Why the size of your business should not be a measure of success
What does it mean to own a successful business? For most entrepreneurs, it will probably involve growing and scaling their start-up, hiring additional employees, and a host of other steps associated with traditional business-building.
While this is a legitimate route to business success, it also comes with the pitfalls of burnout, lack of freedom and the pressures involved with finding employees that truly understand your passion and vision.
In business, size is not everything, and for every company that reaches the heights of an Amazon or Apple, there are hundreds more start-ups that succumb to the risks and pressures associated with successfully scaling.
That said, going it alone and building a business that places your passion for your industry on par with positive life experiences ‘ together with the freedom that comes with having no-one but yourself to answer to – should be as much of a measure of success as size and scalability. Here’s why:
Focus on what you’re good at
A lot of people launch a business in a sector they already possess skills and experience in, and while they might be the top of their game in their own field, they quickly come to realise that this specialised skillset must also be tempered with the day-to-day task of running and growing a business.
As a result, any owners find their time taken up with relentless administrative tasks, finding the right employees, or simply juggling day-to-day operations – leaving them little time to focus on the passion that led them to start the business in the first place.
In launching TWH Media when I was 21, I knew from the start I did not want the pressures associated with finding the right staff capable of delivering the same high standard of service or even in sharing my own passion of achieving the best possible results for my clients.
Rather than becoming a jack of all trades, I put my greatest skills to their best use, taking a greater degree of active involvement in helping businesses to flourish and scale through social media campaigns, which simply would not have been possible if my time had been occupied with staff and scalability.
Discover the power of the expert
With over 1 million job vacancies in the UK, almost every industry sector is reporting challenges with recruitment. Hiring the right people with the correct skillset is notoriously difficult, and this is doubly true for any service business that relies on highly skilled employees to ensure success.
While hiring additional staff is seen as the obvious route for a business looking to scale, it also comes with the burdens of payroll and people management, alongside having to devote more of your time to ensuring standards are being maintained at all levels.
Building a network of experts and outsourcing processes and tasks is an alternative solution to the stresses associated with onboarding staff, eliminating the stresses of people management while assuring the same high quality of service delivery.
I have found over the last four years that working with experts where necessary will allow you to avoid the time-consuming and costly process of hiring staff, while freeing you up to play to your own strengths and skillset. It’s a win win.
Variety = happiness
Business owners often feel a pressure to work extensive hours, burning themselves out to ensure success. In addition, to really scale and grow their business, there is no choice for owners but to effectively trap themselves with extensive overheads and staff salaries.
By switching your focus to other metrics of success beyond the size of your business, it is possible to create a business structure that allows for independence, flexibility and variety. Having the freedom to pick and choose who to work with, when and where means you can serve your clients far more effectively and pick projects that play to your skillset and biggest strengths.
By building TWH Media in this way, and without the pressures of scaling and growing in the traditional sense, I have been able to obtain financial independence whilst enjoying amazing life experiences along the way… All without sacrificing my personal relationships.
Conclusion
Owning a successful business does not have to mean working 80 plus hours a week, or burdening yourself with overheads in an attempt to scale and grow. A business that is built around your own passions and lifestyle will not only allow you to consistently deliver high-quality results, but will also enable a greater degree of freedom and flexibility that simply is not possible when size is your only metric of success.
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