A question that comes up pretty often for solo entrepreneurs is if the they should refer to themselves as We and Us or I and Me. Many use we because it make us sound like a bigger company. I must admit. In the beginning – when it was just me running the show, I used we a lot for exactly those reasons.
A month ago, I had a conversation with a few people about this and realized today, I use we for an entirely different reason. When we incorporated, I took in a “partner” so technically, using we is appropriate but that’s not the real reason. To me, it is because we now we outsource various jobs to different people.
It is these people whom I rely on to help with the business daily. They are why I refer to us as we. Without the “team”, we’d not be here and we won’t be able to head into the directions we are heading. It is their work that pushes me forward.
And so I was quite intrigued when I found this post on The We Factor on Richard Branson’s blog.
I know and understand Branson is talking about mindset here more than how we refer to ourselves on our websites. However, I like to think the more often we think inclusively, the easier it is to get to that ‘we’ mentality.
Hi Lynette
Just Wondering, If you were in business all by yourself now. With the Knowledge and experience you acquired over the years. No staff or freelancers directly involved In the service you are providing. Would you choose to use I or We?
Personally, I would still choose we because in the tech business, I feel it serves us better and so I’ve always used that. But on the other hand it’s also about branding. If I branded myself as a tech person who’s a call a way – I’d probably use I and me because I want to demonstrate to people hey. You’re going to get one-on-one attention from me.
If you’re unsure, one good way to go about it is to look to your audience and how you want to be perceived by them. Some audiences simply connect better to solopreneurs than they would to a “we”, where they imagine they won’t get the personalized support they need or crave. Some shy away from solopreneurs because they want the assurance a ‘team’ is there to handle everything.
That absolutely makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to explain. In my case most of my clients expect to work with me personally. Having tried working as an employee and trying to manage teams, I think I am a Solopreneur by design. I am thankful that in this world we love longer need to pretend to be bigger than we are. Some will prefer Solopreneur, some prefer larger entities. As long as we are all clear on our preferences everybody gets a nice piece of the pie. 😀