Are You a Small, High-Growth Business Owner?

I’ve discovered some very interesting things over the past 3 decades. There exists a type of small business quite unique to most. They seem to be creative and progressive. They are in retail, professional, services, construction, manufacturing, warehousing — everywhere.

You very seldom hear about these businesses and few means of support exist for them. Their unique qualities separate them from the average small business. They have high ideals and value personal relationships with employees, vendors, and customers.

I have labeled these emerging firms “small, high-growth” businesses. Why “high-growth?” Well, these small businesses are typically run by people of very high morals and ethical standards. They do whatever they can constructively for the benefit of everyone involved. They seek and cultivate the highest possible level of growth for themselves as well as others who work with them. Even the one-person small, high-growth business holds the highest regard for quality of service.

It is very interesting to see the operations of these firms. The owners are very particular about keeping employees educated or trained in the area of service. In most cases, they’ll even send their employees to training not related to their particular job. They feel it’s important for people to have an appreciation of other skills and service. It’s all important to getting the most out of people. It provides an opportunity for employees to push themselves to higher levels of performance, while increasing their value to the customers, and themselves.

It’s great to see a one-person business provide services to a multi-million dollar company. Anyone would be impressed by the level of service these people provide. Most of these one-person businesses operate out of their homes. Some work from small business centers or incubators. We are not talking about just consultants. They are woodworkers, architects, interior designers, tailors, you name it. They seem to be all types. Most are not working for multi-million dollar firms, but they earn decent livings. Their services are exceptional by any standards.

Those who have been blessed to employ more than one person are working miracles. They seem to be doing the work of hundreds. Just looking at their product or how they service customers, you would think they’re a part of some major corporation. Not so. They do have pride in their performance and the quality in products. They don’t always have the best location or resources, but does it really matter when they have highly-valued services and products?

What makes a small company a high-growth company? It’s always striving for perfection or the highest level of performance. Frankly, to have a small, high-growth business, you must have a development company. You have to have a commitment to constantly developing your skills and service — those of your employees and yourself. That’s not a lot, but the commitment takes a person of high principles who is willing to express these principles through his or her business.

Since I’ve discovered this new breed of small business, I’ve made it a point to develop methods or techniques that would support their marketing efforts. It appears the support groups normally available have not yet realized these small, high-growth operations exist, although I expect these firms will have a big influence on the type of support that becomes available to small businesses in the future. These are wisely run businesses. Their owners prefer to use profits to improve skills, performance, service and production techniques, and explore new ways to create more value. They are accustomed to a steady growth rate of loyal, long-term customers and good support, but will not jeopardize either for a get-rich-quick scheme.

As a marketing developer specializing in small business, I find these small, high-growth businesses to be prime candidates for long-term success. They’re certainly an easy case to work with. I don’t have to look hard to find out what unique values they provide. For them, telling the right story is just a matter of effectively reaching people who want a lot of value and who appreciate perfection.

From the newspaper column “Building Business.”