Today, it is easier than ever to start a new business. You can quickly and easily register with the relevant authorities, use the internet to find customers and suppliers, and for relatively little money, start to trade.

Yet there is a big difference between starting a business and running a successful enterprise. Anyone can start a business, but not everyone can make it work. In order to do that, one of the key tasks for a business owner is to make that business look as professional as possible.

Here are some ways to do it so that your customers are happy to buy from you from the start, and so that investors and lenders can see you are serious about your new venture.

Have a Website

The most fundamental way you can show people that you run a professional business which you expect not only to be around for a long time, but to grow and become successful, is to have a website. Without one, you may come across as untrustworthy or that you don’t care enough about your business to put the effort into creating a website. These are red flags for potential customers.

When you have it up and running, make sure your website is easy to navigate and that it is filled with useful information so that users will find it informative. Above all, it should provide information that helps them to decide to buy from you. Having an online store will give you an additional income stream, too.

Have a Dedicated Phone Line

Although most people in this day and age are going to have a cell phone — and gone are the days when having just a cell number on your site was frowned upon — it’s still a good idea to have a dedicated landline number for your business, too. It gives an added layer of professionalism and even if people choose to use your cell number, having it there at least gives them the choice.

You don’t even have to have an office or an additional line into your home in order to have a special number for your business. With new technology, you can use a PBX system that will re-route your calls to your cell, ensuring you never miss a call.

Have a Professional Email Address

Looking professional has a lot to do with the ways in which people can contact you, so having a professional email address is always a good idea. This means not using services such as Yahoo or Gmail, but instead using an email address that is linked to your website address. It looks much more professional and it tends to be more secure as well.

This service shouldn’t cost too much to set up and should only be a few dollars on top of your website hosting. You can even divert your new email to a more generic email host if you prefer, although be careful when replying to messages as you will want to ensure they come from the right sender.