10,000 Times

In the book that I am reading, his first principle is that any business can grow to 10,000 times its current size. 10,000 sounds crazy to me! I'm also not sure that I want to have a business that size, but I do like what he talks about.

Sometimes the possibilities are endless...

We have an idea and we start a business based on that idea. We go through the motions of that idea every day with very little variety. We get caught up in what we need to do to make our business go and to keep our customers happy that we lose sight of what we started. It is necessary to make a plan for growth or stay where you are and not grow, but you cannot make a small business anything else if you don't make a plan and move forward.

I started my small business for the same reason a lot of people started their businesses. I found something I was good at and I wanted to eventually work for myself. However, if I don't make a plan for growth and move forward, I would work for myself, I will work for my business. I won't run my business, it will run me (probably ragged). I need to plan for expansion, I need to plan to get bigger, but that doesn't mean just make a plan to offer more.

Here is the big point that really hit home for me: Don't just do everything you could do, focus on what you would love to do. What do I really want to do? Make soap. Obviously! That really is a labor of love for me, even the batches of soap that I have made many, many times before. I still enjoy it. I enjoy thinking out new soaps and new designs. I enjoy rethinking old soaps. I enjoy telling people about soap. I enjoy sharing my soap. I enjoy soap.  What else? I want to make products that off true benefits for your skin. Yes, the lotion I make is great and it smells great and people love it. But, it is still just lotion that smells good. It prevents dry skin. It smells good. People like it, so I make it. People ask for a new of different scent, so I make it. That is about it.

Am I the Joseph from the book? I hope not! Do I have a vision? Yes! Now, I need to plan how to get there. Like I said, I don't know that I want a 10,000 times business. But, I do want a larger business. So, I need a plan. First, I will have to accept that I cannot do everything (I already have) and I will start getting more help. Second, I will have to figure out what else I can do to get my products out there. Third, there will come a point where I can't make everything myself, so how and what do I train someone else to do. My list actually goes on, but I am going to stop there.

Any ideas or thoughts?