Entrepreneur, even if your business is small, it’s a business, so run it like a business. Often entrepreneurs with small companies forget that they are business owners and have many of the same obligations and responsibilities of larger businesses. This is important to remember when dealing with employees, vendors, and customers.
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Remember, it’s not the size of the person in the fight that matters, it’s the size of the fight in the person.
Sometimes, entrepreneurs have Napoleon complexes. “Napoleon complex” is the term typically used to describe behavior in people of short stature. It is characterized by overly aggressive or domineering social behavior and carries the implication that such behavior is compensatory for the subject’s stature. This happens with entrepreneurs who think their businesses are somehow less important, less real or less valuable because they are small. These entrepreneurs think that no matter what, they can never compete with larger companies and therefore they shouldn’t try.
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What entrepreneurs who have Napoleon complexes forget or perhaps they never knew is that size is not what matters most to customers and employees. Employees want to work for companies that respect them, pay them in a timely matter and treat them fairly and equitably. Customers want to be treated as if the company from whom they are dealing with appreciate the business. Neither of these items has anything to do with the size of the company.
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Good service and great results trump size.
This means as an entrepreneur who owns a small enterprise, you have an opportunity to provide high-quality, good service. It is those things that will encourage loyalty and repeat business. Never disparage the size of your business. Instead, emphasize the features, advantages, and benefits of your business. Then do the work to deliver those things to all who come in contact with your business. It is your hard work, smart work, and dedication to solving customer problems and meeting their needs that will help your business grown and survive. Keep in mind that small companies like yours are the heart and soul of thriving economies all around the world.
If you don’t have time to do it correctly now, you do not have time to redo it later.
It has been said that being an entrepreneur is a lot like juggling ten balls at a time while walking on water and dodging fire. In other words, there is always something to do. Often it seems that there is more to do than there are hours in the day. That often causes entrepreneurs to take shortcuts and look for easy ways out. It is tempting to take shortcuts and do a sloppy partial job. Do not fall for that temptation. Take the time to do things the right way the first time around. A wise man once asked, “If you don’t have time to do it correctly now, when will you have time to do it again?”
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I hadn’t thought of myself as a small business entrepreneur but I will going forward. Good tips to stay ahead of the game.
New small business owner here, and one of the trickiest tasks so far has been learning to treat it like a business and keep my priorities between work and home in order. Thanks for the post!