Don't Ever Apologize for Your Small Business!
"We're just a small business,"
you mumble apologetically. In this world where big seems better, small
business owners have developed a strangely distorted self-image. Small
feels ... well, inadequate. But small business is great business, and
I'll tell you why. I want to lead a grand cheer for small business
owners and employees. You, my friends, are the salt of the earth.
Now I don't want to downplay the
role of big corporations. We need their
economies of scale to build efficient automobiles, commercial aircraft,
and a communications infrastructure. But sometimes we overlook the fact
that huge businesses have serious weaknesses in areas where small
businesses shine.
Small Businesses Are the Backbone of
the Economy
The US Small Business Administration says that small businesses create
two of every three new jobs, produce 39% of the gross national product,
and invent more than half the nation's technological innovation. And
this kind of statistic could be repeated in country after country around
the world. Just because you work for or run a small company doesn't mean
you are unimportant. Your contribution to
your country's economy is huge.
Small Businesses Demonstrate the
Essence of Political Freedom
The ability to develop and conduct your own small business is a
wonderful expression of your freedom as a citizen. You may complain
about government regulations, but the fact is that small businesses are
less regulated than large firms. This gives small businesses the freedom
to focus on what is really important -- caring for customers.
Small Businesses Provide Better
Customer Care
I'm sure you've noticed that the larger a company grows, the harder it
becomes to provide good customer service. Just try to find the right
person to help you on the phone in a huge corporation -- it'll drive you
batty. But when you ask for the owner of a small business, chances are
you'll be speaking to her or him within a few minutes. Marketers toss
around buzzwords like "Customer Relationship Management (CRM)," but it's
the small business not the megacorp that really excels at it. Small
businesses know that their livelihood is based on their customers. Small
is great for customers.
Small Businesses Encourage the
Passion Needed to Succeed
Apathy doesn't breed nearly as well in small businesses as it does in
big business. Small business owners and their workers are focused and
immensely proud of what they do. Small business owners are passionate
about their businesses. How many employees in bureaucratic organizations
can say the same?
Small Businesses Owners Are Highly
Skilled
In a small business, you have to excel at a lot of things to succeed.
Small business owners and their key employees are masters of dozens of
disciplines and perform their intricate balancing act like pros. So what
if they wear more than one hat? Whom should we admire more -- the
corporate manager or the jack-of-all-trades small business owner, whose
skill-set is sharpened to a razor's edge, and who survives and succeeds
and serves? My vote is with the latter.
Small Businesses Allow Owners the
Freedom to Innovate
Small business owners learn to be risk takers and innovators. Corporate
employees, on the other hand, too often interpret their prime directive
as keeping their jobs. Risk-taking can get in the way of
career-building. Innovative small businesses are prize targets of larger
corporations that often find it more cost-effective to acquire than to
innovate on their own.
Small Businesses Can Change Course
Rapidly
Large corporations can be adverse to change, while small businesses know
that their ability to make rapid decisions and implement course
corrections is their key to success. In the ocean of business,
mega-corporations turn like tankers, while small businesses can zip
around them with the agility of a speedboat.
Small Businesses Can Be Quite
Profitable
Small business is not a synonym for small earnings. In fact, many small
businesses are extremely profitable. Their advantages of leanness,
maneuverability, innovation, and customer focus mold them into steady
enterprises that earn a significant return on investment year after year
after year.
Being big isn't a worthy goal.
But delivering top customer service, a passion for excellence, a
willingness to dream and create, and the freedom to make timely
decisions -- these are worthy of acclaim.
Small businessperson, I salute you
for your dedication, your intelligence, your business acumen, and your
contribution to society. Be proud of your small business. Stand tall,
free, ... and unapologetic. Don't offer excuses for the size of your
business. Small businesses make the very biggest impact of all!
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By Ralph F. Wilson,