A column in this month’s Inc. magazine describes what it was like to work for the world’s most successful entrepreneur, Bill Gates:

Bill came in. I thought about how strange it was that he had two legs, two arms, one head, etc. - almost exactly like a regular human being.

So, maybe Bill isn’t the right person to compare ourselves against but the point is that the people around you need to easily recognize that you are a real person, just like them.

When I was first starting out, I pretty much ignored returning emails and phone calls under the impression that I was simply “too busy” for it. Then one day I realized that people had stopped coming to me when opportunity knocked, and it hit me: I had to make myself more accessible if I wanted to get ahead.

“So, how do I become more accessible?”

First, make sure you give people multiple ways to get in touch with you. If you’re reading this, you probably have a cell phone, email account, Facebook profile and a Twitter account. Use them.

Then, make sure you actually reply like a human. It’s that simple.

Well, not really, but it’s a start. Here are some extra tips for you: Keep Reading