Slow down…go faster

There was a question on Twitter this week about why there are no medium sized businesses.  Lots and lots of small businesses…plenty of big businesses…but very few medium.  Why is that?  Makes you think doesn’t it.

It depends to a certain extent what you class as small, medium and large…we all know how wildly definition of size can vary…and what our classification is based on – number of employees, revenue, profit…global or local?  It will usually be based on a combination of these.

But what if it was based on something quantifiable only by the business owner?  What if we are defined by our levels of ‘stuckness’ and freedom?

Small business owners get stuck.  They are all in such a rush.  All so busy ‘doing stuff’…getting up earlier, going to bed later…regularly working 70 hour weeks. There’s so much to get done to keep the business going.  No time for family…and certainly not friends…they are for brief holidays and when the business is a success.

Small business owners are told to fear paralysis analysis…told to ‘get shit out there’ and not to worry that it is.  Planning? That’s for people who will never go far.  Systems? They are for people with no imagination, who like things safe.  Action!  That’s where it’s at. Get more new products out there, change your service model, update your brand, flood your customer’s inbox with communication. It’s an endless hamster wheel of things to do.

As small business owners we are all running so fast that we are actually slowing our own progress.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for taking action and implementing what I learn, but when you act without planning, when you’re always busy ‘doing the doing’, when your days are all random and chaotic…you’re not free to grow your business and will forever be stuck.

Those who make it to medium have slowed down, in order to go faster.

They’ve taken the time to appreciate the value of the product they have, and understand fully how it helps their customers.

They’ve built a simple, uncomplicated business around that product.

They’ve developed simple, logical and repeatable systems to run the business.

They’ve employed people who share their values, trained them and empowered them to run the systems.

The medium business is limited only by the owner’s imagination, because they are no longer stuck.  They are free to grow the business further…hire more people, go global, become a big business…or go lie on a beach somewhere.  They have the freedom to choose.

Small, medium or large…stuck or free…which are you?

…if you’re ready to slow down to go faster…if you want to know how to ‘unstick’ your business…then pick up a copy of my book Process to Profit which gives you my take on the McDonald’s model for small business growth…or, if you don’t have time to read a book, please drop me a line, and I’d be happy to talk through what you can do right now to free up your time.

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For more information on how MPL can help you visit www.mariannepage.co.uk or contact me on hello@mariannepage.co.uk