I am a sole trader. I work from home. Sometimes my wife helps with bookings, invoicing and other admin type stuff when I am just too snowed under to take care of it. But mostly, it’s just me.
This doesn’t mean I am unprofessional. It doesn’t mean I am inexpensive. And it doesn’t mean I am a dodgy fly-by-night type of character who can’t be trusted, far less relied upon.
What it does mean is that when you call my office, you will (most likely) speak to me. When you book one of my services, you speak to me. If it all goes to the dogs, it will be me that will talk to you to fix it. And there is a certain comfort in my clients knowing that.
I know many people in my network who are in exactly the same position as me. Stay at home Mums or Dads, working from the spare room, garage or kitchen table in their home, and doing an amazing job at running their own businesses.
So why do I see these same people – sole traders like me – using “we” in their blog posts and tweets when I know full well that it is just them on their own?
The reason is perception – not the way that the public perceives the particular sole business person, but how they perceive themselves! For many years in business, people have thought bigger was better. The more established a business is, or the more employees or shopfronts it has, the better it must be. Right?
Wrong. More shops, more staff, more ‘stuff’ certainly does NOT equate to a better customer experience. The proof? Banks.
About six months ago, this all suddenly occurred to me. I was doing exactly what I just wrote about. I used to refer to my businesses as “we” and not “me” or “I”. But more recently, I have revelled in my independence as a sole trader. I control my business. I am accountable for the stuff-ups. And I am equally accountable for the successes.
And you know what? The public doesn’t care. They don’t think just because I don’t have any staff or shopfront or big flashy “stuff” that makes me any less trustworthy or professional. In fact, the ones I have asked about it recently, have all told me that is exactly why they like dealing with me.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Nick … fantastic post. I confess. I’ve been “we-ing” all over my messages for the last couple of years. Most of the advice from mentors and coaches was telling me to speak in the “collaborative form of we”. Makes you sound bigger and gives more credibility to yourself. Ah ha!! Right so I did. But it never really settled with me. Then this past Christmas I fulfilled a goal, by dedicating more time to reading on the holidays. One of the books I read was “How to say it for Women”. I learnt that the ‘we’ softens my statements, and I appear weaker (as does my messages). DIRECT HIT. So now it’s me, myself and I. Proudly now transitioning over to “I AM” statements in all thought, word, works and branding. I am, therefore I am.
Oooo….you’ve hit a bit of a tender spot here Nick. I couldn’t agree with you more. And I can’t help but snarl at those mentors & coaches (and experts at business conferences) that Laynie mentions who tell small business that there aim should be to ‘appear’ big.
Not only is it not authentic, it totally disregards the outstanding benefits of having a supplier who is a small business – As you pointed out, being able to speak to the owner.
I rambled on about this a bit here:
http://www.b2bnetwork.com.au/stop-apologizing–size-does-matter.html
which was prompted by a presentation held at last year’s Flying Solo (that I only kept track of via tweets from the event) where a presenter told the 200 or so delegates to use “we”, to change their address to “Suite 1″ if home based – to infer that they had an office.
Geez folks – the aim is NOT to appear big. The aim is to be PROFESSIONAL.
(BTW – like the new look site and your fab logo).
Nice post. I’m a proud sole-operator (although an incorporated company). I used to say “we”, but that was mostly ‘cos I was working on building something that was bigger than me. I was outsourcing some work, and even looked at employing a full-time copywriter to work with me. In the end, though, I found that business model just didn’t work for me. So I decided to write everything that goes out the door. And when I made that decision, I decided to be loud and proud about it. I now proudly proclaim my freelancer status, and the fact that I write everything. And that I work from home. My clients don’t care. In fact, they’d much prefer this arrangement to an outsourcing bigger company arrangement.
Of course, if my clients expected something else, that would change things…
Great post. I believe in 100% honesty in business and have never tried to appear to be something that I am not. I refer to myself on my website and in all my other dealings with customers as “I”, particularly when I talk about the copywriting aspect of my business (the majority).
Like Glenn, I don’t employ anyone or outsource work when it comes to copywriting, editing or SEO, and I want prospective clients to know and understand that when they hire me, they really do hire “me” – the same person that’s talking to them on my website and the same person that is responsible for the projects displayed on my portfolio page. I believe most clients hire me because they like my experience and my writing style, so by making it clear it’s really only me, they know what they’re getting, so to speak.
However, I run my Content Writer business as part of a company, Triple W Communications Pty Ltd, which has both me and my husband as its directors. He focuses on other types of projects, mostly to do with web design and software. So on the pages of my website that are about our company and about designing and maintaining websites, I use “we” because he may be involved in some of these as well. However, I think I’ve explained that well on my site so it shouldn’t be confusing and it’s definitely not dishonest.
I think the web is becoming more and more personal and people like knowing exactly who they’re dealing with. That hiding behind “we” and being vague about who really works there might have worked 5 or 10 years ago, but I think it doesn’t really work like that any more.
Great, insightful comments as always guys. Thanks for contributing to MY blog (not ours haha).
I confess, I did have “we” peppered through my copy. However, it didn’t last long as my best customer told me she preferred a more personal approach. So now, it is I in my copy.
I’ve one client though, who was concerned about taking that approach due to the large businesses she tends to consult to. She worried that it might turn potential business away. I guess that’s a valid concern when we still encounter patriarchy in business.
Guilty as charged – can I say “we” refers to my team of four legged assistants other than that it is me, myself and I – most of the time! Thanks for pointing out the obvious.
Hi All,
I loved this post! I’ve recently started my own business from home and just launched my website, so I’ve had a few comments about the ‘we/’me’ thing. I decided from the outset to be authentic and went with ‘me’. Me, myself, I. And, just for the record, my very new clients are happy clients and I’m beginning to build some great relationships. Honesty is the best policy.
Cheers,
Jeanne
Gday Everyone and thanks for the comments. Do you think there are certain clients who you would prefer to go with the ‘we’ angle with though? Do some people still get nervous about the solo operator thing?
I haven’t encountered nervousness in my dealing but I have certainly had patronising comments related to my solo, work-from-home status. Such as one male client who said “so you just work around the kids? That’s nice isn’t it.” Maybe I’m being overly sensitive but I feel like it puts me on the back foot with negotiating when they see it as a hobby rather than a proper job.
That also says to me that he has absolutely no concept of what it’s like trying to work with kids in the house!!!