Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Many of the businesses in the scrapbook industry were started by Mompreneurs.  Often, after debuting at a trade show (sometimes with a sleeping infant in a car seat on the floor of the booth), moms find themselves overwhelmed with orders for their products.  After running like crazy out of their spare bedroom or basement for a few years with little ones under foot, they flame out and close their businesses with a good-bye email that usually says something like, "We just couldn`t keep up the pace with three little kids". 

What do you think?  Is controlled growth better sometimes?  It seems like we all feel that if we don`t take over the universe TOMORROW that we`ll never be successful.  One thing I`ve learned at SuN is that your life plan is JUST as important as your business plan and that they MUST fit together.  That advice has kept me down on the farm.  I know there is a lot more I COULD do, but my life plan (to be a mom first) trumps my business plan every time. 

So, back to my question - should you ALWAYS "go big or go home" or should you "go big enough" for your life plan and learn to live with less success than you think you could really achieve? 

~Kim

Like anything, 1-step solutions and instant advice usually fail miserably. Unfortunately, in almost all cases these types of solutions are "summaries" of a very complex set of thoughts, reduced so far down as to eventually become meaningless.

I`m often reminded of the idea in medicine that unrestricted growth usually means cancer.

It`s plenty easy for some advice-giving "guru" to say that unless you think big you may as well close your business down. It`s ridiculous, but so what? It *sounds* good, and that`s what life in the 21st century is all about.....superficialities.

Growth without a plan is complete foolishness. It`s growth for the sake of growth, without the slightest concern or interest in WHY someone puts a business together. It factors nothing into the equation at all, regarding personal goals, financial constraints, and processes. It`s just a feel-good gobblety-gook needlepoint piece of advice with little concern for reality.

:-) Ask me later and I`ll tell you how I *really* feel... LOL!!

It`s important to understand the realities of growth.  Sure, more orders, more income, more exposure and more customers are great goals but if you are going for it, one HAS to be ready for it.  It is simply naive to think the state of a current business can handle all the growth of tomorrow.  You don`t have to go big time fast, but if you`re going to get even a little bigger, you have to know what you`re getting into.  Plan and think ahead, both in life and business.

Hi Kim!  Interesting question...I have a vision in my head as to how my life and business are going to unfold over the next 5 years and with 2 little ones "under foot" I`m going for "slow and steady wins the race".  I do hope to play with the big dogs and appear on The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch followed by a spot on the Today show but that is in about 3-4 years when the kids will be in school.  Not that this is the "right" plan (whatever that means) but it feels right for me. So in answer to your question...

"What do you think?  Is controlled growth better sometimes?"

In my case YES

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Leslie
Founder and President
Charmed Life Products LLC
Grill Charms™… The MUST HAVE grilling accessory that is revolutionizing the American Cook-out AND The perfect gift for any occasion!
Grill Charms
                                                                                                    

I have certainly controlled the growth of my business.  Part of it was the kids (okay MOST of it).  I started my business when they were toddlers.  It got easier once they started school, though!  But, I have never advertised in magazines or stood at consumer expos to get new business members.   I never wanted a flood of people. 

I love the "Someday Maybe" list from GETTING THINGS DONE.  It`s great to dream big, but understand that not everything is possible all at once.

My husband taught me that you need to plan for all scenarios:

1. Oops, I grew too fast - now what do I do?
2. Ahh, I`m growing JUST FAST ENOUGH - this is perfect
3. YIKES! I can`t give my stuff away!

Number 2 is what we shoot for, but 1 and 3 can sneak up on us and throw us for a loop.  You need a plan to cope with all three before you ever start.  I thought that was great advice (sometimes husbands are right - LOL!)

Therefore, I`ve never really shot for "Go Big" - I`ve just shot for number 2 (and wallowed around in 1 and 3 from time to time). 

~Kim

Leslie,

I just looked at your website and thought, "I bet Oprah would LOVE those charms!".  I work with a company called Heritage Makers and through some weird stroke of luck, they were able to place their product right in front of Oprah`s friend, Gayle King.  Who said, "Oprah would LOVE these books!".  The short version is that Gayle took one to Oprah who loved it and now these books will appear in the Fall edition of O Magazine in the "Oprah`s Favorite Things" list.  Which means it will probably be on the "Favorite Things" show at Christmas.  Which will be some great publicity!!

I bet the grill charms would be right up there.  Oprah seems to love a good party!  It`s a great idea.  You never know which stake belongs to who and everyone wants theirs cooked differently.

~Kim 

Hey Kim!  I just went to Heritage Markers and now I know why Oprah loves the product.  I have seen similar books, but never understood exactly what to do.  That is such a cool idea.  I`ll be back after the next big family vacation!

Thanks for Oprah vibes   I will totally be going after the national media/talk show circuit in about a year or two but right now I`m totally holding back on pretty much everything.  (I`m still working on the manufacturing... I don`t even have my first production run yet!)  I`m a lot more scared of #1 then I am #3. (It`s a personality flaw... I HATE to disappoint others.  I can handle "failure", but when people depend on me and I can`t deliver... that would be more devastating to me then not selling any at all!)   I went to the Oprah/QVC thing a while back just for the experience so when I was ready I would know what to expect.  I was terrified to get picked.  (That wasn`t really a rational fear as I only had prototypes, no packaging, and no clue so I was in no "danger" of being a finalist) 

 

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Leslie
Founder and President
Charmed Life Products LLC
Grill Charms™… The MUST HAVE grilling accessory that is revolutionizing the American Cook-out AND The perfect gift for any occasion!
Grill Charms
                                                                                                    

Hey, I always say that the smart business owner is the scared business owner.  It`s the ones who think they can handle everything and have no fear that scare me .   Overconfidence can be a big cliff...

~Kim

Actually, I`m all for limiting myself.

The problem with big is it would cause us to lose the core of who we are ... that is, a company that can give you personal service, have attention to detail, etc. I like that smallness of us, so I have no intention of losing that.

That being said, there are some drawbacks that I was pondering the other day. For example, the business is 150% dependent on me and I`m probably going to work my butt off in the long run. But for now, those things are worth it to me ... in accordance with my life plan.

The goal for me is just having enough clients to have a waiting list ... but limiting those clients I can accept just to the projects I want to do.

I am still learning!

We have a famous chocolate shop in the town next to us. They`re known as one of the best places in the tri-state area (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin). A few years ago, when the Web started taking off, I was yackin` with the folks about an e-commerce site. I was curious about whether they had one or were planning to build one.

They`re a family-owned business, having been in business for a few generations. They looked at the idea of selling online, but rejected it. Main reason, like with Nikole, is that their core business concept is to make chocolate that individual people will enjoy.

When they mapped out the probable sales numbers, volumes, and so forth, they came to the conclusion that machine-manufactured chocolate just wouldn`t have the same "feeling" to it. Yes, it likely would taste exactly the same, but it would be missing something. That "something" would be the personal touch.

All this goes to a much deeper question, "Just because you CAN do something, does that mean you SHOULD do something?" To answer that requires a philosophy of some sort, and that`s where I believe the distinction between "capitalism" and "profiteering" comes into play.

Your husband`s 3 scenarios are a fun way to remind anyone making a business plan to include a) Best case, b) Worst case, and c) Optimal case.