There is a misconception amongst some small business owners. The false idea that because you run a small business, you should operate like a small business. That you should not hold yourself to the same standards or deliver to the same level as that of a big business.
It is a fallacy.
Just because you are a small business doesn’t mean you should act like one, in fact, if you want to achieve business growth, it is important that you stop seeing yourself as a small business. You are a big business in training and if you want to level up in 2021 you need to start channelling big business energy!
Big Business Energy vs Small Business Energy?
Big business energy is a way of thinking, doing and being that isn’t impacted or influenced by the size of your business. It is the idea that you shouldn’t wait until your business has grown to change how you operate behind the scenes. Instead you should change today and through those changes you will trigger the growth that you seek.
Big business energy is the opposite of small business energy which holds so many small business owners back. Small business energy can be identified by the following:
Lack of a defined, aspirational vision – “There’s no point thinking about a big vision because we won’t ever achieve it”.
We’ve all heard the phrase “If you aim for the moon you might reach the stars”. It is such a powerful saying and so very true. The higher you aim, the higher you will reach. Even if you don’t reach the end goal, you will be much closer to it than if you minimise the vision to accommodate your present circumstance. Big business energy means creating a vision for your life and business that is so big that it scares you to think about because it is far outside of your comfort zone. If you aim for that vision instead of the boring, run of the mill, confined by your lack of confidence, imagine how much further you will reach. The vision is your guiding light that will motivate you to continually push forward.
No in depth understanding of target customers/clients – “I don’t really know who my target client is”
If you want to achieve growth in your business, you must take a customer centred approach to business. Many small business owners take a business centred approach. A business centred approach places the business at the centre of activities. New ideas, products and services and even marketing and sales methods are implemented based on the desires of the founder. A customer or client centred approach places the customer at the centre of all activity. The business has an in depth understanding of who they are targeting, their pain points, how they solve those pain points and the best methods for communicating to their target customer segments.
Lack of mapped systems and processes – “I don’t have a team yet so it’s ok that everything is just in my head”.
It isn’t ok. You need to start as you mean to go on. Founders with big business energy, map and document business processes regularly to ensure that their business is not solely reliant on what’s in their head. If they don’t have a team now, these founders know that having documented systems and processes will make it easier to onboard staff in the future. They know that mapping your processes can help you improve business efficiency, which may then lead to increased profitability. If you are able to identify routinized processes that can be outsourced or automated, you will also create more time for you to focus on revenue generating activity.
Devaluing the business and/or offer – “I can’t charge that no one will pay me”.
Big business energy means knowing your worth and charging accordingly. Too many small business owners undervalue their offer and subsequently cheapen their value by charging too little. They assume no one will pay them more because they don’t believe in their greatness. Raising your prices so they are in line with the value you provide, is big business energy. Not allowing clients or customers to convince you to offer discounts and cut rate pricing is big business energy. Stating your prices and standing your ground confident that your prices reflect your value, is big business energy that we all need to be channelling. Your pricing is a direct reflection of your value to many. If you are too low people will automatically see you as lacking value. Doing things for free that have no strategic relevance is another example of small business energy related to value. If you are still doing business for free to help with visibility or to try to build trust, you are telling people that you are not worth payment. This is small business energy. Stop it.
Not investing in growth – “I don’t have the time to do it myself and I don’t have the money to pay someone to help”.
Founders with big business energy recognise the importance of working on the business not just in it. They therefore will prioritise time to work on strategic activity. Where they recognise that they don’t have the time or the expertise, they invest in the systems and people that can help them achieve their objectives. Small business energy makes excuses and try to do everything themselves, knowing they do not have the knowledge or experience. If you don’t have the resources to get assistance, change your mindset. Instead of saying “I can’t afford it”, say “what do I need to do to raise the money”. This mental shift will see you carrying out activity to generate revenue to invest in the support or systems that you need.
Allowing impostor syndrome to influence action – “I am not going to do that because I don’t have the skills”.
This is probably the biggest small business energy issue that stifles the progress of so many Founders. It impacts so many of the other areas already mentioned. However, it is so significant that it needs a to be discussed independently. When you have big dreams for your business but are yet to actualise them, it is easy to feel like you are not a success. You therefore can find it uncomfortable to be celebrated for wins which you see as small. You feel as though you are undeserving of titles that people attribute to you. Big business energy feels this uncomfortability and either ignores it or reminds themselves of the very real results and achievements they have earned. Either when the gremlin tells them they aren’t good enough, they feel the fear and do it anyway. Small business energy feels the fear and hides. The feeling isn’t the problem. Many of us experience confidence crisis on our entrepreneurial journey. The important thing is to not allow it to prevent us from pursuing or accepting opportunities.
Real big business energy is consistently pursuing opportunities that scare you and push you outside of your comfort zone. Once you recognise your value, you will stop saying yes to opportunities that don’t really serve you which will make more room for those opportunities that do. The opportunities that are in line with the strategic direction of your business and with the value that you provide, are those which will help to increase the perceived value of your business both externally and internally.
Channelling big business energy will give you bigger business results than small business energy, every time! When you catch yourself thinking like a small business owner, ask yourself “how do I approach this with big business energy”.
If you need help creating a motivational vision for your business or creating strategies for growth, why not work with us? Check out our brochure for details on how we can help your business grow up to 75% Download Brochure.