Small Companies are Better Than Big Companies

Watch my free training here https://www.entrepreneurjames.co.uk/
Hey. If you’re new to the channel, welcome! My name is James Blackwell.
I own a 7 figure Recruitment Agency based in the UK and the US.
My life goal is to help business owners and entrepreneurs reach financial freedom and greatness in business and life. I’m on a mission to reinvent education by delivering the best online program in the world using proven methods and an immersive environment.
►►► JOIN MY FACEBOOK RECRUITING COMMUNITY here

———
Would you like 1-on-1 coaching with me to help grow your agency to $100k per month?
► Schedule a call with me here to apply
———
Where to follow and connect:
► Contact Me: https://www.entrepreneurjames.com/
► Facebook link
► Linkedin profile
► Subscribe To My Channel here

TRANSCRIPT

(00:02):

Hello, everybody. James Blackwell here. In today’s video, I wanted to share a book that I would highly recommend, and it is called Small Giants, by Bo Burlingham.

(00:29):

In this book, Bo talks around why it is sometimes good to have a small company that just choose to be great instead of big. And I thought it was really relevant to share this book with you. If you’re looking to grow your recruitment agency or recruitment firm, and you don’t have a desire to take it to 50, 100, 200, 1000 employees, then this type of book will actually start to make sense, because Bo talks around thriving companies that are great, and he bases his hypothesis on Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great. So it’s another book that I would highly recommend. And Jim Collins talks around the flywheel effect there, and how you actually get from good to great. And you focus on one thing, one market, and be the first and second key business within that sector.

(01:23):

But what Bo talks around is around like how it is actually good to be a small giant. And you don’t always have to take investment, have big desires to grow to a PLC organization, and thinking about the top line, which he talks around, with big companies always think of the top line, which is revenue growth. So year-on-year growth, can we increase head count, can we increase revenue. When really, in reality, when you focus on the bottom line, i.e., your billings and revenue minus operational expenses and the cost of goods sold, et cetera, or your cost of your services, your net profit is the key that you should be focusing on.

(02:12):

Because when you get profitable over time, and that has a consistent effect year-on-year, and you reinvest your profit, yes, you can get big, but unless you’re actually going to sell one day… So if you’re focusing on your business to sell, great. Like hats off to you, brilliant, enjoy the ride and go for it. But in terms of recruitment, there’s a small, small amount that actually sell. So there’s probably a few management buyouts, so another term for that is MBOs, where the managers within your business will actually take over the business. So that’s normally one way to exit.

(02:55):

Another traditional exit is to get private equity. Take that investment, then you still have to work on that business for another three, four years in the hope that it’s going to sell again and do an earnout. Or just be a small giant. Be highly profitable. If you focus on your micro niche, as I always say, niche within a niche, and really carve out that market, really be lean in terms of your overheads and costs. So not always just hiring head count for the sake of it. Can you use micro flywheels in your business, like I teach in my program? Leveraging tools, technology, et cetera, that’s really hyper-focused in order for it to be highly profitable as well.

(03:34):

And keep that war chest tight. I always say, first get to 100K, then get to 250K, then can you get your war chest to 500K, and then can you get it to seven figures? Can you have a million pounds or a million dollars in the bank at any one time within your business? Because that gives you big balls in the market. And it makes you feel a lot more comfortable when adversity comes, or recessions take a dip, et cetera.

(04:02):

But when you’re building this, what Bo calls a small giant, and he talks around this in his book, he gives, I think he’s got around 10, 12 different studies of different companies from around the world that didn’t take investment, didn’t decide to go on the stock market or get listed, and were happy just being the best within their niche niche sector, without taking investment. So check that book out. It’s by Bo Burlingham. And the theory that I want to leave you with is it is still good to be small, but you can still be great and you can still be highly profitable.

(04:42):

And to be highly profitable, you don’t need a lot of clients as well. So if you do the good things right within your agency, and you can have 10, 15, 20 paid clients that are either retained or exclusive, that over time when they grow, you grow as well, you could easily get that to a high six, seven figure agency. Bolted on with your micro flywheels that are working for you as well to leverage more time, more freedom, more autonomy. You’re going to enjoy the good life.

(05:13):

Like you don’t have to stress and bust your balls to grow a business one day in the hope that you’re going to sell. Because there’s a lot of companies now that have plowed all of their profits in year-on-year, that haven’t been left in the bank with a big war chest, and those companies are struggling now because they’ve had let go of a lot of their staff, or put a lot on furlough. And the chances of them selling that business in a year’s time, two years’ time, is a lot slimmer now because the market’s changed.

(05:44):

So have a think around how can you create your business to be a small giant, like what Bo teaches in the book. Check the book out. I highly recommend it. And I’ll catch you on the next episode.