Tips & Talk 2 – The “We” or “I” Dilemma
As a solopreneur this is most likely a question that comes up from time to time. Should I be referring to my business as “We” or “I”.
Of course, saying “we” (aside from sounding french) makes you appear to be a more established business. More professional, more successful and perhaps shifts the scale in your favor.
But does it? You lose out on a big opportunity if you reprepresent yourself as “we” if it’s only you. I explain what it is in this episode and also my thoughts on the topic from several other angles too.
Listen in to get the scoop.
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Transcript
Hi there.
Speaker:I see that you made it over to the new tips
Speaker:and talk portion of the podcast.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small bits.
Speaker:I've got a great topic for you.
Speaker:I don't think I've ever seen this discussed anywhere before.
Speaker:So this might be a first,
Speaker:I don't know what the topic is as a solo preneur.
Speaker:How should you refer to yourself?
Speaker:Is it I,
Speaker:even though we all know you're only working by yourself or
Speaker:should it be,
Speaker:we what's the right way to refer to yourself as a
Speaker:solo preneur.
Speaker:Obviously you're the only one in your business right now,
Speaker:but lots of times you think like,
Speaker:well, I don't want people to know that I want people
Speaker:to think I'm this big company.
Speaker:So I'm going to refer to myself as we,
Speaker:well, is that the right thing?
Speaker:You're saying,
Speaker:we, when you know,
Speaker:it's really you and I get that when I started my
Speaker:gift basket business way long time ago.
Speaker:Now I had that same dilemma because I'd been used to
Speaker:working in corporate and now all of a sudden it was
Speaker:just me.
Speaker:And eventually I knew I was going to be having a
Speaker:team. So maybe I was projecting the future,
Speaker:but it didn't feel right.
Speaker:So I am with you.
Speaker:If any of you are in this situation where you're trying
Speaker:to decide what to do,
Speaker:and you're really being so super careful with your words,
Speaker:that's the conversation we're going to have here.
Speaker:Yeah. I mean,
Speaker:you want to say we,
Speaker:because you want to present yourself as a professional business.
Speaker:We all know that just because it's you,
Speaker:it doesn't mean that you're any less professional.
Speaker:You're just still smaller.
Speaker:Or you may have decided that this is the way you're
Speaker:always going to run your business.
Speaker:You're going to be the only one.
Speaker:That's how you've set it up.
Speaker:That's the way you like it.
Speaker:And that's the way it is.
Speaker:But still,
Speaker:what do you do?
Speaker:We are,
Speaker:I sometimes you feel like you need to say we,
Speaker:because you feel like it adds more credibility and professionalism,
Speaker:and that will equate to more sales.
Speaker:That would be the reason you would do it.
Speaker:Right? We present that it's a bigger business.
Speaker:It's a more credible business.
Speaker:It's more professional.
Speaker:Maybe there's this feeling of longevity there.
Speaker:And that's going to convince somebody to buy your products.
Speaker:If you say we like,
Speaker:kind of goes without saying that you would think about doing
Speaker:that, but that only works for so long because when people
Speaker:become close to you and to follow you,
Speaker:they, at some point are going to understand more about you
Speaker:and your business.
Speaker:That it's not a we scenario or might just be a
Speaker:use scenario for the time being.
Speaker:Have you seen the new reel that is very popular?
Speaker:You know how on Instagram reels,
Speaker:they're the themes that are going.
Speaker:And right now,
Speaker:one of the current ones is a handmade creator or any
Speaker:small business is doing different clips.
Speaker:The owner says,
Speaker:I want to introduce you to my staff.
Speaker:And then the first clip is her being the bookkeeper and
Speaker:then her being the creative designer,
Speaker:and then her being the social media person,
Speaker:all of this really it's just her,
Speaker:but it's just showing.
Speaker:And it's doing kind of a play on all the different
Speaker:roles that you play as a business and joking around with
Speaker:the fact that as a solopreneur,
Speaker:you have to play all the roles.
Speaker:People get this,
Speaker:people understand that this is the case with your business,
Speaker:that many small businesses,
Speaker:you're a one person show in the beginning.
Speaker:And I actually think that that is just fine because when
Speaker:you're showing up as your true self,
Speaker:there's a level of trust there.
Speaker:People believe you more because people are going to catch on.
Speaker:If you're saying we,
Speaker:and you're not a we,
Speaker:right. If it's only you.
Speaker:So I would just be yourself.
Speaker:It also allows you when you do this to position yourself
Speaker:as the owner of the business.
Speaker:And so when you're talking and sharing something,
Speaker:whether it's on social,
Speaker:whether it's a blog article,
Speaker:wherever you find yourself speaking,
Speaker:you're the authority.
Speaker:You're the specialist,
Speaker:you're the top dog.
Speaker:And there's no reason why you can't be saying I now
Speaker:having said that there are some times when you can interject.
Speaker:We versus I,
Speaker:for example,
Speaker:when you're talking about a conversation where you've been interacting with
Speaker:a customer or in a customer group,
Speaker:like if I'm talking about,
Speaker:well, this is a great example.
Speaker:This question came up from somebody in gift biz breeze,
Speaker:our Facebook group.
Speaker:And so I can talk about the fact that we are
Speaker:having the conversation around this,
Speaker:right? That would be one time when you could use we
Speaker:another time that you can use we is,
Speaker:if you're at a craft show and you're talking about your
Speaker:fellow exhibitors,
Speaker:right? That's a we situation or other people who are coming
Speaker:up to the booth,
Speaker:we had such a good time together.
Speaker:Or you have somebody who's helping you out at the show.
Speaker:And so you are working the booth together,
Speaker:then it's we,
Speaker:right? So there are times,
Speaker:even if you're a solo preneur,
Speaker:you can interject the plural,
Speaker:right? The weep word in,
Speaker:and it's truly authentic.
Speaker:It's virtually representing what is happening in real time.
Speaker:Also, if you're working with any outside resources,
Speaker:let's say you do hire out for a bookkeeper or a
Speaker:photographer, or maybe you have,
Speaker:you recruit some people within the family to help you with
Speaker:shipping during the holidays.
Speaker:Things like that.
Speaker:That's we?
Speaker:Right? So there are times even as a solo preneur that
Speaker:you can say we and be representing accurately,
Speaker:what's really going on in your business.
Speaker:My feeling always is to go with what is true.
Speaker:And I'm going to talk about that a little bit more
Speaker:in a second.
Speaker:I'm kind of jumping ahead of myself in the way I
Speaker:wanted to present this to you.
Speaker:But if you think about it right now,
Speaker:like I do have a team behind me,
Speaker:but I'm the one talking to you.
Speaker:We are not all talking to you.
Speaker:I'm talking to you.
Speaker:So when you're on social,
Speaker:and when you are sharing things about your business,
Speaker:like how you got started,
Speaker:why you pour the candles the way you do,
Speaker:or the sense that you choose or how you've done your
Speaker:packaging, that's you.
Speaker:And when you're talking about it,
Speaker:you can use the word.
Speaker:I was thinking,
Speaker:I, whatever,
Speaker:you're the designer and producer and the owner.
Speaker:So you can definitely say I,
Speaker:the other thing here is the way you get the most
Speaker:customers is to start developing relationships.
Speaker:That's why I'm coming on,
Speaker:live on Instagram.
Speaker:I want you to know me,
Speaker:see who I am decide,
Speaker:whether you like me and want to be with me and
Speaker:follow me or not.
Speaker:But it's me.
Speaker:It's not my whole team behind me.
Speaker:This is you and I one-on-one talking on Instagram,
Speaker:live on a podcast just when I'm in your ears,
Speaker:talking all of that.
Speaker:It's one-on-one.
Speaker:So if you say we,
Speaker:that's kind of a disjoint of the relationship.
Speaker:If you want to be talking one-on-one with your potential customer.
Speaker:So you want to be saying I,
Speaker:and I think we need to get out of the idea
Speaker:that I is a less powerful and strong word than we
Speaker:there's places where you could use both of them.
Speaker:So in the conclusion of this dilemma,
Speaker:the we and I dilemma,
Speaker:what I say is own your place,
Speaker:where you are right now in time with your business.
Speaker:If you're a solopreneur and you're just starting,
Speaker:let's say this is the first month you've been in business.
Speaker:Well, you are probably an I,
Speaker:and you know what?
Speaker:I want to see you and know you and hear about
Speaker:your story and hear that you're just starting.
Speaker:And I want to buy your products because I want to
Speaker:support you and watch you go along in your journey.
Speaker:And that's the thing that you lose.
Speaker:If you start saying we too early,
Speaker:think about it.
Speaker:If you come online and you want to represent yourself as
Speaker:a bigger company than you are,
Speaker:where's the story that you get to tell when you do
Speaker:reach that level,
Speaker:right? When you hire your first employee,
Speaker:that's something to be excited about.
Speaker:If you do some people never will then,
Speaker:because people have known,
Speaker:you've been doing this by yourself for the whole time,
Speaker:you're able to celebrate with your audience that you're hiring.
Speaker:If you've been saying we all along,
Speaker:you've lost that opportunity.
Speaker:And if you do decide to show it on social,
Speaker:if you've been saying we all along,
Speaker:then people are like,
Speaker:wait a minute.
Speaker:I thought it was we already.
Speaker:And you lose some of that trust.
Speaker:You see what I'm saying?
Speaker:So own where you are in your business.
Speaker:If you're just starting.
Speaker:If you've been in business for a year,
Speaker:if you've been in business for five years and you still
Speaker:are a solopreneur,
Speaker:because that's the way you've decided to run your business,
Speaker:then good for you own it,
Speaker:claim it and be that in the end,
Speaker:people buy because they make an emotional investment or they always
Speaker:talk about what can be the price free shipping.
Speaker:In the end,
Speaker:everyone makes decisions on what they're going to purchase with their
Speaker:heart, through their emotions.
Speaker:And when you're able to connect with someone on a deeper
Speaker:level, because you have a relationship with them,
Speaker:you have developed a level of trust.
Speaker:By the way you speak that people feel that you're being
Speaker:genuine and authentic and just showing up as you,
Speaker:they are more likely to buy from you.
Speaker:So claim your spot,
Speaker:be who you are.
Speaker:If your aspiration is to go from being a solopreneur,
Speaker:to having employees in your company,
Speaker:then let that story unfold to your followers as well,
Speaker:because they'll support it.
Speaker:And they'll celebrate with you.
Speaker:And in that way,
Speaker:when you circle it all back and you're,
Speaker:you're your authentic self you've developed trust with your community and
Speaker:those who are following you,
Speaker:watching you,
Speaker:you continue to share with them on a day-to-day basis are
Speaker:the ones who are going to continue to buy from you
Speaker:and tell others about you.
Speaker:So I want you to go out and own who you
Speaker:are, where you are in your business and come as yourself
Speaker:as you as I that's a wrap.
Speaker:I may get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn.
Speaker:Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
Speaker:We want them,