Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Future

Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Future

Growth is often seen as the ultimate goal in business, but Paul Jarvis’s book Company of One challenges this notion, offering a fresh perspective on how businesses can thrive by staying small. Whether you’re a freelancer, entrepreneur, or manager, the insights from this book show how designing your work around your life goals—not just growth—can lead to sustainable success.

Rethinking Growth: Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Traditional business models equate success with growth—more customers, employees, and products. However, unchecked growth can be risky. The Startup Genome Project found that 74% of high-growth startups fail because they scale too quickly. For example:

  • Pets.com burned through $17 million in advertising in one quarter despite earning just $8.8 million, leading to a $300 million loss.
  • Starbucks, when expanding into CDs and sandwiches, lost money before refocusing on its core strength: coffee.

Jarvis argues that growth should serve a purpose. If it doesn’t align with the business’s goals, it can lead to unnecessary complexity, inefficiency, and even failure.

The Mindset of a Company of One

A Company of One doesn’t reject growth but questions its necessity. Instead of growing for the sake of it, this approach focuses on optimizing resources to improve the business.

Key principles include:

  • Purpose Over Passion: Define a clear purpose that drives decisions and priorities.
  • Small Steps: Test ideas with minimal resources to validate assumptions and reduce risk.
  • Lean Scaling: Use scalable systems to grow impact without expanding size.

This approach is not limited to freelancers or solopreneurs; even large organizations can adopt the Company of One mindset to remain agile and resilient.

Benefits of Staying Small

  1. Flexibility and Focus: Small teams can adapt quickly to changes, staying ahead of competitors.
  2. Stronger Relationships: Smaller businesses can build deeper connections with customers, creating trust and loyalty.
  3. Work-Life Balance: By setting boundaries, business owners can design a lifestyle that aligns with their values.

Actionable Strategies from Company of One

  1. Set Upper Limits: Define not only a minimum goal (e.g., revenue of $1M) but also an upper limit (e.g., $1.5M), beyond which returns or satisfaction diminish. Southwest Airlines, for instance, expanded cautiously to stay profitable when others were losing money.
  2. Leverage Unique Personality: Build a brand with a distinct identity to stand out. Polarizing opinions or bold messages can spark engagement without massive ad budgets.
  3. Build Long-Term Relationships: Focus on existing customers. Teach them valuable skills, and prioritize word-of-mouth over costly acquisition strategies.

Is This Approach Right for You?

Starting a Company of One requires dedication and versatility. Entrepreneurs must handle multiple roles—marketing, HR, product development—and align their work with their life goals. Before diving in:

  • Test ideas part-time while maintaining your current job.
  • Minimize expenses and focus on achieving profitability quickly.
  • Seek expert advice on legal and financial matters to set up a strong foundation.

The Bottom Line

Company of One is a powerful reminder that success isn’t about endless growth, but about building a business that works for you. By focusing on purpose, relationships, and lean systems, anyone can create a sustainable and fulfilling business model.

Whether you’re starting a new venture or rethinking an existing one, consider staying small as a strategy for doing big things.

Read more