You Talk The Talk, But Do You Walk The Walk?

So this other day I was helping a friend of mine with setting up a couple of business meetings at different locations, so that he could start expanding his business into other areas. This very day, I noticed something that I actually notice very often, especially here in L.A., or on the US West Coast in general, which is that a lot of people talk the talk, but they just don’t walk the walk.

Now what the heck do I mean? Well, every time I go to an actual physical meeting (which you should do more of, because that’s how REAL relationships are built), I find out a bit about the person I’m meeting with, and I also find out information about the place we’re meeting at. Why? If I’m meeting a business guy who’s always wearing a suit, and who wants to meet at a fancy restaurant or lounge, I’d have to put my suit on to match. That’s the mistake my friend did.

My friend came in typical California clothes, meaning shorts, t-shirt, sandals, and on top of that, he hadn’t shaved. The first guy we met was from Europe, and I know for a fact that it’s way stricter with business clothing over there. I could see his eyes scanning my friend from top to toe, and he wasn’t liking what he saw. Because of this, he kept addressing me and barely looked at my friend, who was the one the meeting was for.

Now, this isn’t a fashion blog or a men’s style blog, but if you want respect, and if you want to do big business, you gotta look like big business. It’s ALWAYS better to overdress than to underdress in business. If your peers are programmers that don’t shower, shave or wear clean clothes, you might not have to put on your best Armani suit, but at least look like you mean business.

Don’t have a suit? Go get one, and no, it doesn’t have to be the most expensive one to start with. But get one, dark gray usually works for everything here in the US, and make sure it fits nice. Tie is optional in California, but if you’re on the East Coast, I suggest you get one.  And get some shoes too. You’ll notice that people look at you in a completely different way when you look serious.

And that’s it for today’s askmen….I mean Daily Conversion fashion advice.

Peace Out!