I"m re-designing my website right now but I start to wonder, if you work alone do you describe yourself on your website as "we" or "I"?

Logically I"d say "I" but it sounds so strange to each time say: I do this, I supply that, I guarantee, you can contact me, well, you get the picture...I always do fear that first impressions of clients might be that someone working alone can't do a good job and they might contact you faster if you speak of "we". That question with how many you work might pop up when you first meet but at least you have them in front of you to convince them that one person can make a quality video as well.

Anyone any suggestions?

If I'm talking about myself, it's "I," and if I'm talking about the company (a sole proprietorship), then I say "we"... main reason being, there are (admittedly rare) times when I may elect to hire on an assistant, sound recordist, second shooter, or sometimes even get sick and have to hire a replacement.

I refer to Shaun C. Roemich (me) as "I" in all written or verbal communications but use "Royal 'We'" when talking about Road Dog Media.

For the company, "we". It allows for future expansion, even if only hiring a helper for a day.

When I was Mike Watson Productions, I referred to "I". When I hired an editor, we came up with the name "Video Approach", and we now refer to ourselves as "we".

If you are Mike Watson Productions and employ 20 people, you will always sound like an "I" company, and anybody you send out to do *anything*, the client will wonder (or say), "Where's Mike? Are you Mike?".

Once you become Video Approach, you can send out anybody you want, and as long as they're wearing the Video Approach polo shirt, they're just what the client ordered. (After that first two years where all the clients still remember you as Mike Watson Productions.)

Of course, when accused of something, use the term, "they". ;)

That's funny Jon! and true...

My friend is a plain ol' freelancer just like me, but refers to his company in the third person in his ads and marketing materials, sometimes "we" (we have everything to suit your needs etc. etc. ). He has a philosophy of always trying to sound "bigger than you are", which includes things like, if someone asks about a piece of gear ("do you have a jib/arri alexa/slider/whatever"), you simply say yes instead of "I can get that for you" or something similar. I've never been entirely comfortable with this whole approach as I think it's a little cheesy and disingenuous. Just like I don't like it when potential clients approach me trying to sound like their project is much more prestigious than it is, I feel like I shouldn't have to BS and "act like a bear" (trying to seem bigger than I am -- see what I did there?) to get hired. Then again, he works a lot more often than I do, and often on larger scale projects for more prestigious clients!!!!!! So maybe this is what clients like/what works.

I also currently don't have a company name, just go under my own name. Maybe I'm a moron and I'm doing it all wrong.

Anyway, good thread. Keep it going.

Thx for the reactions so far

Then again, he works a lot more often than I do, and often on larger scale projects for more prestigious clients!!!!!! So maybe this is what clients like/what works.

Exactly what my feeling was, I mainly do weddings and there I don't see it as that big issue to tell I work alone as my prizes also reflect that but the past years I have been able to get a few bigger assignments, I needed to be very clear to them that I work alone but their only concern was if I was able to finish the project within a deadline. Having your potential client in front of you gives you a very big advantage to show they came to the right person, where if you would have used the "I" form on your website you might never get contacted by them in the first place.
I ofcourse will refuse a assignment if I"m not able to handle it within deadlines and I don't like to hire extra people to get it done, or I can or can't do it alone.
I think I prefer the "we" and "I" term combined depending if you speak for the company or for yourself.

But here's the thing: shouldn't the work speak for itself? If I have a website with samples of my work, regardless of we or I, shouldn't a potential client be able to say, "hey, this is pretty nice", or "eh, this sucks," and go from there as to whether to hire me or not?

Another thing is I don't LIKE the producing aspect, and try not to court that kind of business. I like to be brought in as a lower level crew member (camera guy, grip, etc.) and possibly editor, not development consultant, script writer, guy who has to frantically call around to hire ten other people for something, etc. etc. I feel like using the "we" language encourages folks to think you ARE a full fledged production company, and could lead to a lot more confusion and me having to turn away business I don't want (did I just say that? I did).

But here's the thing: shouldn't the work speak for itself?

In an ideal world, the work would speak for itself. On the other hand, some clients prefer working with bigger operations. They might cost more but they reduce risk. A one-man crew is a single point of failure. Do you have comprehensive insurance? Do you have backup if you are hurt or sick? Is there an office with an assistant that they can contact when you are unavailable? Do you have deep pockets that they can sue if you cause harm?

And then there's that marketing/image thing. While your body of work should do the talking, just last week, Silvio Berlusconi received over 29% of the vote in Italian elections, even though he has been convicted of fraud and like Monty Python's Brian, has been "a very naughty boy." That said, he has unbeatable name recognition and his image has a certain level of popular appeal. I'm sure that there are many competent, honest people with a far superior body of work who didn't get 1/100th of his vote total. The moral of the story is that marketing and image can easily trump a body of work. Oh well...

+1 on "we"

Companies always sound better as a "we" even if its a "wee" small group of one.

From a business POV our business is a family partnership consisting of my wife and myself (the accountant suggested it actually as it gives her the flexiblity to offset tax at the year end) so although my wife is not involved I can technically still use the word 'we' or 'our' when talking about the business! I still might also use the word 'I' later in an email to re-inforce the fact that I'm the actual videographer and the buck stops with me and brides like the fact that the people they are talking to at the initial stages of booking is the person at the wedding.

Being a solo operator does has it's advantages too!

Chris

I'm an 'i' person, not many (at least here in Ireland) would be impressed by the plural especially for a one man band!! down the country, people much more prefer the personal touch as opposed to getting in contact with a sort of corporate type entity. I've seen some use it here ok, but I think lots of people only see it as pretentious and just wouldn't be impressed by it.

:-)

R.

I always used "we" in my sole-ownership company because, as others have suggested, I not-infrequently hired in additional crewing depending on the job and for the duration of that job, those crew were part of my company so we were a plural (!)

However, if anyone specifically asked, "is the company YOU?" then I would explain that it was so but that other personnel were hired in as appropriate.

I would never lie about it if asked directly but preferred "we" as it sounded bigger.

Regards
David

I think I still like I for myself. "We" starts to sound like a production company, which I don't really want to be thought of as, as opposed to a crew member. I may not attract as much business, but at least what I DO attract will (hopefully) be things I want to handle. I don't want to end up in a "Hello, Mr. Bass, can you supply 10 camera operators and a live truck for our new housecat vs housecat boxing match?" situation.

I think I still like I for myself. "We" starts to sound like a production company, which I don't really want to be thought of as, as opposed to a crew member. I may not attract as much business, but at least what I DO attract will (hopefully) be things I want to handle. I don't want to end up in a "Hello, Mr. Bass, can you supply 10 camera operators and a live truck for our new housecat vs housecat boxing match?" situation.

I use "We" just because I think of me/my company as a production company. Most of the time I work alone, but other times I hire or co produce.
If I would get the call "10 cameras and crew" I would say "I'll se if I can help you at that date, let me get back to you" and I would then check for someone that could take the job, put an extra number on the offer and coproduce the job (or give the job away for a later favor).
Anyway... "We" on website and " I" (or we, depending the job) during contact with clients.

I guess that's the difference. I think of myself more like the folks who advertise themselves as "John Smith, DP" or something. Except in my case videographer/editor/grip/teleprompter.

Serious overthink going on here, guys. I use 'We". It is all inclusive.

Glad I stumbled upon this thread... I am having a much improved website built right now and this was one of my biggest concerns. In the end I went with "we", so I'm glad other people see things the same way I do (though it's worth mentioning I have a company name which is not just "John Wiley Videography").

But then again I just watched Philip Blooms website and in his rates, bio and kit's section it's all 'I' or "me", there even a 15 min video where he talks about himself and his work. But I guess he is at a level where he doesn't need a "we" to get attention that leads to a job.

But then again I just watched Philip Blooms website and in his rates, bio and kit's section it's all 'I' or "me", there even a 15 min video where he talks about himself and his work. But I guess he is at a level where he doesn't need a "we" to get attention that leads to a job.

Well, PBs website is named after him, probably his company too. Then "I" is ofcouse right. I too got markusnord.se registrated but I'll still use nordproduktion.se as my site and point the other names to that site. I'll make a markusnord.se later and on that one I'll use "I".
A site name don't cost much, so why not cover it all... So if they look for my name they fine my "I" site and so on...

Around these parts, it is usually 'we', if only because most requests are on the lines of "Can youse film wur wedding?"

:-)

I'm in the WE camp but ideally I would like to use both depending on jobs. I do some things that sell via DVD on the web so use WE to sound bigger even though I hate the deceiving people side of it.
When I do things locally I sometimes use "I" to give a more personal feel. I think a lot of people like to know they are corresponding with you rather than someone from a sales department or something.


One thing I definitely couldn't do is write about myself as "he" like some websites do. Like "Andy Solaini is camera operator bla bla"

The Philip Bloom example is a nice counter-example to the "we" approach. It all comes down to branding...

* If you are truly a one-person shop and use your own name, "I" is appropriate. The risk is that it could make your operation sound "small". But it can also be honest and personal.

* If you might expand your operation and/or hire assistants and use a company name, "we" is appropriate. The risk is that it could make your operation sound bigger than it is, possibly stretching the truth. But it also feels more inclusive to your staff and might be a less arrogant/egotistical approach.

* If you are branding your operation around your personal skills, personality, experience, and enthusiasm for the industry, put your own name in the company name and use "I". The risk is that it could come off as arrogant. If you expand and hire more people, they will know that they will always be in your shadow. On the other hand, you have a chance at earning speaking fees, if you become "known".

No approach is inherently better or worse than the others. It comes down to knowing your vision and personality and finding the right match.

Branding is an interesting game, isn't it?

Branding is an interesting game, isn't it?

I get so pre-occupied with video I don't think about branding at all eventhough I know it's a very important part of the business, getting people to recognize and remember you. I also think the "I" approach works best if your work speaks for itself.

Great info so far, thx all for sharing.

I should get a website up! I am currently the only person but since I'm founding something and hoping to add more crew/crews then it makes sense to say we, and us.

If it was my personal site it definitely is an I.

Personal site works off of relationships and referalls, people want to say that they know "you", but an organization, especially one that takes donations, should be more then one person. I always ensure that I never over inflate how big it is, if it is small, I make it sound small and fun, people like that.

Nobody else seems to have mentioned it, but as a solely owned business, the business itself is a legal entity. Therefore if your business is John Smith Video, you could sell that business as a going concern even if the new owner is not John Smith. Because of this, there is no reason why using 'We' shouldn't refer to you and your company if you find it convenient to describe it that way.

You are not giving a false impression, it is entirely up to clients to see your business how they want. I'm sure we all often say things like 'I own the business', which is quite correct and therefore gives it an identity. My business, we, is my equipment, my records, my customer base and the business bank accounts etc and I do all the work:-)

Roger

as Jon pointed out above Branding is an interesting game, when i did my site I really never thought about the 'I' or 'we' aspect of it, but whatever for the time being I'm going to leave it the way it is!!

Especially with weddings I have seen instances where a bride is furious when the person that consults with her and tells her exactly what he/she will be doing ends up sending an associate instead so I also make sure that she knows "the person you are talking to will be the person shooting your special day" which means lot's of "I's and Me's" ... The moment you mention the "We" content then it's assumed that other people are active in the organisation ... Weddings are quite a personal thing so I would think the bride automatically assumes if you are talking to her and getting details that you are doing the shoot not just a free-lancer you hire. It also gives an indication to the client of personal committment rather than "I'll send someone over" I must admit I have never been asked if others work for me but with weddings where I'm forced to use an assistant (bride and groom getting ready at the same time but different locations) then I explain that to the bride (that's who you usually meet up with 99% of the time) and also let my assistant do the guys so the bride prep is done by the person she has been working with and communicating with leading up to the big day.

Chris

We on the website and public communications, I in person/private discussions (unless the project requires me to bring in someone else, and as Chris' notes... you make sure they know who is going to be doing the actual work).

I just might, for you guys, (not for me, I'm selfless and saint-like that way) try "we" for a month. Or more likely just leave it since changing it is a pain in the butt. I have ads on about 20 different sites that should probably be changed so everything is in sync (ads have links back to my site/demo page) and changing BACK an additional time is just silly.

I have a DBA as "Sea of Bass Productions" so I was thinking I'd go with that. Makes no sense to have "Josh Bass, Videographer" (or "master cinema visuals specialist," or whatever) as the company name and then say "we". Unless I was trying to appeal to multiple personality disorder clients.

I would of course like to call my company "Basshole Productions" but I've been advised that some folks might find that "unprofessional."

Now that I think about it, I think I'm gonna go all third person up in this piece. "Sea of Bass Productions has been providing". . .etc.

Although I'm the sole proprietor for a fishing show I always refer to "we" and "ours". The show can't happen without good hosts, other cameras and production assistants, and certainly not without fishers who are willing to share what they know.

When I had a partner he had a tendency to refer to "I", and "my". I didn't appreciate being overlooked, not when I was the one doing all the shooting, writing and editing.

I've had business using 'we'

But recently to avoid being contacted by people that need more than 1 videographer (you always get a big sigh ... almost like they're thinking well why do you make it look like your a big company!)

I now refer to myself as 'i'

I'll leave the website like this for a while to see what sort of reaction I get.

But I do believe the work should sell you.

Hi James

I still refer to the business as "we" but any personal details as "I" eg: "We would be delighted to book you for your wedding etc etc etc" but when I'm organising times for bridal prep I will say "I will be at your house between 1:30 and 2:00pm"

Confusing isn't it but I don't think bride's pay too much attention to it for weddings...it might be different with big corporate gigs of course where they might assume the "we" is a big film crew and you just pitch up on your own!

Chris

I still refer to the business as "we" but any personal details as "I" eg: "We would be delighted to book you for your wedding etc etc etc" but when I'm organising times for bridal prep I will say "I will be at your house between 1:30 and 2:00pm"

Confusing isn't it but I don't think bride's pay too much attention to it for weddings...


That could look to her (in a positive way) like you're one of the many employees of your company. You're just the guy the main office sent to the gig, as far as she knows.