Every business starts small, but some choose to stay small – and there’s no shame in that. Of course, building a company from the ground up and establishing a national brand with offices across the country is quite a feat, but it’s not for everyone. In fact, depending on what your personal and professional goals are, bigger may not actually be better.
5 Reasons Your Business Should Stay Small
There are several benefits to being a small business, for you, your team and your clients. Many of the small businesses in our office park outside Boston have no plans to grow beyond their humble beginnings, and here are just a few of the reasons why.
Remain Flexible and Nimble
Small businesses can pivot much faster than large corporations. For one, there’s no board of directors or c-suite executives overanalyzing every decision, and no investors to answer to. According to this Long Beach proeprty management company as a small business, you can scrap policies and procedures as soon as they stop working, or quickly refocus your efforts to meet the customers’ changing needs. Change is slower-moving and more complicated the more employees and clients you have.
Keep Things Simple
The smaller your team, the less office space you need. That means less furniture, less office equipment, and much less to manage and maintain. Not only does staying small keep overhead costs down, but it allows you to keep things simple. As your business grows, you’ll inevitably need to hire more people, and more employees means more complex infrastructure, multilayered systems and bureaucratic processes.
Be More Selective About Clients & Projects
Small businesses can be more selective about the clients they work with and the projects they choose because they aren’t pressured by high overhead costs and hefty payrolls. This isn’t always the case as a business grows. When you’ve got paychecks to cover and mounting bills to pay, you can’t be picky. Many small business owners find they get further away from the work they love, and the clients they enjoy, as the company grows.
Attract Better Talent
This might sound like the exact opposite of what you’d expect. After all, big brands can offer big perks, like amenity-rich offices and competitive salaries, but they also limit creativity and growth. Small businesses present more opportunity for advancement with less competition, and tend to attract creative, hands-on employees who want to work for a small business because they want to make a difference.
Maintain Control Over Your Time
More than likely, one of the original reasons you decided to go into business for yourself was to gain more control over your time and income. Unfortunately, growth can strip entrepreneurs of that flexibility. The more offices, employees and customers you have, the more meetings, travel and demands on your time. If quality of life is important to you, then staying small may be more in line with your goals.
Small Businesses Can Still think Big
Just because you’re a small business doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to think big. You won’t go anywhere if you’re stuck working at your kitchen table. Consider moving out of your home office and into a professional office space, invest in yourself, whether with a career coach or training, and be prepared to hire staff when the time is right. Growth can still be good, but you need to determine when it and where it makes sense to grow, without sacrificing what matters to you.