Peter Sorgenfrei shares why he pretended his one-person startup was bigger by using staged photos and saying "we" instead of "I." He learned clients care more about honest work and good ideas than a fancy office, and advises solopreneurs to stop faking it.
Back when I started my first company 16 years ago, clients would ask me, so where's your office? Because I was embarrassed to tell them that I worked out of a studio apartment with my 2 cats, I started putting a picture of Brooklyn in my presentations and my pitch presentations. I also started using language like we have done this or we are going to do that when in fact it was just me. And at the time it felt like like the thing to do because I wanted to convince clients that I was a solid partner for whatever they needed me to do. But today, obviously, I realize that the strength in being an individual and the strength in being able to work wherever you can is actually something that clients really value. So if you catch yourself saying we about your little company when it's just you, stop. Say, I'm doing this and this is how I do it and this is where I do it. And if your ideas and what you're offering is good enough, the right clients will take you up on it and become customers.
