Big
Everyone wants to be big.
A YouTube video with 7 million views is better than one with a thousand. Big planes are better than small ones. Faster, more efficient. Having a million dollars in the bank is better than having ten thousand.
The point of starting a company (or a non-profit, a political party, whatever) is to be big. Nah, HUGE.
Big leads to mediocrity. It’s a constant quest to satisfy the mainstream, but all the mainstream wants is predictable, boring, ordinary stuff.
But that’s not you.
A hundred dedicated clients is much better than a million who couldn’t care less. Whether you call your clients donors, voters or members, it’s all the same.
It’s about getting the right people on board, not everyone you can scavenge.
Small means flexibility.
Small means you can outsource the boring stuff to Big (manufacturing, shipping, whatever), while you keep creating amazing products and remarkable experiences.
Small means you don’t need venture capital funding and the obligation to please the big guys.
Small means you can tell the truth on your blog.
A small restaurant has an owner who greets you by name.
A small church has a minister with the time to visit you in the hospital when you’re sick.
Small means you care. It’s the Acumen Fund instead of Greenpeace. It’s 37signals instead of Microsoft.
As Jason Fried puts it, “Big companies are where small companies go to die.” And his 19-employee business makes millions a year.
Don’t wait. Get small. But think big.
