You have given words to a process that defies words. And you’re constantly in a position to help
me continue to hone that, deeper and deeper and more and more resonantly, who I am and what I offer,
which is truly invaluable. — Jon Hansen, 
Working together was absolutely key, and I think that’s what made it such a great
experience. I felt like you were my partner in this. I felt like my success was your
success. To me, someone who has that attitude and the skills to go with it —
that’s an unbeatable combination! — Daniel Stone, 
I have a website I’m proud of — but for me, the hugest benefit has been
increased self-confidence. Because of the process we went through, and the validity that
came with the process, I trust what I think and I trust myself to speak about it. I have
greater confidence and clarity in my message about who I am and what I do. — Bev
Dwane AICI CIP, 
Is small business personal?
I recently saw someone present an adamant argument that small business should never be personal.
This person was vehement about it. His view is that your business and your personal life must be kept separate if you want to be successful. Your business blog, Facebook, Twitter, other social media, and website should have nothing personal on it. Communication with clients past, present, and future should only reference their personal lives (“What a cute picture of your kids on Facebook!”) and never yours.
According to him, this is a hard and fast rule for business success.
I’m having a hard time with this, and not just because I see many successful people who are very personal in what they present within the context of their businesses. (Sometimes a tad too personal for my taste, but they are successful, so it’s clearly working for them.)
I think most people want to feel a personal connection with someone before they hire them. Especially if the service feels even the slightest bit intimate – and yes, if I’m going to get to the heart of what your business means to you and write effectively about it, then there’s intimacy involved.
And if you’re hiring someone over the internet without having actually met him or her, you want to know that this person is real. You want to know that they have values you can agree with, that they have a similar sense of humor, perhaps, or enjoy doing some of the things you enjoy doing.
If I’m hiring someone, I’m going to start by looking at their online presence to see if I can find a real person there. I’m going to be seeking some sense that they know how to be vulnerable, honest, real. Not too much – I also want to feel confident that they have personal strength and integrity and that I’m not going to end up supporting them instead!
But I know I want to work with someone I feel a personal connection with. And I can only get that sense of personal connection if there’s personal information available to me.
I’d think that if you were considering hiring a copywriter to help with your website, to work with you on developing an e-book or other type of program, or to edit your articles and help with marketing, that you’d want to know who I am before picking up the phone or sending me an email. You’d want to know that I care about my clients’ success, not just about their credit card number. You’d want to know if writing in your voice, not mine, was my highest priority. (Just for the record: I do, and it is!)
How can you get that from me, or from anyone, if it’s not revealed by what I write and how I show up, online and in person?
So, yeah, this guy’s vehemence about revealing nothing personal is baffling to me. Because I want to know what’s up with the people I do business with, whether I’m hiring them, helping them promote their work, or engaging in any other sort of business relationship.
What about you? What’s your experience, and what’s your opinion?
Posted under Communicating your message.
Tags: Credibility, Marketing
Comments
Comment from
Grace
Time July 19, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Jesse – Yes! that’s a great way to put it – thank you. Personality. Even with a large corporation, personality is attractive (think Apple).
And in a small business, yeah, especially important.
Knowing “just a little” about someone is what it takes to have that sense of connection, to be able to feel the level of trust that’s needed, I think, to have a real working relationship.
Thanks, Jesse. You’ve summarized my whole post into one sentence – maybe one word. Personality!
Comment from
Jesse
Time July 20, 2010 at 4:32 am
I’m glad I could help, lol. I suppose if I want a working relationship with someone, the word relationship is the key. I can’t very well have a relationship with an unknown entity, now can I? 
Comment from
John Curran
Time July 21, 2010 at 4:55 pm
I’m in agreement with you, I want to experience some sort of relationship, and acknowledgement of our common humanity with the people I choose to do business with, rather than merely the cool efficiency of a well-executed ‘transaction.’ Some selective personal details/tidbits can provide the social glue to help a relationship ‘stick’ (sorry about the pun.)
Here’s unfortunately what happened to Scott McKain when he didn’t follow his own guidelines on providing an Ultimate Customer Experience (UCE.)
http://mckainviewpoint.com/2010/07/please-do-what-your-customer-is-paying-for/
Comment from
Grace
Time July 21, 2010 at 8:37 pm
John – Yes – it’s the ability to create relationship with someone – exactly. And I think it’s getting more and more important as we witness the economy, big business, and the government all struggling to maintain some sort of integrity. We want that sense of connection with other people when the world starts to seem shakey and weird.
Thanks for the link to McKain’s story. I think the comments on his post make a very good point: go with someone you know.
I won’t say “go local,” because I don’t think “local” means much any more – I have clients all over the world, and I’ve never met my business partner face to face, but I’d trust him with my life.
Maybe “local” is starting to mean … personal? Connected? Or, as Jesse pointed out, simply someone you have a relationship with.
Comment from
Jesse
Time July 22, 2010 at 8:26 am
Grace: “Maybe “local” is starting to mean … personal? Connected? Or, as Jesse pointed out, simply someone you have a relationship with.”
I think so. Granted, we do plenty of business with “people” we never meet or even with whom we never have a one-on-one dialogue. I think that’s where knowing someone who knows someone, lol, customer reviews, or even BBB records come in handy. I suppose these are today’s version of talking with your neighbors about their experience with the new merchant in town.
Funny thing about the link John shared, I had a similar experience with Proflowers.com a few years ago. I gave them a second chance, as I normally do, and they blew it again. They went on my “do not use” list.
Comment from
John Curran
Time July 22, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Grace,
I believe the renewed emphasis on “doing business locally” arises from the tradition of how many people often spent most of their time, in their own community, where folks were often “like-minded,” which contributes to a sense of rapport and trustworthyness.
Thanks to the widespread availabity of “Trains, Planes & Automobiles” (1987) as transportation modes, as well as the ubiquity of the Web, and some emerging technologies such as Cisco’s TelePresence (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7060/) et al, it’s possible to develop meaningful business/commerce relationships beyond the distance a horse could travel in one day.
Comment from
Grace
Time July 22, 2010 at 3:53 pm
John – Or even the distance a car can travel in one day!
Yes. Technology has certainly redefined what “local” means – and at the same time, it hasn’t (can’t!) changed our very human need for relationship, a sense of who we’re doing business with, a feeling of connection.
Comment from
Grace
Time July 27, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Jesse – So sorry, your comment somehow got trapped in the spam pile and I only just noticed!
And I totally agree. To make an analogy that has undoubtedly been made about a billion times, the Internet has become today’s back fence. Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter or someone’s blog, or something less personal like Yelp or Google’s reviews or whatever it may be, it seems to be where we turn now for referrals and recommendations.
I’ve heard people say this is a bad thing, but I don’t think it’s worth labelling one way or another. It’s just what is, given today’s technology!
Comment from Jesse
Time July 19, 2010 at 5:26 pm
If I’m hiring someone I prefer to know a little about the person. Just a little. I don’t necessarily want to know their life history, marital status, or shoe size but I would like to know just enough to get a handle on what kind of person they are.
I also like to see a bit of personality in a business, especially a small business. But maybe that’s just me.