Читать книгу Small Business Revolution - Barry C. McCarthy - Страница 19

I FREQUENTLY SPEAK with small-business owners around the country. Sometimes we have the chance to sit down over coffee or a meal—or, more recently, over Zoom. I have certain questions that I've found to be most useful in understanding their businesses. Perhaps the most important question: “Why are you doing what you're doing?”

With some of the businesses we see in the SBR series, the answer may be: “I love to bake.” In the case of Ohm Nohm Bakery & Cafe in Season 5, Episode 5, we met the owner, Jessamine Daly-Griffen. She was a devoted mother of kids who needed gluten-free baked goods. For her, the original “why” was “I couldn't find healthy and delicious baked goods for my family nearby, so I decided to make them myself.” That's a wonderful example of taking matters into your own hands and solving a problem. I tip my hat to her.

Here's the interesting thing: your “why” may change over time, and that's okay.

However, I cannot overstate the importance of being clear with yourself about why you are starting or have started a business. While your “why” may adapt at different times, what cannot change is the ability of the business to create sufficient income to support its owners and workers. That is the point of a business. If it can't support the owner and workers, it probably isn't a business at all.

When we look at Jessamine's gluten-free business, she could have just continued to bake those items at home for her family. Instead, she got into business. Why? Because word spread about her excellent baked goods that solved a serious health need and were not available anywhere else in the counties surrounding Fredonia, New York. She ramped up her operation into a commercial enterprise to meet that important need for other families.

Many businesses start as a noble pursuit, to do something nice for neighbors or the community, and many owners dream about the business being able to comfortably support their families at the same time. Many groups can organize themselves like a business. Nonprofits are a great example of organizations that are organized similarly to businesses.

Every business needs to provide a source of income for the owner and team of workers helping the business succeed. Just because you want something to be a profitable business does not mean it has that potential.

Perhaps the business can be successful, but not in your location. Or perhaps the business is already successful in the current location, but it's potential for more is limited by some factor. Maybe the business is better as a hobby than a business, or maybe a hobby has the potential to become a great business.