On this episode, I talk with Paul Jarvis, author of Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business. If you haven’t gotten a chance to pick it up yet, the ideas that he brings up are definitely food for thought. As entrepreneurs, we can get trapped in a cycle of always pushing for more growth and creating bigger and bigger structures around us to support that growth. What doesn’t get talked about enough is the work-life balance trade-offs you often have to make when you find yourself at the center of a bigger organization.
Paul draws from twenty years of experience running his own web design agency for big clients like Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, and Warner Music. As he started to work for himself and offers piled up, he found himself at a crossroads. He could bring on more people and get bigger and bigger. But there were two problems with that: “One, I didn’t like managing other people, and two, I really liked the work, and I didn’t want to promote myself out of a job that I like doing into a job I didn’t like doing.”
So if Paul’s not focused on growth, what does he do instead? The short answer is doing what he’s already doing more efficiently, building processes, and using automation to reduce overhead and help his team work smarter. For the long answer, you’ll have to listen to the episode. There’s a lot there for anyone trying to figure out how their business can help them live the life they want to live, instead of the other way around.
Read the full transcript below!
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Special thanks to Paul Jarvis for joining me this week. Until next time!
Today’s Guest
Paul Jarvis
I sit down with Paul Jarvis, author of Company of One, to talk about how taking your focus off of growth can lead to a more sustainable business and life.
- Website: Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business
- Twitter: pjrvs
You’ll Learn
- How Paul went from college dropout to successful web designer.
- Why he made the decision to stay small.
- How you can accidentally promote yourself out of a job you like.
- How to get out of the growth mentality.
- Why we need to find the joy of missing out (JOMO).
- How to make a business that supports your life, not a life that supports your business.
- Why networking is crucial for Paul.
- What Paul looks for when he’s hiring.
- How a weekly newsletter turned into a book.
- What it’s like dealing with a traditional publisher, and more!
Resources
Note: Some of the resources below may be affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.
