Jeweller - September 2020

SMALL
BENEFITS
Freedom
and flexibility
in decisionmaking
Retaining
a hands-on
approach
to everyday
operations
Focus on
perfecting the
offering, rather
than meeting
growth targets
Remaining
closely
connected to
customers and
employees
aspects of their work than in sales. They want to be
great at what they do and offer the best service and
products possible.
In my opinion, the only way to do this is to remain
small. The boutique-business model allows owners
to connect intimately with their customers, to listen
to their needs and create solutions quickly.
This model gives owners a level of independence
and joy that they might never find in larger
businesses.
American author and entrepreneur Seth Godin
believes small businesses provide untold flexibility.
“Small is the new big because small gives you the
flexibility to change the business model,” he says.
“Small means you can tell the truth on your blog.
Small means that you will outsource the boring,
low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping
and billing and packing to others while
you keep the power because you invent the
remarkable.”
Learning to love business
A business starts as a means to an end. Perhaps
the aim is to achieve a certain lifestyle or pay the
school fees, but there’s no reason a business can’t
also be enjoyable.
Those who love gardening aren’t trying to find ways
to delegate their gardening work to others. They’re
focused on getting their fingers in the dirt and
doing it themselves because the very
act of working in the garden is enjoyable to them.
Sometimes this means they need a smaller garden
that they can more easily manage. They have fewer
plants so they can give each one the attention it
needs to truly flourish.
In business too, many self-employed people don’t
want to be ‘absentee owners’. They don’t want
to lose touch with customers or the reasons
they work. They don’t want to be corporate-style
managers and would rather work with partners
who love what they do too.
Those who want to be the owner of a large number
of jewellery stores with an army of employees
should go for it. There’s nothing stopping them.
But those who want to get their hands dirty every
day should stay focused and build a business that’s
small and great.
KARYN GREENSTREET is president of Passion
for Business, specialists in small business
consulting. Visit: passionforbusiness.com