One of the most important things you will need to do as a business owner and/or consultant is write your bio. It’s not only a culmination of what you’ve done in your life and work to date, however. It’s about taking the reins and crafting the way people will perceive you and your accomplishments, and influence them to take action to connect after reading your bio.

A bio is also one of the hardest things for people to put together. It can be challenging to maintain an objective perspective about your own talents and life experience and put it into words that sound confident, skilled and engaging.

There are a few key things every bio needs in order to be well rounded and provide potential customers the opportunity to get to know your highlights – and possibly lead to a sale.

Be clear. This might sound obvious, but you would be surprised how many people want to include a mention about every job they’ve ever had. That is not the goal of a bio. The focus needs to be on talking about the whole of your experience as it relates to the work you want to do or the type of people you want to connect with after they read it.

Get to the point. Long bios have their place, but it’s best to stick to 500 words or less, depending on your level and depth of experience and education.

Don’t forget the “human-ness”. Talk about more than just your work experience and accomplishments. People want to be able to connect with you as an individual, to see the human side of you. Be sure to include details about likes, hobbies, creative outlets, pets – whatever you do that is a non-business or academic pass time that is both fun an fulfilling.

Ask friends and relatives to read your bio before you publish or submit it. They know you best and will tell you if you are being too modest or braggy. Friends and family will also let you know if there is anything you’ve missed that might be of value, because it can be challenging to look at your own accomplishments objectively.

Use your final bio as a base. What do I mean by that? Use your bio as “the well” you draw from to create your elevator speech, online profiles etc. It will serve as a consistent base of material you can pull from as needed, and helps people remember and connect you clearly with what you do.