Get big or go home!  I’m calling bullshit on that idea right now.  What is our western culture’s obsession with large business?

As a solopreneur I think you should be looking to rightsize your business not scale it so large it becomes a beast on your back or have it too small that it cannot meet your income needs, this is the process of rightsizing.

 Scale To Your Income Goals

If you want 100k per year, then scale to that level and stop.  There is no imperative to grow beyond that.  If all you need to have an excellent life is 30k per year, then why not work part time, make your money and enjoy your life outside of your business?

As solopreneurs we only have an obligation to ourselves, there are no stock holders forcing an ever greater profit level.  Right size, don’t dowsize to squeeze more profits.

Look to a life outside of work if you can scale to your correct income level.

Don’t Grow For Growth Sake

You may come to a point where you feel you need to go to the next level.  Six figure to seven, no employees to a team, but do you really want to?  Who’s agenda are you working to?  Just because you can get bigger does not mean you have to.

If you want or need more income then growth is fine, but don’t do it just because you can.

Grow as as personal challenge not because we are told you need to be a big business.  Be a boutique business doing excellent things, not a souless big business

Here’s a scenario for  you:

A) You are walking though Paris, you stop outside a small patisserie, the cakes in the window look amazing, you just want to buy some of their limited and premium stock.

B) You are at the boxed baking aisle in the super market, there are cardboard boxes full of mass produced cakes, the picture on the boxes look nice, you would not mind eating one.

Now, which is the right sized business, the boutique patisserie or the mass produced baked goods being sold in the super market, and which would you prefer.  Taking it further which business would you rather own?

Grow Smartly

If you are getting bigger consider growing yourself in smarter not harder working ways.  If you want an extra 2k per month, don’t throw in another 20 hours per week, why not build a product that can make that money passively, you have grown but in a smarter fashion that does not suck your soul dry.

Right Size May Be Intangible

Your right size may be an intangible thing, you want a full time income but a part time schedule to bring up your kids, it might be a passive income to finance your round the world back packing trip.

Whatever your own right size is no-one can tell you it’s wrong, your business has to be right to you not to some peer.

A Motivational Quote For You

See I’m part solopreneur business coach, part life coach:

One of the most universal causes of self doubt and depression is trying to impress people your don’t like.

Just becuause it is expected that businesses grow, does not mean you have to bow to this peer pressure and get massive.  Right size not other people’s size.  Like the quote says don’t do things like growing your business beyond the rightsize to impress other people.

What’s My Personal Rightsize

I’m not going to give you facts or figures, but I see me remaining a one man band, I want more income, but I want it in a less time intensive manner, I’m working on products more than new services so I’m right sizing my time input.

I want to grow my business doing something that really matters to me not growing it to match a pattern described in a MBA book.

I don’t want staff, shareholders, profit calls or other traditional business bullshit, I want something I can point at and say I did that, I built that myself, it’s the perfect size for me and it more than meets my income needs.

I’ve Had Sneery Comments

“Oh, yours isn’t a real business, you don’t have premises or staff.”

“F!ck  you!” was my reply using the quick wit and repartee of Oscar Wilde.

Of course it’s a real business, I have clients and obligations, just because I have a better business model and don’t need an office doesn’t make my enterprise any less of a business.

This is my ideal size (or close to, I’m re-engineering as we speak), I’m location independent, have massive personal freedom and I’m building a business that I love to work in.  If that’s not an ideal situation I don’t know what is, now off with you sneery commenter and get to the cubicle farm like a nice little conformist.

What’s Your Idea of The Right Sized Business

Is it income, time freedom or something else, tell me what would make a right sized business for you in the comments.

Image by ssanyal