Appreciate Your Small Steps

When we think about business growth we often think about raising money, signing huge clients, and taking big steps. How often do we sit down and appreciate the small steps? How often do we focus on the small steps?

Majority of businesses are built on small steps, the big steps come later, at a point where they are too small steps.

Two Ladders

When thinking about the two routes of growing a business, I think of two ladders. One ladder has small spaces between each step, the other has large gaps between each step. Both ladders will take you two the top, both will take you two your goal, but in very different ways.

The small steps are the longer, less risky approach, but it requires patience and dedication. It shows the safer approach that’ll help you grow consistently over time.

The large steps symbolize the risky approach, the loud approach, the one that will help you to achieve the unthinkable in record time.

Both approaches are great options, but today we want to look at the small steps.

Small steps easier but takes longer.

While big steps and big wins may be easy to celebrate, we often forget about the small wins. Think of a client resigning for the fifth year in a row. They may seem less glamorous than the big, new client, but your team worked hard for the past five years to ensure the client is happy and stays on with you.

As a business leader, you set the tone! Start celebrating the small wins, even if it’s just acknowledging them in a team meeting. Small wins create a snowball effect.

Uber Ethiopia Building a Hotel in His Village

Recently I met an Uber driver in London. He had spent time in Cape Town and now in London, to earn money to build his dream hotel back in Ethiopia. He was so excited to show me the new bathrooms that had just been built and the progress they were making on his 32-bedroom hotel.

The progress was slow and the wins small, but he is doing this all on his own. No outside funding and no debt!

This is an achievement made through small steps.

Small Steps with High Success

Small steps have always been a part of our business. Our method was to sign a client, make them happy, and repeat. Simple, small steps, and this has led us to opening up an overseas office in the Netherlands. Small steps may be less glamourous, but they lead to long lasting results.