Most Small Business Owners Want to Stay Small
Living in the SF bay area I often meet with tech entrepreneurs that want to build the next Apple, eBay or Google. I also meet with venture capitalists that want to fund these types of firms. It is easy to forgot that the vast majority of small businesses are not capable of, or even want to be high growth businesses.
According to this month's Discover Small Business Watch (a survey of small business owners with 5 or fewer employees) "69 percent of small business owners said that they prefer to have their business remain small."
We see the same thing in our research. Small business owners often use words like "freedom, independence, balance, flexibility" when describing why they like being a small business person. They use the same words when describing why they want to remain small.
Another word that's not often voiced but is clearly a value is "control." Many entrepreneurs we talk to want their business to grow as long as they can remain in control.
Posted by: Sean Murphy | September 04, 2007 at 09:47 PM
Most entrepreneurs are in business for the lifestyle. By "lifestyle" I mean having control over their lives. That's something you have very little of working for someone else--especially if you're in management. Not everyone is cut out for office politics.
Posted by: Smart Startup | September 11, 2007 at 10:22 PM
Most entrepreneurs are in business for the lifestyle. By "lifestyle" I mean having control over their lives. That's something you have very little of working for someone else--especially if you're in management. Not everyone is cut out for office politics.
Posted by: Smart Startup | September 11, 2007 at 10:22 PM