[July Poll] Are you an independent business?

Posted on | July 16, 2010 | Comments Off

Since it’s July, I thought I would work with the not-exactly-original-but-often-interesting theme of “independence.”

When it comes to running a microbusiness, independence can mean several different things.

Of course, it’s a pretty rare thing for a microbusiness to be a wholly owned subsidiary of anything at all, so that we are all independent in that sense.

It’s nice, too, because we can make business decisions without having to worry about other forces in the corporate hierarchy that might be breathing down our necks.

But sometimes being small makes being independent — truly independent– impossible.

For example, if you run a micro service business and you only have one or two clients, you really do have to treat each of them like the Goose That Laid The Golden Egg. If you end up having to be paranoid about ticking off one or the other of them because you can’t afford to lose the business … well, that’s not really independent, is it?

How about if you find that your business is always buffeted by the winds of the larger economy. Maybe your business decisions try to ignore that larger economy but, if it still impacts your business, can you truly call yourself independent?

Or maybe you really are independent. Or maybe you are but don’t want to be and are only waiting for the job market to revive.

That’s my question to you this month:

What do you say?

While you’re at it, feel free to drop by the comments here and leave your general thoughts about the whole idea of being an independent business and what that really means and why it’s important … or not.

June’s Poll Results

This is another case in which the results were interesting and would have been even more so if there’d been more responses.

Juen Poll: Has the economy caused you to reassess your business?

Of course! – 50%
No, I regularly revise my business plan (regardless of what the economy does) – 30%
No, it hasn’t been necessary – 20%

There were no votes for the fourth choice: “No, I never go back and revise anything.”

It isn’t surprising to learn that microbusiness owners regularly reassess their firms, even though we are pretty sure that microbusiness owners are allergic to excess paperwork. Micros are pretty flexible and, as has often been stated, they can turn on a dime.

Under those circumstances, they had better be willing to get with the planning program. Otherwise, they’d be spinning like tops and stopping on dimes and getting precisely nowhere, wouldn’t they?

Have a great weekend, everybody!


Email This Post Email This Post Print This Post Print This Post

Bookmark and Share
Category: Numbers and Research
Tags: > > >


Comments

Comments are closed.

  • Meet The Journal Blogger

    Dawn Rivers Baker, microbusiness journalistDawn Rivers Baker, aka The Journal Blogger, is the editor and publisher of The MicroEnterprise Journal, and the self-proclaimed Socrates of the small business blogosphere. See her official bio to learn more.

  • Find Dawn Elsewhere

    Listen to Dawn Rivers Baker on Blog Talk Radio

    featured on US News & World Report


    Small Business Trends Expert

    Contributor, OPEN Forum Blog

  • Connect with Dawn

  • Visit Our Sponsors

  • Categories

  • Archives