There comes a time when you are up against a limit, especially in a serviced based business, where you can’t grow unless you expand your business beyond yourself. In my case, I’ve hit that stage—in fairness probably quite a while ago.
Where others are perfectly happy about running their small business, or one person consultancy, I have always had far bigger plans. I have a vision to grow my companies into something much larger, because I believe we provide something that others really do not.
This is why my businesses have been global from the start, and it is also why I am now more than ever forced to make an active expansion decision. It involves finding staff.
Finding staff is risky. Hiring someone costs a lot of money, and you better be sure you have the business to pay for it, or they money to sit it out while you wait. This is a financial risk that I simply cannot afford to take at this moment in my life, for various reasons. In just running the business, I constantly run a personal financial risk—all small business owners do. It would seem foolish to risk a thriving business, simply to grow in size, especially at this time in life.
The other option is to grow by consultants. Unfortunately finding talented freelancers is tricky. As a conscious manager, I am actively trying to find people that are better than me. People that are experts in areas where I am not. Finding great people is hard, because great people are busy. That’s what characterizes finding a great freelancer—they are otherwise engaged.
I still believe in growing by freelancers and consultants and I am always actively on the lookout for great people to involve in projects, because that means that we can be even better and deliver even greater results. I also firmly believe that growing in this way sets us up for further expansion later, and the possibility of long-term bringing these people on board as full time staff, as more business comes in. As far as trade-offs go, I feel this solution brings value to everyone. My businesses, my clients and of course the freelancer or consultant.
This post is one in a longer series in trying to share the daily struggles of being a young entrepreneur and businessman. As always, let me know your thoughts, comments or questions.