4 reasons why small businesses are amazing

A quick disclaimer - there are so many more than 4 reasons why small businesses are amazing, but there’s too many to list so let’s start with 4. 

As a small business myself, working exclusively with and for other small businesses, it’s easy to get lost in the buzz and energy that accompanies dealing with entrepreneurs. But sometimes it’s useful to step back and ask what it is that creates the buzz and energy in the first place.

As Alykhan Jetha, CEO of MarketCircle, says “small business is the root of all business ...all big business started small. When a big business becomes stagnant, another one takes over , that business was also small at some point, so small business makes the world go around”  Here are my top 4 reasons why small business really does make the world go around.

1 - Small businesses owners have purpose

Building a business from scratch is mentally, emotionally and physically taxing - there are so many unknowns that simply don’t exist when you’re somebody else’s employee. To make the leap from thinking about being an entrepreneur to actually being one, you have to have a genuine passion for what you (want to) do and a reason for wanting to do it.

Entrepreneurs are driven by more than money.

Revenue and profits enable growth and security but more often than not, money isn’t a top priority. Although businesses run on money, entrepreneurs are often focused on a great deal more than their bottom line.  Creating something meaningful, designing a flexible lifestyle, living by their own values and rules - deciding to run your own business is a complex web of reasons and priorities. Lindsay Bayut puts it beautifully in her PureChat blog “I don’t believe there is such a thing as work-life balance. You just make choices. Entrepreneurs are defined by their choices, and the consequences and the stories they can tell as a result.” 

It’s those choices that make entrepreneurs such a fascinating and infinitely varied group of people to work with. 

2 - Quality

If you’re half hearted about something, there’s no point doing it. If you’re running a business you don’t care about then it just won’t work. You’ll end up taking shortcuts - which means mediocre products and marketing, customers who don’t get value and a rapid downward spiral. 

For those working half-heartedly in the social impact world, you’ll be motivated by profit, not people and you can’t do rewarding work if you don’t care about the people using your product or service. To build a great product you need to care deeply about the people who end up using it which is why entrepreneurs who make a success of their social impact business are those that care most about the people or cause they are trying to help.

Central to the delivery of a quality product is the basic fact that businesses must earn a profit to survive meaning entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of being impractical. Products and services must be functional, designed to be cost effective and appeal to enough people to make it viable.   

3 - Locality and scale

Small businesses tend to deal with other small businesses, creating support networks of likeminded founders and owners. Devra Gartenstein calls it broadbased prosperity and a web of symbiotic relationships. Small businesses are real relationships with real people and not just numbers. The adage of a rising tide lifts all boats holds true - the stronger your support network, the easier it is to create a thriving business community. 

It used to be that these networks stayed super local. Independently owned companies reflect the culture and needs of their neighbourhood, keeping revenues close to home, creating more jobs, paying wages and reinvesting into the community. The super charged covid-induced shift to digital means that huge parts of the small business community have moved on line. Local has gone global and we can now create support networks from anywhere in the world. I have clients and conversations with people in NY, Kampala, Silicon Valley, Paris and anywhere in between. All from the comfort of my kitchen table. I couldn’t feel more supported by these people than if they lived 5 minutes down the road. It might take a little while to drop into the right community so it is worth spending the time networking and researching, but once you tap into the network that fits your needs - and you fit theirs - the effects can be transformative.

4 - Thinking Big

Just because a business is small, it doesn't mean it is simple. To keep themselves relevant, a small business has to keep its finger on the pulse - a constant temperature check of what their customers need and how they can best service that need. Small businesses that really thrive focus on ongoing learning, fresh thinking, new ideas and unusual approaches to problem solving. According to the US Small Business Council, this nimble thinking means that small businesses produce over 16 times more patents per employee than larger companies. It also means that there is a constant feedback loop as to the practical, social and financial issues facing their clients to inspire ever more meaningful solutions.  

Which loops us back around to point one; almost any small business you come across has a purpose and any sense of purpose comes with the determination to make it happen. To make things happen, you have to think big. 

I made the deliberate choice to work with small businesses because that’s where I see all the best and brightest ideas. I wanted to be a part of the conversation and help support the other founders and companies that form my community. It’s a virtuous circle that means that when I wake up every day, I genuinely can’t wait to start work.

If you want to know more about how coaching can help your small business thrive then drop me a line. It’s what I’m here for.