Every once and a while a book comes into your life right at the perfect moment. “Company of One” by Paul Jarvis did just that. Kris and I were talking about the business we would start when I returned from my tour in Japan. We did not want our business to be super big or time-consuming. All the books I had read before were about building massive businesses, and we both decided that that is not what we are looking for. We have spent our formative work years as employees. We are looking forward to a slow life- where we can control how much time we put into our business. “Company of One” is a book dedicated to small businesses. Paul walks us through why companies of one are important to the overall landscape of business. He explained that by remaining small, customer service and customer relationships can be maximized. It is refreshing to learn that not every business has to be built for growth. Not everyone needs, or craves, colossal growth, fast profits, and massive numbers of employees. If this sounds like a business that you would like to start, this book is definitely for you. With that, let’s get into my 5 takeaways.
1) The millennial generation views office work like a sitcom- they don’t aspire to work 40 hours a week for 50 years. Us older generation folks are the ones who want to go to the same job for 50 years. The younger generation views this “freelancer” lifestyle as normal. This will help you with your company of one. The newer generation craves the “freelance” lifestyle so you can hire them as freelancers, not employees. This way you can hire them for quality work without the human resources talent. This is a great way to keep your company lean and still take on bigger projects.
2) Growth isn’t always the answer. When you start to hit certain limits or glass ceilings, do some critical thinking before you throw more employees at the problem. Is there something that you can do more efficiently? Can you hire a freelancer or a contractor? Can you adjust time constraints? By asking these questions before we blindly keep expanding, we can strive to keep our companies as lean as possible.
3) Do quality work and charge more. Every company wants to increase profits. Sometimes it is appropriate to add more employees to take on more jobs. When you are small, you can focus intently on the work at hand. If you do quality work, increasing your cost per project may be a way to increase profits. Also, this will help reduce some of your waiting lists and help you deal with only the customers who want your services the most. And are willing to pay for them.
4) Think of yourself first. Most people will start a company of one after they have honed their skill set working in another corporation. Once you start out on your own, you have to decide what your life will look like. This is what Kris and I are deciding about 1.5 years before I get home. We know exactly what we want our life to look like, and we will build a business around that. We are not going to go open a 24-hour coffee shop. Think of yourself first, you earned it.
5) Become a generalist. When you start a company of one, you will be all the different titles inside of a company. You will be the marketing department, human resources, sales, and production. This is on top of whatever skillset you are actually performing. This will lead you to become a generalist. Many people love to focus on being able to do what skillset they love for a living. However, you may end up only doing that job for 50% of the time. The rest of the time you will be attending to other company matters. This is something to remember. Don’t glorify being a company of one. You will need a ton of other skills to pull this off and ensure your company is successful.
Growth is the main reason companies fail. The average company survives for 15 years on the stock market as a public company. By focusing on the growth you are burning through your customers and your staff. Remaining small and focusing on the human element of your business can lead to a strong company. People love to help the underdog. If you are there for your customers, building REAL relationships, and showing that you care, they will spend money to support your business. I know that I would rather buy a cake from a local person that I know, than a large corporation like Publix. Take the time to build a community around your business. If you are selling swimming gear, start a community around swimming. Once you have a thriving community around swimming and water safety, then maybe you can introduce your swim attire to the group. If you start off with a cool, loud campaign about your swim attire, you may sell tons of gear. However, you will eventually become “uncool” and then your audience will move on to the next cool thing. But if you are doing community swim events, teaching kids and family to swim, doing cookouts at the beach, and attending local swim events at the schools, your audience will support you for generations. This is the difference in mindset between a large corporation and a company of one. I definitely like the company of one methodology better. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of starting a business, large or small. Large corporations can learn a lot from the mindset of a company of one.
This link is to a physical product. The link above is to the digital book. Sorry. I get no credit for digital product links.
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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