In this post I summarize the book for you in 5 minutes to read, revealing the main ideas.
#1 Now is the time to start the business
If you have a business idea, it can be started now, with little money (like a blog, which only requires a domain and hosting) or not at all (like a freelancer on Upwork). You only need a computer and an internet connection. And quickly, don’t wait to think. You can create an account on Upwork right now after reading the article.
#2 Minimizing and simplifying an already existing business
If you already have a business you have to think about what steps can be eliminated, what can be eliminated to make it as simple as possible, and have the same results. Experience tells us that the forced growth of a company or business, and the unbridled desire for growth has the opposite effect, i.e. decline. In order to be successful, we have to keep everything as simple as possible, to be as small as possible.
#3 Deliberately limiting profit so that we don’t need to hire
Growth is also important but within limits. It is important to set an upper profit threshold according to the book. This is the basic idea of the book, which is to limit the income, in such a way that we have time for other things, for vacations, for family, for our passions. It is important to have a balanced income, not to make more than we set out to do but at the same time be profitable.
#4 The advantage is more freedom
You can work from anywhere even with a laptop. You can be a freelancer or a digital nomad. It is something that is practiced. Pieter Levels makes $400,000 a year without even having an office. He travels all over the world. And he doesn’t want to grow, he doesn’t want to earn more and hire people. He is satisfied like that.
#5 Qualitative not quantitative
In such a company it is more important to work qualitatively rather than quantitatively. This way you will have customers who will recommend you to other people. After that when many customers gather on waiting lists you can increase your price to triage customers. That way you’ll be left with a big profit and you’ll intentionally reduce your workload so you don’t have to hire, which would bring more hassle.
#6 Step by step
You have to help one client, who will pay you, then another, and so on, until the end. You can pass the business down to your descendants, which is important to maintain in an era where most companies come and go in a short time. The lifespan of most large companies being no more than 15 years. So, you should find the first customer, then another, then another, and so on. What will make the difference in the beginning will be a low price and high quality. Empathy is also important. You have to help customers achieve their goals, know what the customer would like.
#7 Educate the customer
When you talk about something you know about a lot and make a conscious effort to teach someone something, for example blogging, as is the case with Copyblogger, you will be seen as someone who knows what they are talking about and their knowledge can be used with true. Niching means specializing in something and is also beneficial.
In this way the level of expertise increases. But you will need to have knowledge not only of the profession you work in, in a company like Company One, (a company made up of one person) but also of marketing, sales, etc., because you will do all the work. For this reason, you have to keep yourself as minimalist as possible, as company.
Finally
This book gives many examples of small firms that last over time, unlike large companies that after 10 or 20 years disappear as quickly as they appeared. The benefits of working alone in your company are great. They can bring you the freedom to select clients, the freedom to work when you want and take leave when you want, the freedom to think individually and have 100% decision-making power in your company without having to be influenced by those who give you capital, as happens in large companies.
It’s important to stay yourself, keep your personality and character and use your own traits.