What if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale a new start-up, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours, and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? Suppose the better - and smarter - solution is simply to remain small? This book explains how to do just that.
Company of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth, for any size business. Not as a freelancer who only gets paid on a per piece basis, and not as an entrepreneurial start-up that wants to scale as soon as possible, but as a small business that is deliberately committed to staying that way. By staying small, one can have freedom to pursue more meaningful pleasures in life and avoid the headaches that result from dealing with employees, long meetings, or worrying about expansion. Company of One introduces this unique business strategy and explains how to make it work for you, including how to generate cash flow on an ongoing basis.
©2019 Paul Jarvis (P)2018 Audible, Inc.
I’m a small business owner and struggle with the whether I should expand my staff to grow or look for ways to maintain my size but grow my revenue more slowly.
I’m glad to hear someone else say the measure of success isn’t size of your company/revenue but the happiness of yourself and staff.
4 stars for performance only because it felt a little stammering at times. I’m guessing it was the first time narrating.
Really loving the effort and thought put into this book. Would highly recommend to everyone starting or being in a business venture that are questioning whether or not your should grow bigger or BETTER. Mind blown.
I started my company of one three years ago. I reached viability quickly in the first year, had increased well beyond my highest salary in the second year, and continued double digit growth in the third, staying cashflow positive and profitable throughout as I expanded. I am at the phase where my business is and will remain viable. I can continue carefully growing, but I am ambivalent at best about adding employees, and I want to be more selective and continue tailoring to the work I find most engaging. I am also exploring the issue of moving from service delivery (all of my revenue is my own direct service and expertise) to developing monetizable associated products. My business represents my personality and beliefs, but I am also trying to figure out how to continue defining those and aligning the business to the beliefs. So this book is really perfectly timed for me. This book could have more details tailored to where I am at, but I think it's enough of an entre that I will check out Paul's podcast and community. I also recommended this book to a small circle of women entrepreneurs I'm in (almost all of whom are companies of one) for discussion and I can't wait to talk about it with them. The details for people just beginning are better, but of course I didn't have this book three years ago!
I think it might have been advisable for Paul to use a professional narrator but given the content and premise I also understand why he did it himself. There is some odd halting and there are awkward pauses, but at the same time it's his voice, and so it makes sense that it's his voice. I would have done the same, so I cannot blame him much.
feels like the author's editor forced him to make it applicable to people working for large companies. I rarely don't finish a book but this one was a big disappointment.
The book is read with a lot of odd pauses. Like the sentence was going to end, but it doesn't.
Content was great. A fresh view on how to approach growth in business.
Methodical, well-thought out presentation of the future of working and career. Felt seen in my career journey for the 1st time. Lots of great nuggets on how to best play the non-traditional employment path.
Lots of great ideas, strategies and tactics. I enjoyed the overall business strategy of staying small yet profitable.
This is an excellent book. Has made me question all of the assumptions I had about building my business. Changes are definitely coming in the future.
It's truly possible to stay profitable, long term as a small business. The book is excellent about outlining how it can be done. None of the hype of "always grow" or "always hustle," in fact the exact opposite may be the best way to find the best balance for your business and personal life. Would HIGHLY recommend!
I absolutely love this book. So grateful for Paul’s perspective on building sustainable business over the long haul. I’ve adopted many pieces of this book already and will give it another read/listen through soon.
This is a very well written and very informative book. Parts of this books concept can be used in most companies and it is a great guideline for starting your own business. Loved it and have recommended it.
A great book for the different perspective in developing business. I find it very useful.