Starting Small Could Be The Best Thing You Do

When you first catch wind of a business, chances are it didn’t just pop up overnight. There may have been months (and sometimes years) of planning, plotting, organising, strategising and that’s even before the website or the brick and mortar store was built. While there is no hard and fast rule about how quickly you should grow, know that going from A to Z can have an adverse effect on your cash flow, not to mention your stress levels.

No magic formula will make you successful. It is dependent on so many things. However, taking things one step at a time – and researching, analysing, listening, understanding – will all hold you in good stead. Some days you may feel like you are getting nowhere at all. Other days you may just notice that some of the pieces have fallen into place. And sometimes things don’t gel and you have to take a step back before you move forward.

Starting small, testing the waters, is very commonplace in the business world. While we hear stories of the odd overnight sensation, they are far from the norm. Speak to any entrepreneur and they can probably list off a bunch of things that didn’t go their way. They most likely had to scrap multiple projects off their list to get where they are today. People still take risks, and while many do pay off, there are probably many that don’t. But we don’t hear so much about those – because in truth, they never even got off the ground.

Fear is a significant factor. As a creative entrepreneur, you may be too scared to take those big steps. But if the steps are smaller, then the risk is minimised. Buying a domain name is a small step and hardly of consequence. Registering your business is a silent process. Yet both are huge in the grand scheme of things. Small steps taken one after the other makes change happen. And with hard work, determination and persistence, through these steps,not matter how seemingly inconsequential, you have created a sustainable business. People may view it as a tremendous leap of faith because they haven’t seen all the tiny steps you took to get there. That can your little secret!

So, don’t be afraid of starting small. There is absolutely no shame in being a small business owner. Small is where great things begin. It starts with an idea. Then habitual acts turn it into a thriving business over a period of years. To successfully reach your goal, you need to build the bridge over the chasm literally one plank at a time. Understand your business model. Perfect your ideas. Without the necessary groundwork, you cannot stand a chance of winning.

You may want to develop your products or services quickly in the hope of finding customers overnight; but, in order to be truly successful, you need to have a solid understanding of what you are offering and who you are targeting. Without that, you are just sending it out there in the wind to be blown about in every direction. Now and then, something may stick, but for the most part, no one will pay any serious or long-lasting attention.

It’s not a sexy or exciting way to get into business – you may not even make the headlines using this tried and true methodology. However, if success is your ultimate goal, then I wouldn’t recommend any other path. Read, learn, do, repeat! The rest will be history!