I recently found myself with the opportunity to spend time in the company of four talented business owners who have the same philosophy towards their businesses as I do. It was during a roundtable talk for The unLTD podcast last month, which focused on why bigger isn’t the only way to be better in business.
Having a small business – and keeping it small – seems a little counterintuitive to the well-publicised, guru-led theories about what growth actually means. I get concerned at times about the power these so-called “influencers” wield.
I’ve seen many a business owner – both startup and established – become consumed by definitions of growth that promote all the upsides of massive, rapid growth, without due consideration for the downside that can occur when that utopian view doesn’t quite land in the way it was expected.
So, conversations about growth can become a little bit divisive, if not viewed in the right context – but they don’t have to be. For me, this starts with getting crystal clear on what you want to achieve – not wading waist deep into whatever secret sauce this month’s influencer of choice is peddling.
For me, the key to this is design.
Our futures aren’t predefined, and neither are definitions of growth or success. To me, they are profoundly personal – specific to me and what I want to achieve from both my personal and professional lives.
That means they deserve the investment of time, which is exactly what I did when I recently relaunched my business using my own 3D Business Blueprint process. It gave me the framework to build a business that was true to my values and principles – and focus solely on the things I want to achieve for myself and my clients.
Using my own process was by my design.
Defining views of success and growth are by my design.
These principles became my red lines, my checks and balances. If there were things in the design of my business that fell outside of those red lines, they were out – because they didn’t align with what I want to achieve.
Given how I started this article, you could be forgiven for thinking that I’m against rapid growth, I’m not – in fact, far from it.
What I am against is blindly following a growth strategy that doesn’t align with what you really want to achieve.
So, my message is? Design your own future,.You’ll be so grateful you did.
russ.thompson@director-on-demand.co.uk and www.director-on-demand.co.uk
