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Hi there.

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I see that you made it over to the new tips

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and talk portion of the podcast.

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These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

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things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small bits.

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I've got a great topic for you.

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I don't think I've ever seen this discussed anywhere before.

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So this might be a first,

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I don't know what the topic is as a solo preneur.

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How should you refer to yourself?

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Is it I,

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even though we all know you're only working by yourself or

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should it be,

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we what's the right way to refer to yourself as a

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solo preneur.

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Obviously you're the only one in your business right now,

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but lots of times you think like,

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well, I don't want people to know that I want people

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to think I'm this big company.

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So I'm going to refer to myself as we,

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well, is that the right thing?

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You're saying,

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we, when you know,

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it's really you and I get that when I started my

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gift basket business way long time ago.

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Now I had that same dilemma because I'd been used to

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working in corporate and now all of a sudden it was

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just me.

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And eventually I knew I was going to be having a

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team. So maybe I was projecting the future,

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but it didn't feel right.

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So I am with you.

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If any of you are in this situation where you're trying

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to decide what to do,

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and you're really being so super careful with your words,

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that's the conversation we're going to have here.

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Yeah. I mean,

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you want to say we,

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because you want to present yourself as a professional business.

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We all know that just because it's you,

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it doesn't mean that you're any less professional.

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You're just still smaller.

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Or you may have decided that this is the way you're

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always going to run your business.

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You're going to be the only one.

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That's how you've set it up.

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That's the way you like it.

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And that's the way it is.

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But still,

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what do you do?

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We are,

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I sometimes you feel like you need to say we,

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because you feel like it adds more credibility and professionalism,

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and that will equate to more sales.

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That would be the reason you would do it.

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Right? We present that it's a bigger business.

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It's a more credible business.

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It's more professional.

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Maybe there's this feeling of longevity there.

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And that's going to convince somebody to buy your products.

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If you say we like,

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kind of goes without saying that you would think about doing

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that, but that only works for so long because when people

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become close to you and to follow you,

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they, at some point are going to understand more about you

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and your business.

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That it's not a we scenario or might just be a

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use scenario for the time being.

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Have you seen the new reel that is very popular?

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You know how on Instagram reels,

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they're the themes that are going.

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And right now,

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one of the current ones is a handmade creator or any

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small business is doing different clips.

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The owner says,

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I want to introduce you to my staff.

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And then the first clip is her being the bookkeeper and

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then her being the creative designer,

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and then her being the social media person,

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all of this really it's just her,

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but it's just showing.

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And it's doing kind of a play on all the different

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roles that you play as a business and joking around with

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the fact that as a solopreneur,

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you have to play all the roles.

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People get this,

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people understand that this is the case with your business,

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that many small businesses,

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you're a one person show in the beginning.

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And I actually think that that is just fine because when

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you're showing up as your true self,

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there's a level of trust there.

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People believe you more because people are going to catch on.

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If you're saying we,

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and you're not a we,

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right. If it's only you.

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So I would just be yourself.

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It also allows you when you do this to position yourself

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as the owner of the business.

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And so when you're talking and sharing something,

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whether it's on social,

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whether it's a blog article,

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wherever you find yourself speaking,

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you're the authority.

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You're the specialist,

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you're the top dog.

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And there's no reason why you can't be saying I now

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having said that there are some times when you can interject.

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We versus I,

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for example,

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when you're talking about a conversation where you've been interacting with

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a customer or in a customer group,

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like if I'm talking about,

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well, this is a great example.

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This question came up from somebody in gift biz breeze,

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our Facebook group.

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And so I can talk about the fact that we are

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having the conversation around this,

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right? That would be one time when you could use we

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another time that you can use we is,

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if you're at a craft show and you're talking about your

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fellow exhibitors,

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right? That's a we situation or other people who are coming

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up to the booth,

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we had such a good time together.

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Or you have somebody who's helping you out at the show.

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And so you are working the booth together,

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then it's we,

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right? So there are times,

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even if you're a solo preneur,

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you can interject the plural,

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right? The weep word in,

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and it's truly authentic.

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It's virtually representing what is happening in real time.

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Also, if you're working with any outside resources,

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let's say you do hire out for a bookkeeper or a

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photographer, or maybe you have,

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you recruit some people within the family to help you with

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shipping during the holidays.

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Things like that.

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That's we?

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Right? So there are times even as a solo preneur that

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you can say we and be representing accurately,

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what's really going on in your business.

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My feeling always is to go with what is true.

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And I'm going to talk about that a little bit more

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in a second.

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I'm kind of jumping ahead of myself in the way I

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wanted to present this to you.

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But if you think about it right now,

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like I do have a team behind me,

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but I'm the one talking to you.

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We are not all talking to you.

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I'm talking to you.

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So when you're on social,

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and when you are sharing things about your business,

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like how you got started,

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why you pour the candles the way you do,

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or the sense that you choose or how you've done your

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packaging, that's you.

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And when you're talking about it,

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you can use the word.

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I was thinking,

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I, whatever,

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you're the designer and producer and the owner.

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So you can definitely say I,

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the other thing here is the way you get the most

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customers is to start developing relationships.

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That's why I'm coming on,

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live on Instagram.

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I want you to know me,

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see who I am decide,

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whether you like me and want to be with me and

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follow me or not.

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But it's me.

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It's not my whole team behind me.

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This is you and I one-on-one talking on Instagram,

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live on a podcast just when I'm in your ears,

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talking all of that.

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It's one-on-one.

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So if you say we,

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that's kind of a disjoint of the relationship.

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If you want to be talking one-on-one with your potential customer.

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So you want to be saying I,

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and I think we need to get out of the idea

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that I is a less powerful and strong word than we

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there's places where you could use both of them.

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So in the conclusion of this dilemma,

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the we and I dilemma,

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what I say is own your place,

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where you are right now in time with your business.

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If you're a solopreneur and you're just starting,

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let's say this is the first month you've been in business.

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Well, you are probably an I,

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and you know what?

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I want to see you and know you and hear about

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your story and hear that you're just starting.

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And I want to buy your products because I want to

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support you and watch you go along in your journey.

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And that's the thing that you lose.

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If you start saying we too early,

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think about it.

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If you come online and you want to represent yourself as

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a bigger company than you are,

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where's the story that you get to tell when you do

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reach that level,

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right? When you hire your first employee,

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that's something to be excited about.

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If you do some people never will then,

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because people have known,

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you've been doing this by yourself for the whole time,

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you're able to celebrate with your audience that you're hiring.

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If you've been saying we all along,

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you've lost that opportunity.

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And if you do decide to show it on social,

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if you've been saying we all along,

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then people are like,

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wait a minute.

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I thought it was we already.

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And you lose some of that trust.

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You see what I'm saying?

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So own where you are in your business.

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If you're just starting.

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If you've been in business for a year,

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if you've been in business for five years and you still

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are a solopreneur,

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because that's the way you've decided to run your business,

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then good for you own it,

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claim it and be that in the end,

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people buy because they make an emotional investment or they always

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talk about what can be the price free shipping.

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In the end,

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everyone makes decisions on what they're going to purchase with their

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heart, through their emotions.

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And when you're able to connect with someone on a deeper

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level, because you have a relationship with them,

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you have developed a level of trust.

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By the way you speak that people feel that you're being

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genuine and authentic and just showing up as you,

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they are more likely to buy from you.

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So claim your spot,

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be who you are.

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If your aspiration is to go from being a solopreneur,

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to having employees in your company,

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then let that story unfold to your followers as well,

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because they'll support it.

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And they'll celebrate with you.

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And in that way,

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when you circle it all back and you're,

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you're your authentic self you've developed trust with your community and

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those who are following you,

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watching you,

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you continue to share with them on a day-to-day basis are

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the ones who are going to continue to buy from you

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and tell others about you.

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So I want you to go out and own who you

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are, where you are in your business and come as yourself

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as you as I that's a wrap.

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I may get to the point kind of girl.

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And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn.

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Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them,

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and they bring us both so much happiness.<inaudible>.