A Gmail id makes a good business look small

You send a quotation to a new company. It comes from sharmatraders1987 at gmail dot com.

Your rate is good. Your work is good. But the buyer stops for a second. Is this a real firm? Is this one person working from home? Will they be here next year?

Now think of the same quotation from hi@sharmatraders.in. It looks like a business with an office and a team. Nobody stops to wonder.

An email on your own name is a small thing. It costs less than most people think. If you already have a website you already own the name. You only need to set up the mailbox.

There is one more reason. When a staff member leaves the work email stays with you. Their personal Gmail goes with them along with every customer chat inside it.

How to set it up

1. Use the name of your website. If your site is sharmatraders.in your email should end with @sharmatraders.in. Keep it the same everywhere.
2. Make a few clear addresses. One for new enquiries like hi@ or info@, one for bills like accounts@ and one for each person who talks to customers.
3. Pick a mail service. Your hosting plan may already include mailboxes. Google Workspace and Zoho Mail are other options. Compare the price per user before you choose.
4. Add it to your phone. Open the new email in the Gmail app or the Outlook app. You keep the same easy app with a better address.
5. Put it everywhere. Visiting card, letterhead, website, invoice and your Google profile. Remove the old Gmail id from all of them.

Mistakes to avoid

• Showing a free email on your website when you own your own domain
• One mailbox and one password shared by five staff
• Making the email account in the developer's name instead of yours
• Skipping the email settings that stop your mails from going to spam

Keep your old Gmail id open for a few months. Set an auto reply that gives your new address so nobody is lost in the change.

If you do not have a domain yet buy one first in your own name. A .in or .com name for your business costs little and gives you both a website address and an email address.

What to do in the next 7 days

• Day 1: Check if you already own a domain name. Look for it in your old website bills.
• Day 2: Decide the addresses you need, like hi@ for enquiries and accounts@ for bills.
• Day 3: Set up the mailboxes and add them to your phone.
• Day 4 to 7: Update your visiting card, invoice, website and Google profile with the new email.

We can set up email on your own name and connect it to your phone. Message us on WhatsApp

Does your business still use a Gmail id with customers? What is stopping the change? Tell us below.