Staying small can be good for your business.

You might be wondering why I am suggesting staying small can be good for your business. It is something that I am really interested in as it goes against the grain for what we are told business should be about.

Growth is one of the major things that start-ups are told to focus on in the second or third year of business. But what if this was wrong for them? What if it meant that they grew too quickly and weren’t able to keep up with orders, staffing, management issues? What if all they really wished was that they could continue to do the work that they loved, be creative and live the life they want?

It might sound crazy, and an anti business way of doing things, but there are actually so many positives that come from this approach. You can listen to them in the podcast below.

There are lots of statistics about why start-ups fail and many point to growth. We are told that to be better we must be bigger. I love Paul Jarvis‘s approach that being smaller can actually make you better!

“…Your goal might not be to create a massive company with lots of employees. Or even one with a handful of employees. So if you’re gearing up the work you do so it’s only manageable and profitable if growth happens, it may be time to re-think your plans. Because it’s possible stay small or singular and still do quite well.” Paul Jarvis

Many people have a view of what your success should look like- only you know that answer. It might be having more time to spend with your family, or taking the day off when the sun is shining and go to the beach, or else being able to save for your kid’s education while making a profit. It isn’t always about bringing in massive salaries and moving into offices with teams of employees. And if that is what you desire, there is nothing wrong with that either, but A Company Of One might be what you want to be.

“…You have to define your own success, because it’s probably not what others tell you it can be.” Paul Jarvis

I personally like to be a company of one at the moment. It allows me to keep the personal touch and adapt and make decisions faster. It doesn’t mean that I totally work alone- the people who develop my website are hired as freelancers and I feel that they are part of my team, the same way that Mailchimp support or the postal service are. Without them I wouldn’t be able to run my business.

So because you are working on your company by yourself, doesn’t mean that you are actually on your own. We rely on so many other people, software and companies to support the work that we do too.

Support is also something that you must think about. I can’t cope myself being alone all day long. I have a mastermind group that support me in person and on-line, and I do a great deal of my typing in cafes where I have regular conversations with the folks who are there doing the same. Make sure you have built some sort of support network of like-minded people who are also working on their businesses.

I’d love to hear about your own company of one. Let me know what you love about it in the comments below.

If you want to order the book yourself there are a bunch of goodies that you can get for free going via this link: ofone.co 

( I don’t earn anything from this, I’m only interested in sharing the knowledge with you).