When I was first starting this company, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I had the technical chops to build web sites, but I didn’t know much about running a business. Sales? Budgeting? I was just proud that I had completed the paperwork so that the state of Indiana recognized me as a business.

Since I wasn’t sure how to proceed, I wanted to know what my competition was doing. I checked out the web sites of some of the other web development companies in Indianapolis. They all had huge portfolios. I figured they all must have been in business for 20 years with at least that many employees. I felt tiny. If I wanted to compete with these guys and gals, I was going to need to puff my chest out and convince potential customers that I was just as big.

Nowhere was my insecurity more obvious than the copy that I wrote on my web site:

• We have extensive experience with…
• Contact us for an estimate…
• Our team is dedicated…

I was just one guy with a computer working out of a spare bedroom of my house. I assumed no one would want to do business with that guy, though.

Fast-forward a year and a half. My business has grown to the point where it isn’t just me anymore. I actually have an employee now. I can honestly use “we”, “us”, and “our team” in my marketing copy these days. Interestingly enough, though, I now focus on how small I am when I talk to potential customers. I use the words “I” and “me” when describing what my business has to offer.

My customers aren’t dealing with a giant organization that has complex processes and bureaucratic hoops to jump through. (Isn’t that what I was trying to get away from when I struck out on my own?) I am agile. I am flexible. I am easy to work with. I am accessible. Do business with me.

filed under: Dealing With Clients, Finding Work, Running a Business