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Tip 38: What's So Small About Your Business?


When asked the inevitable question “So, what do you do?” more times than not, a small business owner will reply, “I run a small design company” or “I own a small business”. 

Yet there is nothing small about running a small business. Usually it takes a bigger effort than the large businesses. You have to act as Accountant, President, Sales and Marketing. What’s so small about that? How does it help your business when you refer to it as small?

Instead of running your own tiny writing company, how about saying you run a communications firm? The issue is that when you use the term small, it’s up to the listener’s opinion. How do they define small? You may think small is: "I can handle work for mid-size companies, up to 200 employees." While the person you are telling it to might think, “Too bad she can only handle businesses with under 50 employees; my mid-size company could sure use some help.” Do you think by saying you run a company that isn’t small, you will be buried by too much work from bigger clients? That would be a problem most of us would love to have.

Recently, one of my Coaching clients told me she runs a small graphic design company. I asked her “What does one of the 'large' firms provide to a potential client that you don’t?” She replied, “Well, they have a golden client list and nice offices”. That was it. 

In most businesses, you are hired to bring value to a client's business by using your talent. Nothing in that sentence mentions cushy leather chairs, or 3M as a past client. If you want to start landing larger clients, first stop acting so small and give yourself some credit for your talent. If you don’t, no one else will.


Contributed by:

Scott Stratten
WorkYourLife.com
Telephone: 905-844-2818
Email: scott@workyourlife.com
Web site: http://www.workyourlife.com

Scott Stratten is a Speaker/Coach and Creator of www.WorkYourLife.com , a site that deals with removing negativity from everyday life. He also publishes the “Stop Thinking & Start Doing” business ezine. You can subscribe by emailing startdoing@workyourlife.com

 

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