Dear Aunty,
I am a proud first time entrepreneur with a one-year-old business forged in the depths of recession!
My question to you is this. At what point do I get bigger? I don’t want to take on too much risk too early.
Luv ya,
D
Dear D,
Good for you! Congratulations and welcome to the world of entrepreneurship. My first point is this. It is very small businesses like yours that have the highest failure rates. They have no capacity or resilience to cope with the normal vicissitudes of entrepreneurial life. A client leaves, you make a bad management decision (we all do) or your technology is not up to scratch and when you are very small, these things can wipe you out.
So although it might seem more risky to get bigger, it is actually a safer move for you. In fact businesses who take on employees have less chance of failing than the ‘buy yourself a job’ business.
As to when you get bigger? When you see the opportunity!! And coming out of this recession, there will be a lot of opportunity. Can I suggest the best thing for you to do at this point is to find a few mentors and they can teach you how to grow at a sustainable pace.
Good luck!
Your Aunty B
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James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
