Looking the part. How to present myself in the RE investment business

[Tom Walther]

Hello,

I must admit that I have been much of a non conformist most of my life, and I have not really followed the path of prim proper or clean cut. The past few years I have been dressing and grooming better in order to maintain a level of appearance that meets the criteria for the work that I do as a representative of the companies I have worked for. This is all fine and good, but yet a compromise that I have made to fit the role that I have agreed to play.

One of the biggest parts of why I have chosen this path is so that I can live the way that I chose to live, and to not conform to other people's standards. Then again, I would not want to hinder my success solely because of the way I present myself. I don't mean that I'm going to not shower and never change my cloths and name my business "Dirty Hippy Real Estate", I just don't want to really buy fancy clothes that I don't need and that would make me feel phony. Not because people who wear nice cloths are phony, but because it's just not me.

I've heard the saying that you need to "look the part" if you want to be something. Like the people who dress like managers because they are striving to be managers. This is a whole different ball game though from what I can assume. I know that people choose to do business with other people that they like and trust, and it is my most fundamental intention to be genuine and honest about who I am and who they are dealing with. So it seems to go against the grain to present myself differently than who I am.

I guess this all comes down to whether or not I should go buy some dress shirts and some ties, or if I should just go with a more casual look as is more suited to who I really am? Does it make sense to show up in a fancy car and wear expensive clothes when making deals, or does that make ordinary people feel hesitant to do business with you since it looks like you're making a killing? It really comes down to psychology when you really think about it.

Any thoughts, comments, jokes?

Thanks!