5 Big advantages to keeping your business (very) small

A Company of One is simply a business that questions growth. ~ Paul Jarvis

There are ways to grow that aren’t about more or bigger.

Your business can flourish in wonderful ways when you’re intentional about how you want to grow within a smaller container. You can still have a meaningful impact without losing yourself and what you value in the process.

If your focus is primarily on growth, your attention is always divided.

You are working to maintain the business you have now as well as planning and doing things for the business you want it to become. There’s nothing wrong with that but there are advantages to letting go of that second part.

Here are 5 big advantages to keeping your business (very) small:

1. You can focus on improving

When you stay small, your decisions are guided by what can be done better and more efficiently. When you focus on improving, you will refine your niche and be able to help your clients more effectively.

2. You keep a sense of intimacy

Without a lot of moving pieces to manage, you stay close to your business, your clients and contractors. People are naturally at the center. When a company’s focus is on growth, it’s easy to prioritize the numbers and forget that those numbers involve humans.

3. You don’t need to create a culture

When you have employees, it’s not just a matter of managing a team, you also need to establish a company culture. This is hard. Most business owners underestimate what this means and are frankly not very good at it. When you work with contractors, you don’t need to do this.

4. It’s easier to walk away

Even if you intend to make this your forever business, you may change your mind. And if you do, it will be easier to close down shop. You won’t be leaving employees high and dry. Your clients aren’t dependent on you in the same way. And you can focus on consciously uncoupling (yeah I said it) from your clients in a way that feels good.

5 . Staying small builds your capacity for growth

A small business doesn’t stay stagnant. You’re always learning as you create and work with your clients. Your ability to improve by creating efficiencies makes your business more sustainable. Once you’ve established a profitable and efficient business model, you are well set up to grow into a bigger company if that’s what you decide you want.

Staying small doesn’t mean that you’re playing small.

It means that your playground is more likely to be exactly what you want it to be. A place where the people it’s meant for will come to because it’s just the right playground for them.