Business owners alert: You NEED a professional headshot. I have no idea why people take selfies and even worse … the bathroom photo. If you want to be that unprofessional please save that for your online dating profile. I am not joking. If you are wondering why you need one (and, I hope if you are reading this you already have one, are snickering, and this is redundant) here is the short list:
- Conference Bio. When you submit for a conference they are going to want your speaker sheet/topic with bullet points, headshot and bio (
and if you do not have a write up on any of the above please contact us so we can make you look like a super star). They will not even look at your speaker sheet if you submit a photo with your webcam that ends up making you look like something out of a fishbowl. - Online marketing needs. You are going to need one for your website, social media profiles, business pages, and the list goes on and on. Do not use the photo you took of yourself in your car if your company is selling 10K marketing seminars. And if you look good, use photo shop and get the damn seatbelt out of the picture. You can even go to the Picture People in the mall and spend 20$. Of course, by not hiring a professional photographer in this case you will be dealing with screaming kids and vomit, but at least it is not a selfie car pic.
- Business cards. For many industries, this a must-have. If you are going to be handing out hundreds of business cards with your pretty mug on it, please take the professional route. Do you think someone is going to want to buy a house from mug shot Annie? I think not.
Anyway, just my food for thought of the day and on that matter too, since this is a publishing company, you are going to need one for your bio as well.
