no ties, you look like a real square, a stiff, someone who doesn't understand their culture if you're wearing a tie, so you need to look the part When I'm working with big traditional insurance companies or large financial corporations, I have a very conservative suit on a conservative tie on it is professionally tailored, the buttons are handmade.

And so my clients care about that. If I'm working with a high tech company, there's not going to be a jacket, there's not going to be a tie. It depends on the client. Sometimes I'm media training dairy farmers, I might be in jeans on a work shirt, you've got to dress in a way that doesn't confuse them and makes them feel comfortable with you. Now of course, you've got to be clean, tidy, it's not that anyone has to have perfect hair. I don't.

But there needs to be something that says you've thought about your appearance and you're coming across the way people expect someone in your shoes to come across. You may have your own personal style of your own time but if you're going to a club separation or a large institution and you're asking them to pay you a whole bunch of money, which I hope you are. You need to dress in a way that does not make anyone uncomfortable. Apologies if this makes you feel like I'm destroying your individuality if that's what's most important to you, nothing wrong with that. That's fine, but you're gonna have to position yourself going after clients who are very comfortable with exactly the way you want to come across. So I need you to really give it thought.

The main thing is your prospects. Your clients shouldn't be confused about who you are based on what you're wearing. And they should feel comfortable with you and they should feel like anyone else that they're in charge of anyone else in their organization should feel comfortable with you. So for example, I'm wearing this today just because I want something that isn't distracting. That isn't to corporate because I don't want to scare off freelance answers and non corporate people, but something that doesn't look too casual. That you know, is a unbutton down here a Hawaiian shirt or something that just looks like it's ready for a day at the beach.

So it's something that is kind of innocuous and doesn't dominate because I want you to focus on what I'm saying. Not what I'm wearing.