It’s OK for your Business to Have a Personality
Why are Small Businesses Often Afraid of Showing Personality?
Sometimes businesses, especially mom and pops, are worried that any sign of personality will draw attention to the fact that they are, in fact, a small business. In our culture, we seem to have an association between size and capability. However, I’ve personally been on both sides of this issue – as a member of a 16 person IT department for a company with 1600 employees, and as the sole employee of Vert Studios before taking on my partner, Joseph McCullough. I can tell you with 100% certainty that the products and service produced by the smaller teams are usually as good as that of their bigger competitors – and quite often better.
It’s OK to be a small businesses, in fact it’s better than OK – it’s a huge advantage. Why? Because your business has something they don’t. A personality.
Your small business is made of people. You know all of them by name, you know their families, you’re probably friends on facebook. A wonderful side effect of this close relationship is that your business will start to take on the “flavor” of the people who make it up. If you have hired talented and fun people, you’re going to have a talented and fun business. Why would you want to hide that fact from your customers? The most common answer? Businesses feel they need to maintain an appearance of “professionalism”. But here’s a secret:
“Professionalism”, as Most People Think of It, is B.S.
Yes I know that’s an inflammatory statement, but I feel it’s a true one. Here’s what professionalism is commonly associated with:
- Dressing the Part / Wearing a necktie
- Using Buzzwords and industry lingo to try to make yourself sound more important
- Trying to appear bigger than you are
- White washing yourself, your business, and your employees
So that’s what people often mistakenly think of when they think about being professional, but what is true professionalism?
We believe true professionalism means:
- Providing results
- Being a leader in your industry
- Providing great customer service
- Being passionate about your work
- Being true to yourself
Stand Out!
As a small business, you can’t afford to blend in with the crowd. There are, and always will be, competitors with more money and a larger customer base. How do you expect to beat them if you’re just like them, except smaller? It simply can’t be done. You have to be different if you want to keep the doors open. But you’re in luck because:
Your Customers are More Accepting Than You Think
Often business owners are scared to try new things because of the fear of how people might react. Next time you’re thinking “I would love it if we could…[wild business idea], but I just don’t know if that would fly here” …JUST DO IT.
You might be surprised at how well it goes over.
But What if I Turn Someone Off?
You can’t make everyone happy. The biggest problem a small business normally faces is not people disliking their image – it’s obscurity. Be yourself and get noticed. There’s no reason to try to blend in (unless you are afraid of what people will see when they look closely).
Just like it’s never a good idea to be fake on a first date, it’s never a good idea to be fake with a client. If you do great work and treat your customers like real people, clients worth having will accept and appreciate you, regardless of how tight your tie is. If they don’t appreciate you, let them go to your competition. You may think that as a small business you can’t afford to lose anyone. However, if keeping a client means compromising the quality of your work or who you are as a company, it’s just not worth it.
Examples of Effective Business Personalities
Homeslice Pizza
This Austin, Texas based pizza shop has the best slice I’ve ever had in my life, and they don’t try to be anything they’re not. They’re fun, quirky, and 100% dedicated to providing the best products and services. Be sure to watch the “queen of pies” video to get a feel for who they are and what they’re about.
Old Spice
Old spice may seem like a big name, but they were struggling financially in 1990’s. Old Spice’s recent re-branding campaign was considered extremely risky, due mainly to their borderline nonsensical commercials. But now, everyone has heard of the Old Spice Guy. After their recent youtube/twitter campaign, sales more than doubled – something that surely would not have happened had they played it safe.
In closing, have fun, be yourself, and do the best job that you can for your customers. They’ll love you for it.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on professionalism and personality in the comments below.
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