I know many small business owners and I’m always amazed when they fail to mention the name of their business during social conversations about work.

The question “What do you do?” replaced “Where do you work?” some time ago. Probably because it’s a more open question and it allows for the possibility that the answeree does something non-traditional. But don’t miss the chance to say the name of your business just because that isn’t exactly what is asked of you. Consider the following:

Q: What do you do?
A: I’m a copywriter.

Vs.

Q: What do you do?
A: I work for Wordslinger. We write corporate poetry. I’m a copywriter there.

The later introduces the name of our business and provides more information of interest, which encourages continued conversation about our business. If you own the small business you’re marketing then by all means say that, “I own a company called Wordslinger.” It’s a simple way to build interest and brand recognition.

People who work for brand name companies don’t face this challenge. For example, “I work for Starbucks.” Or, “I work for Microsoft.” Get those people talking about you and your small business by introducing it at your next social gathering.