I was talking with someone recently who also runs a small home-based business. This person is flying solo just like I am and she is the only “worker” in her business, but she kept referring to business happenings with a “we”—of course, it didn’t offend me or anything, but it did get me to wondering if there is an advantage to using “we” when talking about one’s small home business or if it is alright to use the more truthful “I”?
I always refer to my business as my own. There is only me and it has never really dawned on me to think of it as anything bigger or more. I can certainly understand the power of using the royal “WE”, however. After all, it sounds bigger and more stable to think that there is more than one person behind the scenes making sure things get done satisfactorily. I suppose if a person thinks of their home business as a small family business than the “we” may seem much more accurate. If you’ve got your spouse and children helping you fill orders or take messages, then there most likely is a “WE” to your business.
Now, my three kids tend to be more critics than helpers but I still just think of my work as a one-woman operation so the “I” makes the most sense to me. “I” comes across as personal—no middle-people and no red-tape—but it does not have the community connotations that “we” does.
How about you? Do you refer to your home business as a solitary operation by talking about it using “I” and “Me” or do you think of it more as a group process or something larger than you and use the term “we” when talking to people about the business?
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