Have you ever been part of a company that didn’t want to grow? The owners were just happy enough with how things were going and decided to stay on that course? I never have. The only companies I’ve been a part of that weren’t growing were, in fact, downsizing b/c they grew too quickly or too stupidly for their own good and wound up laying off the people they couldn’t live without 6 months prior.
Why do companies always seem to want to grow? Is business growth necessary, optional, delightful or some combo thereof? As a somewhat resource-limited kid, I had a certain number of Legos with which to play. I’d build just about any iteration of a house or car and as long as I used all or nearly all of the pieces at my disposal. I just didn’t have access to any extra Legos and I don’t really remember yearning for additional Legos (except maybe around my birthday).
So why do I now yearn for more Legos? I don’t really NEED any more building blocks. I’ve got a pretty sweet Lego house that I’ve built right here. The walls, floors, ceilings and furnishings are just right. Not to mention it’s filled with just about every kind of ridiculously awesome person in town. What kind of DNA mutation occurred that makes me think that my business needs to grow? I blame years in front of the microwave as a latch-key kid.
Weigh in, my 4 faithful followers. Should a business grow for the sake of growth? Can a business owner ever just be okay with business as usual?
I think a business owner can totally be ok with business as usual, but only if they take a moment to realize that business as usual is already pretty good. 🙂 Take a local coffee shop for example… of course they want to be busy and make money, but not every coffee shop owner is looking to turn into a chain or a franchise.
I think you just have to get to a level that is financially viable and sustainable to be happy.
I support any growth choice that a business wants to make. It’s just that staying in one place over time is so hard and that shrinkage is funny only on Seinfeld.
For businesses with more than a few employees up and down changes in demand usually means hiring or firing. As a result, growth is the only strategy that protects current employees. It’s also the one that is most comforting to investors.
In your case Angel, how much of the world do you want to change?
I think it depends on what you want the end picture to look like. Has it been your intention for your business to be on the Fortune 500 list or to be publicly traded? Then business growth had better be part of your business plan.
However, if you are the type of business that can thrive with a set number of clients, and you are happy with that situation, than by all means, a business doesn’t have to continually grow.
What does your business plan say? And what do you really want your life to look like in 5 years, 10 years… etc.
As Heidi stated, what is your desired outcome? Is your business the result you are after, or is there a bigger change you want to affect and your business is just the vehicle?
Being clear on why you do what you do is an important question for any business. This should be expressed in the company mission statement and should act as the compass for any major business decisions.
Growing offers many new opportunities and many new challenges. It usually means less control and a bigger vision. Growth requires more investment (time, energy & money) with the opportunity for bigger rewards. To answer the question “Is business growth necessary, optional, delightful or some combo thereof?”, My answer is, it depends on the business.
Ask yourself, why did I create this business? Would I better serve that purpose by growing? Why is growing such an attractive idea? and complete a SWOT analysis of the prospect of growing.
Building a strong team will help you with these decisions and future implementation of whichever way you choose to go. Good Luck!
Contrary to what most of these comments have been so far, I think that you shouldn’t only be consulting yourself and your own goals for guidance on what to do about this. I think you should be asking your customers what THEY want and flexing your plan accordingly. If your customers are beating down your door asking for more space, a different or new environment, or whatever else, you should give it to them for fear of losing them. I happen to know that in Fort Collins there aren’t any other major Co-Working spaces yet, but if there were, you’d have to worry about those customers leaving you for another space.
I think that the message that your commentors here are getting across – and that I agree with – is that your long-term viability may depend on growth. However, where I’d extend this idea is with the concept that this dependence on growth may be mostly out of your hands, it sits with your customer.
Interesting question, interesting example. Do businesses need
to grow?http://t.co/kasf6PV #coworking #businessmodels #Lego
You should have a look at 37signals and their Rework book.
Never wanted to grow.
Are successful worldwide.
Place quality above quantity.
And it works 🙂
Karine