I realised the other day that I have been my own boss for eight years. This got me thinking about how much had changed in those eight years. When I look back, the most striking change is

 the shift in the way organisations communicate with their customers and users.

When I started out the trend was for small businesses to give the impression of being bigger. It was all about appearing to be more established and larger in size. You always referred to your business as ‘we’ and never ‘I’, even if there was no ‘we’ and your head quarters was your spare bedroom! You talked about ‘your team’, even if in reality ‘your team’ was your Mum making you a cup of tea occasionally and a mate helping out in return for a few beers when you got busy!

As a small business you aimed to emulate some of the bigger fish in your sector as this was how you tried to compete.

I feel there has been a reversal in this thinking over the last five or so years. I’d go as far as to say that to be a small organisation is to be celebrated and that larger organisations are trying not to appear large and impersonal.

Being more personal is the edge that small businesses have over their larger rivals, it is not just an edge, it is a distinct advantage. As consumers we are sick of the wholly impersonal service we receive from almost all large organisations. This is to the extent that we are taken aback when we do occasionally receive a service that is not read from a script or delivered with disinterest. I accept that it is way more difficult for large organisations to be personal in their approach, but we are now in the ridiculous position whereby it would be considered a unique selling point!

How often do you get an email where it says, ‘do not reply to this email it is an automated response’? How difficult, or should I say impossible, is it to find a phone number on a website of a large organisation so you can SPEAK to someone about an issue or question you have? I spoke to someone recently at an energy provider who would not give me their name. When I applied for a passport the letter I received said, ‘please do not call us unless absolutely essential’!

Small business owners the tide has turned and it is time for those big organisations to take a leaf out off our book. I love being myself and reflect this within my business. I can offer a service in which I take time to listen, and crazy though it seems, actually welcome the opportunity to speak with my customers and potential customers!

I think this shift has come about through the rapid expansion of social media. It is now accepted, or even expected, that we can be found on various social media sites. We can share our views and interests with the world and if the world is interested it will listen and engage.

On these platforms you can be the CEO of a multi-million pound organisation or little me with my small business and it is a level playing field. If you have a genuine passion, subject knowledge and know your customers you win.

The small business that is still trying to appear to be something they are not is missing a trick. Times are undoubtedly tough, but they have also changed. Develop your brand around you and your values and proudly communicate these. Your personality is compelling and importantly it sells.