Why You Don’t Need a Big Team to Run a Successful Business

Bigger is always better, right? Well, not exactly. 

People tend to fall into the mindset that having a big work team means you’ll be able to accomplish more and run a truly successful business. While it is true that you can take on more projects and service more people with a bigger team, it doesn’t necessarily mean your business will be successful.

Here are several reasons why you don’t necessarily need a big team to run a successful business. 

Differing opinions

There’s an expression, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” What it means is if you have too many people trying to do something at the same time, it doesn’t turn out well.

This issue tends to happen when you have big teams. Everyone has their own opinions on how things should be done, which can cause many conflicts. At the worst, with so many differing opinions, tasks are completed sloppily, or nothing is accomplished.

Having a smaller team doesn’t stop you from having differing opinions, but there’s a much higher chance for compromise. When you’re able to find a compromise faster, you can complete tasks in a well and timely manner. 

Outsource work faster

When you run a small team, you’re bound to find tasks that go beyond the capabilities of your team. Bigger companies run into this problem too, but at a lower rate. 

With a small team, you can easily outsource a task through an independent contractor agreement or freelancer contract. With bigger companies, there are many regulations within their company they have to go through if they decide to outsource a job, which can cause the task to be completed at a slower rate. 

When you have a small team, you can easily see what jobs will require an external party and address accordingly. You’ll also be able to save money by not having to hire a completely new employee. 

Less to manage

With fewer employees to focus on, you don’t have to manage as much.

It can be a real headache trying to deal with the needs of 50 plus employees. There are endless complaints, internal conflicts, and turnovers. 

When you have to focus on the needs of each employee on a big team, you run the risk of losing sight of the bigger picture. For many businesses, this comes down to making a profit. With fewer people, you get to hone in better on the core goals of your business. 

Focus on building a strong team

Now, just because you don’t have a big team doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hire new employees if you need to. What you should do with your smaller team is focus on building it out to perform at a high level. This could be actively investing in training your employees, having more one-on-one sessions, and cultivating their talents. 

With a small team, you get to really know how each employee’s work habits. You’ll get a good feel for each of your employees’ strengths and weaknesses, which allows you to assign them tasks that best fit them. 

You can potentially develop stronger relations with your team that will help retain them for the long run. After all, it doesn’t help if you invest all this time into training your employees, only for them to quit after a few months. 

Having a big team isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, many successful companies have employees that range in the thousands. But you shouldn’t feel that you need to have a big company in order for your business to be successful.

A small team can accomplish quite a lot. There are many advantages a small business can have in comparison to a big company. With careful planning and strategy, you can create a small business that rivals the bigger competitors in your industry.