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It is a major accomplishment to start your own business in today’s society – scratch that, in any society. It is a lot of design work, paper work and a lot of social work to start up your own business and then to do it on your own is even more of an accomplishment.
Once your company has ‘made it’ and your customers know, appreciate and recommend your business you start to think big.
Every small business wants to grow. While expanding businesses is an accomplishment, I firmly believe that small companies offer many possibilities that shouldn’t be overlooked. So, before setting a timetable for expansion take a few minutes to read my take on why you shouldn’t be so hasty to grow!
1) Cost
Small businesses have to be adaptive. Decisions can be made in minutes and passed between three different workers before one person at a large company can write a lengthy e-mail to their manager asking for feedback. So, things can get done more quickly at a small firm which saves time and money!
The responsiveness of a small company also extends to its financial stability. From a change in the economy to an unexpected workplace emergency, small companies can and should rebound faster than their corporate counterparts. Small businesses value employees because each employee has an impact.
There’s greater opportunity cost if they let well-trained, dedicated employees go just because there’s a dip in the market. I know of many small businesses that refused to implement layoffs after the 2008 recession. While it was a struggle to keep everyone around, employees saw the true colors of management and the companies’ business models. In turn, workers worked harder and appreciated their jobs more.
2) Flexibility
Employees value flexibility in the workplace. In fact, it’s extremely important for small businesses to be understanding of personal emergencies, work schedules, and other factors that affect your employees’ quality of life. For instance, I have a long commute which would be hours and hours longer if I left at prime rush hour times. To accommodate my commute, I am able to “flex” my hours. This makes a world of difference, and in turn I am a happier worker!
Too often management and business owners don’t take into consideration the little things they could do to make workers happier. Listen to your employees; you never know how easy it might be to make their job more enjoyable! Remember, happy workers produce better work.
3) Workplace Culture& Innovation
Small businesses can afford to have an organic workplace.It’s obviously imperative to have a chain of command and a workplace structure, but I believe one of the greatest benefits of a small company is that people communicate better, and more often too because it’s more acceptable!
New ideas should be welcomed, although there is a limit to all good things. Small businesses need to maximize their resources. This means that people can help each other figure out solutions to problems, come up with a new marketing campaign, etc.
Expanding costs money. You’ll need new hires, more managers, more supplies, and a thousand other things. Don’t lose sight of what it will cost to expand your company.The three characteristics listed show that small businesses are still viable, even in an age where corporate profits rule the world. When looking to the future of your small business, don’t think just in terms of cold hard cash. You have to consider the benefits of a small firm and weigh them against the lure of large profits.
4.) Management
Keeping employees working with an active weekly paycheck can be difficult as your company begins to grow. My parents own their own business – it started as just my mom and dad – then at one point my parents had 10+ employees. My mom is a nurse, not a business lady and my dad is a blue collar salesman who is excellent at what he does – electrical work- neither one of them knew how to manage employees and all the workload that is involved.
As your company grows you money starts to go to places you do not want to deal with as a small, entrepreneurship company – health insurance, workman’s comp, and weekly paychecks that you need to be able to pay. This can be extremely stressful on someone. My dad had to find and manage work for not only himself and his family but multiple workers as well. Not only that, but some were not good at what they did so he had to figure out how to either teach them or fire them.
In the end he found it much easier and more manageable to keep the company small. His company has been around for over 20 years and today it is just my dad and my brother and they make more money than they ever did. And when they need more people to complete a job they ask family and friends or hire a subcontractor which is so much more manageable.