I would like to have your opinion on this. My site is mostly one-man (well, one-woman) operation. I do everything – client support, client’s listings reviewing and approving, news and articles postings. I do work with excellent developers who do programming (I am very much involved too, but not in the coding part). My dilemma is – should that be disclosed to clients? Will it be better to sound as a large and solid company if they think if there is not only me. Or they will feel OK because I do provide a very personal service that this is one-person operation. The reason I ask is that the site is grown to the point where people email and call a lot and ask this question. I also am confused on how do I present the site. All of my competitors are really large companies (or they pretend do be) and this is something I didn’t consider before. The site is not required at the moment any extra help. I have to hire writers, some posters for promotion, but everything else including phone calls I can handle myself. So, to sum it, do site looks better as a large corporation or it is ok to be honest and disclose as it is. My site is a vacation homes portals where owner post their properties and potential renters are looking for suitable.
That is a good question, I would probably not say that I am a one person operation, but at least state you have a few people working for you behind the scenes. I know some people want to make sure that you have enough man power to handle their requests. you can use the "personal customer service" as a selling point, but I would stay away from saying you are a one man operation! Thats just me though!
Disclosing the fact that you're a one-man operation is double edged sword, on one hand it might reduce your credibility with some people and on the other hand it might impart a "personal touch" to all all your dealings. Some people might prefer to deal with you rather than a large soulless corporation.
It will depend on what kind of companies that you do business with and what you are providing to them. When I had a business that provided mid to large scale services (web design, programming, network infrastructure, etc...) I found that small businesses were much more receptive to a small operation than large companies. However, I found that if I marketed myself as a consultant to large companies they were much more receptive than if I labeled myself as a business. If you are offering smaller scale services (postings on your website or the like) that can change the picture. If the whole process for what you do takes 5 minutes or less, then they might not even ask. In my current situation I do not even mention the company size unless asked. The website numbers speak for themselves. Either way, you will lose some business. Some people believe in big business and some believe in small business. Make sure that if you have the numbers to back it up that you value your services accordingly. When I was a one-man shop I thought I would be better off lowering my rates (as I had low overhead). I learned quickly that most businesses think that a deal in price means a lack in quality. If you don't mind, what type of services do you offer? That will make a big difference in how to best present yourself.
I think you can present it as both ways. On your About Us page you can say that it's you, your husband AND a small team of design/marketing experts - instead of just you and your husband running the company. Then you can point out that you prefer to give each client a personalized experience, and that you personally deal with most clients who sign on. This will give you the credibility of having several people on staff, with the assurance of good customer service.
Put yourself on the customer's shoes: how would you feel like if you'd find out that the company you've worked with sounds like a large and a solid company in reality is just one-person operation? In a long-run being completely honest is a good strategy. I've seen websites that look like they've been operated by big corporations - yet you cannot see staff page anywhere. At some point it will become evident that it's you alone. But why not take advantage of it? Figure out a way to make it a benefit for you. (stuff like "personal contact" or "no middlemans" are couple of examples).
the service is very simple - promotion of vacation homes for rent by owner on-line, my site is in my signature. My main set of clients are individuals, very few are management companies. There are a lot of international owners and they mostly "assumed" this is a large company. I just noticed many people do ask this question. So I guess it matters. Like someone said here, the honesty is the best thing. But sometimes the honesty doesn't give credability. And right now everything is about credability - or at least leading this way with new sites come out every day in large quantities. thank you everyone for the respond, it was really nice to know I am at least thinking things that should be thought. Some of my friends feel I shouldn't worry about it.
Can you demonstrate previous sales, website traffic, etc.... Can you demonstrate that your fees are similar (or even better) than other sites providing the same type of service? Can you get customer testimonials regarding successful transactions from your site? If you feel that your customers might be concerned you can either show them that their fears are unfounded (if you can) or do as writegurl suggested (not exactly lie, but shade the truth). Your could also offer incentives (if you don't get a renter in the first month you get a second month free, or if your ad does not receive xx page views your money will be refunded. Note: on your main page archive is spelled arhive in two spots.