Don't bother to grow your business...

Some years ago I was asked to talk at a conference whose theme was "Growing your business."  The conference was aimed at owners of businesses valued at around £10m who wanted to take them to the next stage. I was the penultimate speaker in a long day of talks from venture capitalists and business angels.

I asked for a show of hands from the 150 delegates - "How many of you want to grow your business?" Around 95% raised their hands.

Twenty minutes later, when I asked the same question, fewer than 20% raised their hands.

In the minutes between the two straw polls, I told them the story of a client of mine. I won't tell you precisely what he did because it was so specialised that it would hint at his identity, but it was related to the production of a specialised food item.  He had a passion for what he did, was internationally recognised for it (although he had a staff of just eight people) and had won more than 80 awards for excellence in his field.  He was very hands-on in his chosen field and loved nothing more than getting up at 5:00 every morning to collect the ingredients for his product and go back to his small kitchen to create this wonder food.

Trade was good, he was making a very comfortable living and able to pay his staff well.

I asked him about his plans for the following financial year.  He said he wanted to grow the business - double his staff, move into larger premises, open a showroom/museum devoted to his wonder product and double his revenues.

I asked what that would mean in practical terms, and as he began to think it through, his face fell and he began to realise that as the business grew, it would take him further and further away from the very thing he was passionate about - the very thing which had encouraged him to start the business.  In the space of 20 minutes he had talked himself out of growing the business.

We spent the rest of the session talking about sustainability - what he would have to do to ensure that he was well equipped internally to cope with external changes so that the business continued at the same levels as before.  I left him a happy man.

Hearing this story, many of those at the conference started to re-examine their real drivers, to think about what it was that gave them a buzz about running their own businesses.  Sure, by the time they had reached the £10m mark, many had already moved away from a hands-on approach but most were still sufficiently close to the business to remember what inspired them to start it in the first place.

I wasn't invited back to the conference the following year.

As a business owner, where is your passion?  What makes you want to get up in the morning? How can you reignite that fire at the start of a new year?  How can you sustain that interest and momentum in the future?

David

Email: david@wize-up.co.uk
Web: www.wize-up.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wizeupltd
T: 44 (0)161 929 4145