Staying Small Online Is The Big Thing For Solopreneurs, Startups, Scaleups & SMEs
In his book “Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business” Paul Jarvis argues correctly that in today’s fast changing world, there’s a growing trend of entrepreneurs and businesses choosing to stay small deliberately. This goes against the traditional sacred cows in management of organizational growth aiming for personal and organizational growth and expansion. Here are some key points about this organizational design trend that is already visible since the end of the Nineties of the last century because of the emergng Internet:
- Focus on Quality of Life: The book emphasizes the importance of prioritizing a healthy life-work balance and pursuing personal passions alongside running a business. Staying small allows for more control over your schedule and workload.
- Financial Sustainability: Company of One advocates for building a business model that generates enough income to support your desired lifestyle, rather than focusing on maximizing profits for the sake of growth.
- Avoiding Bureaucracy: Large companies often become bogged down by complex structures, hierarchies, and processes. Staying small helps you maintain a lean and agile operation with fewer bureaucratic hurdles.
- Focus on High-Value Clients: The book suggests that by staying small, you can cater to a specific niche of clients and provide exceptional service, leading to higher satisfaction and potentially higher profit margins.
- The Power of Automation: Company of One highlights the role of technology and automation in allowing small businesses to compete effectively. Tools and apps can handle many administrative and repetitive tasks, freeing up your time to focus on core aspects of your business.
It’s important to note that “staying small” means staying small doesn’t necessarily mean remaining stagnant. The book encourages:
- Scaling Revenue, not the number of Employees: You can increase your income by finding productive and creative ways to serve more clients or offer higher-value services, without needing to hire ‘your own’ employees but by leveraging people in your ai-powered business ecosystem.
- Focusing on Productivity, Creativity By Working Together: Designing and building a business based on your personalrelevant knowledge and experience can help you serve more clients without turning your startup, scaleup and SME into a bureaucratic ‘fat firm’, a ‘large dinosaur’.
Overall, the trend of staying small, as presented in “Company of One,” is about:
- Prioritizing freedom and control over your business
- Building a sustainable and fulfilling personal and work life
- Using technology and focus to be competitive and stay competitive and relevant in the eyes of the customers and prospects in your digital blue ocean strategy.
This approach is very appealing to entrepreneurs and businesses who value flexibility, personal fulfillment, and a more intentional way of working with the virtual organization as structure in their ai-powered organzational design. Working online at home and anywhere, anyplace, any time:
If you are interested in becoming a part-time or full-time succesful virtual solopreneur with the virtual company of one as a basis as I started to do in 2001 as step 1 in leaving the corporate rat race, then starting your own tailor-made fast learning course here at The Virtual Business School is the best solution.
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If you want to secure the future of your work and income as full-time or part-time virtual solopreneur, contact us here today and we wil contact you for an free intake call and provide a quote for you personally or for your company or virual team:
