One of my employer’s core values is “Be professional,” which I think is a good thing. It implies competence. It also keeps top of mind that any of us may be client-facing at any time.

The term “professional” also comes with a certain image, and it’s an image with which I’ve always struggled.

My competence has never been questioned. I’m good at what I do.

My image, however, has never quite been there. I’m a slob. I rarely shave. I swear a lot. I’m too cheap to buy nice clothes. I never really saw the value in it. (Though according to this piece by Yuki Noguchi on NPR, it does pay off.) I think of myself as a bit of a rebel, which doesn’t quite fit the “dress to impress” image, particularly with men’s dress clothing, which is designed to make you look uniformly like other men.

I’ve also spent the better part of a decade working from home. I’ve spent my career creating images for products, services, and people, but have never really thought about it for myself, at least as it relates to how I dress.

Skype, for better or for worse, has changed all of that.

Today I found myself asking to delay a meeting for 15 minutes, not because I was on another call or had a meeting run over, but so I could shower, shave, and put on business attire (at least from the waist up). Why? Of the five hours of meetings I had scheduled today, four hours of them were on Skype.

I like Skype meetings. In marketing, there’s a concept called “noise in the channel,” when your intended audience misinterprets your message for a variety of reasons. One way to mitigate noise in the channel is to provide as many communication cues as possible. Meetings are much the same. It’s easier to “get” someone when you can see their expressions. It’s easier to react appropriately.

But for us work-from-home cheapskate slobs, there’s downside. I can’t come home from the gym and get straight to work. I have to shave more often. People actually see me, and because I’m a leader in the company, I’m supposed to be an example.

Guess I need to work some of my marketing mojo on myself. How do you budget for that?