Shared by Lynn Wise of Contractor In Charge:
Whether you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur or have been in business for a while, you should know by now that running your small business like a large corporation just won’t work. The pros at Contractor In Charge note that small businesses are quite different from their big counterparts in how they should be run, and that can be both an asset and a liability, depending on how you approach things. In this blog post, we will be asking Contractor In Charge for ways that small businesses can take advantage of their size by avoiding the pitfalls of acting like larger corporations.
Image credit: Anil Karakaya
Avoid Losing Your Connection with Your Consumers. Keep it Real, Keep it Personal.
According to Contractor In Charge’s founder, probably the biggest issue with running your company like a large corporation is that you’ll lose your relationship with your consumers. As a small business owner, you are your brand. You are the face of your business, and your consumers want to know that they can relate to you. If you run your small business like a corporation, you risk losing the ability to connect with your consumers. Make sure they know they are giving their money to real people and not just another faceless brand. Operate your small business in a way that makes your consumers a part of your company’s family.
Don’t act like a giant corporate CEO. Stay involved in every aspect of your business.
The CEO of a large corporation may not be involved in the day-to-day operations of running their company. After all, they have a whole team of people to handle these tasks. They have a lot on their plate, and they need to focus on the long-term goals of the business so that they can keep growing. That won’t work with a smaller team. The CEO of a small business must stay involved in all operations to be successful. At Contractor In Charge, they recommend always staying involved in every aspect of your business. You may have employees who are taking care of certain aspects of your business, but you should never be entirely hands-off when it comes to the running or decision-making of the business.
Image credit: Tim Mossholder
Don’t get bogged down. Use your smaller size to your advantage.
Small businesses often have huge advantages over their larger counterparts, according to Contractor In Charge. One of these advantages is that it’s much easier to pivot and change direction when necessary. This isn’t something that a large corporation can do. Once a corporation makes a decision to do something, it’s incredibly difficult to change course. That’s because it takes a lot of time and money to change corporation-wide practices like branding, marketing campaigns, and more. Because your small business is a smaller entity, it can change direction much more easily. You can make fast decisions that affect your entire team and make changes happen much quicker than a larger corporation can. This can be a huge advantage when you are trying to stay relevant in a constantly evolving world.
Final thoughts
If you want your small business to thrive, it’s usually best to avoid operating it like a big company. At Contractor In Charge, they recommend taking advantage of all the benefits that come with running a smaller company. When it comes to your business operations, keep things simple. Don’t complicate things with unnecessary bureaucracy or inefficient processes. Instead, use your small size as an advantage by being nimble, flexible, and able to pivot when necessary.
Image credit: Elevate