The document discusses different ways to define the size of a company, as the question "How big is your company?" is not as simple as it seems. It notes that a company's size could be measured by number of employees, clients, revenue, or office space. However, the accomplishments and experience of employees may also impact perceived size. While adding staff is a common way to try to grow a business, it increases overhead costs. Instead, the document recommends increasing a company's value through branding, maximizing talent, keeping clients happy, using freelancers, and social media presence in order to grow the business without increasing costs.

1. As a business owner, I can’t count
how many times I’m asked, “How
big is your company?”While this common
question seems to make sense during a ‘getting to know you’
type of conversation, the answer isn’t as simple as the question.
Defining the size of a company is arguably up for interpretation.
‘Size’ might refer to the number of employees on staff or
the number of clients on the roster. It could reflect the
amount of revenue the company generates or the amount
of office space the company inhabits. All of these are solid
measurable references, but on a more philosophical level, what
if the size of the company is determined by the accomplishments
and experience of the employees that do the work?
At some point, every business owner must think about whether
they grow their business or maintain status quo. Popular
belief is that in order to increase revenue, employees must
be added. While adding staff can obviously provide resources
to serve clients, it can also add overhead. If you have more
people on your payroll, you obviously have to increase income.
You need a place for employees to work and equipment for
them to work on. Seems like common sense, but it all adds up.
That isn’t to say that increasing staff isn’t at times necessary,
but adding bodies for the purpose of making the company
‘bigger’ is not necessarily going to increase the value of your
company. The following can make your company rise to the
top without drastically reducing your reserves.
CHRIS MARTIN is the president of Martin Public Relations, the agency that brings you StorySend,TM
a targeted news release distribution service.
Since 1994, Chris has led seminars and workshops on crisis communications and working with the media. Martin Public Relations tells stories for local, regional,
national and international corporations. Visit MartinPublicRelations.com for more information and to learn more about StorySend.
Elon Musk said, “I don’t create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.” There are no hard
rules to define what makes a company ‘big’, but no matter the real or perceived size of a company, it must have value.
This value is what truly defines the size of a company and how it will impact an industry and the world.
BY INCREASING YOUR VALUE
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
BY INCREASING YOUR VALUE
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
BY INCREASING YOUR VALUE
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
BY INCREASING YOUR VALUE
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
BY INCREASING YOUR VALUE
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
BY INCREASING YOUR VALUE
GROW YOUR BUSINESS
Build Your Brand
A brand drives the experience clients have when
they engage with your business. A business
might be small, but that shouldn’t limit goals.
Having a solid brand (name, visual identity,
website) speaks volumes about the value of
the company while increasing awareness also
increases the perceived size of the company.
Maximize the Talent of Your Talent
According to Gallup research, people who use
their strengths every day are six times more
likely to be engaged, perform better, are less
likely to leave and boost your bottom line.
Making the most of the talent in your own
company will position you to be a leader in
your industry and spur growth of ideas and
innovation within your company.
Keep Your Clients Happy
Seems obvious, right? This is probably the
most important thing you can do to grow
your business. Happy clients not only remain
clients, they often tell others about your great
work. This type of peer-generated promotion
can often go further than being on the
Jumbotron in Times Square.
Add Staff Without Adding Staff
Need an expert but can’t really afford to make
them a permanent member of your staff? A
great freelancer will be experienced with a lot
of different businesses and they bring those
skills to your shop. A stable of experts expands
a company’s skill set while keeping overhead
costs low, which can be passed along to clients.
Be Social
Finally, don’t forget to focus on social networking
sites. A company with 20,000 fans will seem
more significant than one with 500, even if both
companies have the same annual revenue.