The Open University just published their Quarterly Survey of Small Business in Britain and I want to share one graph with you here.
As you can see micro and small business are suffering in this economic climate more than the mid-size and large businesses – why do you think that is? This graph has been haunting me for days and for me it comes down to the same old issues I keep on ranting about, in one word: FOCUS.
With business focus there is no way a larger business can out-perform a well run small business in terms of customer care, customer loyalty and business efficiency.
Bigger business is better at analyzing business performance and optimizing processes, these tools are available to small business for free – why are they not being used?
Focusing on the competitive advantages of being a small business, with lower over-heads, better customer service, faster reaction times and so on and on, should become second nature. Not following every rabbit-hole (distraction) is essential to business success too. Do a SWOT analysis and focus on what you are good at.
In my mind there is no way that large business can out-perform small business on a size adjusted basis – let’s get to it and let’s change this graph!
