Hey, if you don’t want to grow a world-class business, don’t worry, you’re probably in the majority! These are the controversial findings of small business researcher Ross Cameron of Cameron Research Group.

Ross reckons about 85% of small businesses want their business to fit in with their goals of having a good, well-balanced life.

The other two types of businesses are hobby ones or growth-oriented business builders. Mind you, I don’t entirely agree with his demarcations.

The comfort zone
Many businesses are in the 85% group Ross talks about, but they’re not dead set against growing. Many just don’t know how to grow and don’t want to risk ruining their family, relationships and happiness.

Many home-based businesses start up because the humdrums of employee life are too rushed and impersonal. Mums want to pick up their kids from school, dads want to be there at special moments in their kids’ lives and generally their skill set permits them to trade in a job for a business.

Some are forced into re-inventing themselves because they’re shown the door, while others exit before the inevitable happens.

Often the amount of money needed to make a business work relates to what someone has earnt in their former job. So, if someone was on $60,000 as an employee, a home-based business bringing in the same amount or a little bit more, in concert with some of the tax deductions of running a business, can make the switch to self-employment an alternative.

Then the work rolls in

Then what happens is that more work comes and you often find it difficult to say ‘no’.

As you’ve never been in business before you go along for the ride. What happens, ultimately, is a choice – do I want to grow or not?

Growth brings challenges like employing people, new costs like workers compensation, superannuation, etc. and it means more time and government red tape to deal with. It can also mean the cost of external premises.

Do I want to get bigger?
I believe many business owners then choose to stay small, home-based and self-contained. But that doesn’t mean they can’t grow. But they should know that there’ll be limits if they don’t want to take on staff or contractors and, possibly, external premises.

Anyone choosing to stay very small should make the commitment to start working smarter so they won’t have to work longer.

How do I do it?
The triple play is to drive revenue up, screw costs down and do it using less of your precious time.

It could mean making one concession to your goal to be independent. Over the years I’ve had many people come back to me who’ve said: “I’ve always remembered you saying that sometimes it’s good to use an expert in areas like bookkeeping.”

The time you spend in an area where you’re weak steals time away from the business area where you’re strong and where you can make more money. It is really wise to compare hourly rates – say, yours compared to a bookkeeper – and then make a decision.

Play it smart
The transition from a managed business to a fast grower was made easier by our commitment to innovation, which meant we worked smarter.

If you’re into a healthy work-life balance, you can best achieve that by being on the cutting edge of business.

Ignoring time-saving technology and better business techniques could make your life a whole lot tougher than it has to be. It could also unfairly the steal the time you might be desperate to save.

By Peter Switzer, published on 29/07/2008

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