A successful small business

What is success in a small business? I’ve been reading Small Giants, a book focusing on great companies who aren’t focused on growth for growth’s sake, or giant revenues, for giant revenues sakes. Most of the business owners I work with have their eye on a million, or a few million. One of the points he poses is what’s better, to have a highly profitable 10 million dollar company, or a mega 100 million dollar company. I think a lot of people assume that a 100 million dollar company must be profitable, but I think that is not always true; in fact I think that is often not true. To reach 100 million in sales, you most certainly will have had to leverage a lot, both in money, time and soul. Is it worth it?

Some of the questions we like to ask clients are:

• What’s your ultimate goal?


• Why are you doing this business?


• What makes you truly happy?

Knowing what your core beliefs in business are can help guide your growth. Rarely do I come across a business owner who is just in it for the money. Most got into it for a way of life, or a love of the game of business growth, or because they had a passion to share their gifts and talents with others.

Is that profitable? It definitely can be; but profitability takes work, analysis, focus and a willingness to keep your knees bent. One of the CEOs in Small Giants talks about the Groundhog Day syndrome; doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. As small business owners, we have to keep our knees bent and be willing to shift, adjust and sometimes even do some stuff we don’t want to do.

The end result? Well, the goal is a happy life, a happy business and of course, profitability.