Does More Always Mean Better?

by Kori Rodley Irons | More from this Blogger

17 Oct 2007 12:43 PM

More customers, more clients, more sales, more calls, more e-mails-sounds good doesn't it? But in a small home business, does "more" always mean better? Is it always a good omen and a welcome change when things pick up?

It all depends on your definition of success and your capacity for expansion. Too much of "more" and you could find yourself over-taxed and over-stressed. Sometimes this can be temporary-business picks up and it takes you a month or two to adjust to the increased volume and then things level out again. Other times, it can be so stressful as to make it tough for a sole proprietor to carry on with the basics of doing business.

Make sure that more calls and e-mails also don't mean trouble-sometimes if complaints pick up or you get behind, it will prompt people to make more contact and this can further add to the over load.

If you have a long-term plan, you can project growth into that plan so that you anticipate how you will adjust to the growth. Of course, a plan is not a promise or a guarantee and many small businesses can get caught off guard by a sudden spike. One person I know who operates a small business in a mid-size town was recently blind-sided when her main competitor closed up shop and went out of business. While this sounds like a wonderful opportunity (and it is), in reality it increased her business so much so quickly that the repercussions were massive-increased staff time, increased supply expense, more lag and production time, which also affected existing customers. While growth was a goal, this kind of quick expansion was way out her realm of expectation.

When opportunity comes knocking, make sure that you have the capacity to answer the door-it is perfectly okay to try to manage your growth and try to keep your business at a size that is suited to what you want. There is no "law" that says you have to get bigger if bigger doesn't mean better to you.

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