Small companies are generally perceived as the little guys, while literally making up the majority of the global economy. Small business entrepreneurs must know the value of their companies, as they have a huge impact on all marketplace entities – including big companies.
These little businesses provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, jobs for the population and a little bit of fresh air for the marketplace communities. Even though opening a small company implies greater risks than being an employee in a big one, the perks you get are both quantitative and qualitative.
The importance of such companies resides in the creation of new, meaningful jobs with greater job satisfaction and straight employee-employer communication than isn’t possible within larger, traditional companies. They cultivate regional economies, keeping money close to home while supporting the local population.
Did you know that two out of three new net private sector jobs are offered by small companies? This refers to the number of new jobs created after subtracting the number of jobs that have been withdrawn. Thanks to these companies, such statistics have been globally consistent for the last 25 years!
Small businesses are a vital part of local economies, building webs of financial autonomy that foster broad-based prosperity. It’s like when you spend money at a privately owned local pub, that money goes to pay an employee in your town, who, in turn, will be prone to spend his wages at another local store. If these small local companies make a continuous effort to support each other, they will be able to form a thriving local business community.
This mutual support is very healthy during hard times. If a local company is having business trouble, other members of the marketplace community can help it get back on its feet. It is quite hard to imagine a large corporation generating this type of energy and support or being helped by another massive enterprise.
Moreover, small companies are more agile than larger ones, being able to adapt to the changing marketplace conditions and trends. As we mentioned earlier, small local businesses are much closer to their employees and customers, thus being in a better position to hear feedback and observe changing consumer requirements. A lean business can shift gears much faster than a large corporation – at least because they didn’t invest horrendous sums of money in infrastructure and technologies.
The market wouldn’t ever develop as fast as it does today, if it wasn’t for small businesses. They take the risky chances that would be practically unavailable for large, rigid companies. The small guys usually crash-test new products in the laboratory named “smaller marketplaces”, with minimal investments and fewer risks. This gives them the opportunity to quietly observe variables and obstacles before deciding to try the product on a larger scale.
In fact, large corporations have even tried to pass themselves as smaller businesses when crash-testing new ideas. This protective anonymity of a lesser-known brand may be an advantage when trying a risky idea, because it minimizes the possibility of negative impact on the image of the large corporation.
There are other ways small businesses influence the marketplace. Many large businesses learn from the ingenuity, innovation and agile management of the tiny ones. Since big enterprises are often blocked by bureaucracy, they turn to small businesses in order to find out what's working efficiently in the marketplace at this specific moment. Small companies can “think” clearer, due to the flexibility they have, thus dictating the market trends.
Remember that small businesses do act as competition to big businesses in the competition for talent and innovation, impacting the standard for workplace culture and diversity within the marketplace.
Small firms truly have the potential to thrive in today's marketplace, as long as they stay agile and viable. They are the lifeblood of the global economy and should use their distinctions and size to their advantage!
