Are You Dressing for Contracting Business Success? Here’s 5 Ways to Find Out

Most people don’t decide to go into construction because they love wearing a tailored suit to work every day. But this doesn’t mean that what you wear to a construction site or to meet with prospective clients is unimportant. Sometimes, what you wear can make or break the deal, or even make it more difficult to negotiate. Here are five ways to determine if your work wardrobe is up to the task.

Condition
One of the first things that potential clients may see is the overall condition of your clothing. Of course, a major problem with a job that requires heavy labor and lots of movement is that it can be hard on your clothing. However, the last thing you want is to be showing up to greet clients or work with clothing that is moments from falling apart. As a general rule, you should aim for clothing that is:

In general good condition

Free of holes or tears

Clean and stain-free

Sometimes, it’s cheaper to buy clothing of better quality and then learn how to mend it yourself. Being able to fix a hole in the seam might give you years longer out of a good shirt or work pants.

Fit
Even if your clothing is in great condition or fairly new, the fit of your clothing also makes a significant difference. You know it when you see others who wear clothes that don’t fit them well. Someone with a button-down shirt with gaps between the buttons, or jeans that they constantly have to hitch up, can be distracting. It’s also worth noting that the clothes that don’t fit you will be less comfortable to wear. Go through your wardrobe and evaluate what fits you well and which items you need to take out of rotation. This will help you determine the best size to buy and how many new items you’ll need.

Color
In many industries, the color of the clothing you wear is irrelevant to the type of job that you’re doing. But for people who work outside, especially people who work in heat or humidity, color may be an important consideration. For example, if you’re working on a job site with a lot of dust, wearing dark clothing will make the dust show up more obviously. Light or bright white shirts are more likely to show sweat stains or moisture from high humidity. It’s wise to keep shirts in a handful of different colors, or choose outerwear that can avoid these problems.

Style
You might know just what you’d expect someone who works at a bank or a restaurant to wear. It’s not as easy to create the stereotypical uniform for someone who works in construction. After some time working on a jobsite, it may seem that almost anything goes. However, it’s important to remember that as a business owner, the way you present yourself affects the way your clients treat you. Aiming for a style that is slightly better than what you wear as you work your way up could give you an edge. This might be as simple as investing in coveralls that you can keep in good condition, or a larger number of work clothing items so that you can swap them out regularly.

Environment
Ultimately, you may need a variable number of clothing items, depending on your working environment. For example, if you’re getting ready to bid on an important contract, it’s time to dress the part. If everyone else wears a suit in this case, you should too. But for an average workday where you aren’t even interacting with the client in-person, you may be able to keep a much more relaxed wardrobe. The trick is learning when to switch, and having the clothing on hand to make it easy to tailor your presentation to the situation.

Building a good business wardrobe is just one part of making your contracting business a success with clients. For more information about becoming a contractor, contact CSLS today!