As a solo-business owner, you’ve got it made.
There’s no boss to answer to.
Cubicles are a thing of the past.
HR doesn’t hound you for a lost security code.
And you’re probably reading this in a t-shirt and jeans. (Okay, you’re in your pajamas. I was going to ignore that part.)
Either way – it’s just you. It’s just your home office. And your cat who occasionally plants his butt on your keyboard while you’re typing.
In other words – to the outside viewer – it’s not a particularly impressive or slick operation.
So it’s natural to wonder if you should make your business appear larger (more slick, more impressive, more corporate) than it really is.
Well, it depends.
It depends on your client – who they are and what they want.
It depends on what you offer and what your clients love most about you.
It depends on what you want for yourself and the growth of your business.
With that said, let’s address the common questions people ask when it comes to making their business look bigger than it really is…
Question #1 – Should I answer my own phone?
If you ask me, this is NOT an issue of “bigger” or “slicker.”
This is an issue of professionalism and boundaries.
I encourage my clients (yes, even in start-up!) not to answer their own phones. Instead, set up a voicemail system so that you return calls at a set time each day. When you answer your own phone, you consistently get interrupted all day long. Not good.
If you have a Virtual Assistant, you can direct incoming calls to her number. However, I believe it’s good to have a number that will be yours for years to come. Your VA might not be around next month – but your business will. Get a number that can stay with you as you grow. Your VA can call in and retrieve messages for you.
Lastly, when you have a scheduled client appointment, then yes, answer your own phone.
Question #2 – Should I get an 800# for my business line?
Completely up to you.
When I was in the music business, getting an 800 number was a game-changer. It Upleveled the professional image of my offices. It made music promoters more willing to call me back. It positioned me as a serious entertainer in the biz. So, I’ve always had one. They’re easy to get. And fairly inexpensive these days.
The advantage of a toll-free number is that it’ll go with you no matter where you go. (Of course, the internet is making this true of local numbers as well.)
Now that everyone has free-minutes on cell phones, I don’t think it’s as big of a deal. But there’s still that subconscious public perception that toll-free numbers imply a bigger business.
Question #3 – Should I refer to myself as “We” instead of “I” ?
This is where many solo-business owners miss the boat.
As mentioned above, a lot depends on what your client loves most about you. If your client hires you because of the connection they have with you, or if you are the brand behind your company, then use “I.” Don’t be afraid to be transparent here. That’s probably what they love about you!
More than ever, people are seeking relationship and connection. Trying to adopt corporate-speak by referring to your business as “we” can sometimes have a negative effect. It will feel incongruent to your prospects and clients.
Again, you have to be the one to assess this. But remember that people buy from people, not from companies. So, use “we” with caution if your company is still just you.
Question #4 – Should I get a real office?
My company – Uplevel YOU – has grown so fast in three years that I purchased a 3000 square foot downtown office space. I did this because I work better with my team in person, rather than virtually. Plus, I have several high-level clients who come for full-day private sessions. It made sense to move my business into a centralized location.
However, this is not the best choice for everyone! Consider these questions. Do you like working from your home? Do you work well with a virtual team? Do you do most of your client work on the phone? If you answered yes, then celebrate! Working from a home office eliminates overhead costs and long commutes. Lucky you!
These days it’s common for successful entrepreneurs not to have an office, to work from cafes, and to gather in random meeting rooms. The pressure to have an office is often just outdated thinking.
——-
You might want to consider whether you are trying to appear bigger – or if you just need to be more strategic about your positioning and credibility, which is really more about your marketing and content. Don’t waste your time on appearing bigger. Instead, just keep delivering high value and content to your clients – and believe me, they won’t care if you sometimes have to pull cat hair off your laptop keyboard!
If you look below, you’ll see a place to leave a comment or question…
Fire away if you have a question on this topic. OR share a secret you’ve used to make your business appear bigger. Or let me know if you think this is a total non-issue for you!
If you've ever believed it was impossible to be totally authentic AND make lots of money in your business - then you're not alone. Purposeful entrepreneurs want it REAL - and I promise to deliver! Get my FREE DVD, and I will walk you step-by-step through my own Uplevel Fast Track Formula for making money... on your own terms and in your own way. Enter your email and let's get started!
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{41 comments ... read them below or add one}
{41 comments ... read them below or add one}
Thanks Christine! Another great post.
I really love the part “…just keep delivering high value and content to your clients – and believe me, they won’t care if you sometimes have to pull cat hair off your laptop keyboard!”
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Hi Christine-great article! My challenges w this topic are much different now than they were a few yrs ago. My challenge now is that for so long it was ME and now that the client demand is more than I alone can serve in our current model, I have hired other consultants and need to sell them to my clients. And sometimes they still want me. Any advice? Thanks! Hope youre doing great!!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 8:55 am
Hey Rachel! (Nice problem to have, eh? Congrats!)
I see this as a marketing problem – even though it feels like this insurmountable thing at first. So, what needs to happen now is that your marketing materials need to shift to match your new model. So, it becomes all about your hand-selected trainers. Your conversion system needs to include new scripts that educate people how it works. You overcome objections in advance with all of your copy and all of your conversations. (I have a Ruby client who is going through this very thing right now – and it has taken some time to get her team and her materials to the place that they educate people not to think she is the only option.)
Everything has to teach and train your clients that it’s still Rachel’s system and strategy – but that Rachel now trains her team to be able to do it as great as she did in person. (And of course – if they still want you, then they can pay a very high premium for that privilege.) Think in terms of every single part of the prospect to client experience — all of your materials need to now speak to this new model. (Yes, it will take time and thought to do this!)
Make sense?
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I am always so grateful that I continue to stay connected to your wisdom, Christine. I can’t remember a time I didn’t find at least one golden nugget in your quick-read advice columns. The issue of time management comes up constantly for the women I work with and central to most of it, is the issue of phone interruptions. I love that you’ve encouraged us to move away from answering all of our calls immediately and personally, with the caveat, of course, that we are conscious of times when we should. Having a VA pick up the messages and forward them is a great solution.
Most of all, I really appreciate how you gently encourage us to consider that our desire to appear “bigger” is worth a deeper look, and the reminder that’s it’s more about our relationship with our clients, and their preferred connection/communication, than anything else.
Thanks for the encouragement-
Nanette
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 9:59 am
Thanks Nanette! I think some of this comes from a personal learning experience in the music business. Most of the ego-based junk that entertainers think will help them is short-lived and does very little. Early on, I really got what it meant to have a truly great business that supports a desirable lifestyle! So, I’m glad my experience can help entrepreneurs!
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Great info as usual Christine! Thanks, Carmen
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Thank you for the great tips, Christine.
Right now, I have a Google Voice number that I forward to my cell phone. It makes callers identify themselves before I get the call. I can then accept the call or send it to voice mail. Which is like having a free receptionist!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Stacey – Perhaps you could let them all go to voicemail – and then batch into your schedule your time to call people back. That way – you keep your day rolling smoothly and you don’t get interrupted each time the phone rings (even if you do just send it to vm!) Thanks!
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Bernadette Keys Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Hi Christine, I’m loving Uplevel – so much happening already. I’m a filmmaker/photographer and have just moved out of home to my dream work space in the CBD! With the phone – do you think I should change the message to myself saying my film company message and answer at a designated time each day? Or someone else saying the message? The number I have is a very established number- personal and business.
thanks so much
Bernadette
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Stacey Smith Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 6:50 pm
Thanks Christine! You’re awesome.
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So, as per usual, you knew what I was thinking. Just yesterday, I was telling my husband that I think about getting an actual office space almost weekly. I love working from home (in my jeans, AKA pajamas) with my dog chewing his bone next to me. I think it would be fun to have an office space though, hold support groups for parents of children with Autism, have my educational consultants work on academics in structured rooms in my office, etc. For now though, I am loving working from my home and going to my students’ homes to observe and provide valuable information. Thank you for this article. I love how you get me thinking, and I love how you are helping me grow my business. YAY!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Jennifer – it sounds like a temporary meeting space might be around the corner for you. Just make sure you’re doing it at the right time – and not just for the sake of having it. I’ve met so many new coaches or consultants who rush out and get an office space and don’t have any clients yet – and the pressure is enormous! I think your perfect space will come in time!
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Caption for photo:
Super water-conserving toilet = Uplevelled plumbing!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 12:40 pm
yes indeed – it is a water conserving toilet michelle! (for those of you who don’t understand what the heck this is about — michelle is referring to my eZine photo from this morning’s article. you had to be there i guess!)
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Hello Christine, good advice as always. As a visual artist, I think people really enjoy the personal touch of being able to come to my studio, see my workplace, see where the paintings come from – and so I really wish I could enlarge my existing separate studio (it’s a nice little red building in the field behind my house, about 22 x 24′. I’d like to have a separate gallery area, a sitting area, and just have a nicer place to have Open Studios (which are very profitable for me). Not mention a bathroom!! But bottom line is the work so I think unless I win the lottery I’ll be content with what I have.
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Evelyn – don’t give up on the dream by dismissing it as a lottery item! Hold that out there, put it on your vision board, affirm that it is so! You never know how something like this could come to pass! Dream big – but just watch it when your ego is making decisions on your business – that’s all.
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Thanks, Christine! This is particularly helpful to me today. There seems to be so much pressure out there in the internet marketing world to ‘PLAY BIG’ and what I love about your approach is that you can still be YOU – still be authentic – and play big on your own terms. Thanks for permission to set up boundaries and streamline processes without actually losing touch with WHO I work with and who I AM. You keep me grounded:-)
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 12:42 pm
Go Theresa! Great to hear this, girlfriend. And yes, playing big is absolutely something that you define. I learn this everyday.
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Hi Christine! Thanks for your words of wisdom! Like one of the previous commentors, I, too find something useful or helpful in just about every post you make. My issue with phones and working from home is a compound one. I spent many years as a stay-at-home mom before I figured out a way to take some of the things I loved and turn them into a business. The problem I have is that I can’t ever seem to keep the personal stuff separate from the business. Working from home has been wonderful in that I can make my own schedule and can work in my jeans (pajamas) while doing the laundry or waiting for the plumber to arrive to fix the leaky pipes. But at the same time, being at home is a distraction from my work and working from home is a distraction from my household. My work is often interupted by family and friends who just don’t get it that this is a JOB and I’m at WORK. And then there’s the customers who are also friends and think I’m on duty 24-7. I think the hardest part of all this is learning how to separate the two!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Cindy – this is totally an issue of boundaries.
And yes, it sounds like you may be on the verge of needing to move your office outside of your home – with good reason.
i remember this being one of the huge challenges for me too. My husband would go off to his office – and I would be left to deal with any work men, deliveries, housekeepers, etc. (I did hire a personal assistant to take care of all of that after a while – which helped!)
But eventually, you do need to move your office away from the home in order to preserve your sanity. And as for boundaries with clients – - this is what my next training module is for my gold mastermind. It’s a GREAT topic. (And a great way to grow yourself as a confident clear human being!)
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Great reminder about not answering the phone–sometimes I still pick it up out of habit. I have had an interesting experience this month, as I have been commuting to the gallery where I am showing and painting there *LIVE* 5 days a week. No phone, no computer—it has been great & I am getting a lot of work done! Great article!
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Your advice about letting all phone calls go syraight to voice mail is so genius. We kinda do that already, but not in a purposeful way, so I think we’ll make it more of a habit.
Meanwhile I’m still torn on this I/we thing. My partner is a photographer and we run her business together. Mostly I’m only visible as I work with her on the retail side of her business (headshot photography), so on that website she thinks we should say “we”.
I hesitate because the business is just called “[Her Name] Headshot Photography” and she is the photographer, so unless they read my bio page they won’t know that she works with me as a team, and I wonder if “I” would work better here to create that one-on-one relationship. I guess it would feel more authentic to me if both of our names were on the business name, or if the business name was something besides her name I guess.
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 21st, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Don’t overthink it Steph. My guideline is always the customer. But it does sound like you can legitimately move back and forth between I and We and keep it real for your peeps.
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For the photo, how about “Christine Kane, comfortable anywhere……” That photo cracked me up, too!
I used to work at home as an artist and helping my husband with the family farm when my kids were small. I work outside the home now, but felt so much more “myself” when my schedule was my own and I had time to dream up new projects. My biggest problem was being able to shut off and not work ALL the time because the work I produced was my income. I also let my phone calls go to voice mail and returned them later in the day. This especially worked with family members who did not get it that you were “at work”.
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Hi Christine, thanks for the article!
I have just recently managed to create for myself a separate office in a room at the back of the upstairs shop because the cat joining in on my keyboard and demanding food all day was driving me nuts!
For years I have worked on my admin at home and I sympathise with Cindy above because it’s hard to separate things. Now that I have a totally dedicated space (away from the washing up etc) that I ‘go’ to it is much better for me. And then I get to walk away from all the paperwork and go home for tea.
But I still have the option of hanging out in my PJ’s on the sofa with my laptop
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:58 am
Thanks for the great suggestions Jennifer! I hope Cindy reads this!
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I realized it was time for a separate art studio/gallery space when one of my sons phoned home from college. I asked him what he had learned so far and he replied “I found out the normal table place setting isn’t knife, fork, spoon, paintbrush!”
I found I sold a lot more because it gave me more with many patrons – especially men
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I’m finally beginning my photography business, but it’s very much in baby stages and I’m learning as I go.. learning how to run this thing, and constantly improving my photography.
I’m struggling between wanting to appear professional and trustworthy, and wanting to be genuine and share what I’ve learned and what I’m excited about (on my blog, for instance). I want people to want to hire me, but I also don’t want to try and be something I’m not quite yet… especially as I then feel like I have to live up to this airbrushed image of myself. But again, I want to get clients who are happy to pay me what I’m worth, and to do that I have to have an image… don’t I? Eep!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 22nd, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Vrinda – Absolutely have a professional image. This post is not about being unprofessional. It’s about what’s necessary and what’s not. Some of what you’re describing sounds like the inner mindset of believing that you are worth hiring — and that is something that will continue to grow and build over time. Credibility and professional image is also an inside job that comes with confidence that comes with taking action and upleveling. Don’t get too mental about it. But YES to a strong professional image! Just be authentic and connected (if your peeps like that.)
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A caption for the toilet: “Success is all about your view.”
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Thanks Christine! One of our ‘mutual friends’ just told me the same thing so I’m in the process of redesigning our mktg materials to speak more about our team. And this summer, I’m going to meet with my coaches and de-construct our coaching programs and as they are now and re-construct them focused on this team approach with access to me to my team’s clients and access to my team for my clients. My hope is that we work as one big ‘brain’ to give our clients access to all our unique skills. Any workshops coming in in NC? Hope you’re doing great.
Oh-my caption for the toilet… I’ve heard of being transparent with your clients but that’s just TOO much! xxoxo
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caption: Yes, I really do have an open-door policy!
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Thank you for your perspective. As always, it is spot on.
Due to my curiosity, I often wonder who is behind the pages of the internet. I find that if I cannot figure it out, I click right off the page. I value authentic and not appearances. As I move closer to launching my next business venture, I know I want to make sure my materials mirror me. As “me” becomes “we,” I’ll re-position as needed. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy being me. Thanks, Christine!
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Hey this is a good looking website, is wordpress? Forgive me for the foolish question but if so, what theme is? Thanks!
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Christine Kane Reply:
March 22nd, 2012 at 11:59 am
Paola – it is wordpress – but it is a custom design. not a theme.
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Hi Christine,
I say be transparent and honest about your operation the same goes with your level of authority in your business niche. I can usually tell when someone is trying to be more than who they are and so can your clients.
People like you or me because of who we are and not how big we may seem to be.
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After answering the phone a couple times during times when I should NOT have answered the phone. In fact, I recently answered my phone thinking it was my husband calling me right back only to answer and realize that it was a client calling to schedule and PAY for a VIP day while I was in the middle of shopping on a busy downtown street. Not my best move. But it turned out to be a great VIP day
Now I use my Google Voice to answer the calls and I have it ring both my home and my cell – but at the same time, I’ve limited when it can actually ring and when it automatically goes to VM. Next up in the uplevel model…getting the VA to help with the scheduling and emailing.
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Great stuff, Christine! Thanks! I have had an 800-number for a while but rarely use it – think that it’s time that I start because you make a really good point – it will make me appear bigger than simply a local operation (I do have a teaching studio with several teachers working for me) and it will help promote my global online brand better (which I’m growing right now.)
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Thanks for this article which addresses several issues I have dealt with, or am dealing with. I think being authentic is such a big piece here, something you always clearly reflect.
I have evolved into using “we” instead of me lately, as I don’t know where I would be without my reliable team, now consisting of over a handful of people.
Nice read Christine. And yellow labs make excellent team members as well as cats:).
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For little businesses that are working from home there’s really no need for a ‘real’ office, but I think depending on the kind of image you want to portray it can be beneficial to get a ‘virtual office’. If it’s professional you’re after, having an address and a space that you can use as and when you need is a cost effective option and of course, will make you appear bigger than you actually are.
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