Apple started in a garage and Facebook began in a dorm room. Not all beginnings are as humble, but they prove that you don’t need to start working in a big-name corporation to find success.
Michael Dell, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and almost all those people whose personal wealth is measured in billions of dollars practically dropped out of college. Lazy students use this excuse NOT to complete their college education, but the thing is these billionaires worked like crazy and had a work ethic that far surpassed the average workaholic stereotype in the work place.
There’s a lesson here somewhere.
I graduated top in my college, with my tuition provided for by a scholarship grant from a huge multi-national business company. But I did not work for them after. There was no provision in the scholarship arrangement that I had to. I started my career working for a small company – and in a low entry-level job that wasn’t exactly the envy of most people: dressing up mannequins and department store show windows. But today, I have most of the country’s top 100 business corporations as my clients.
We do not have updated data in our country, but it can be said that small businesses play a crucial role to job seekers especially those who are fresh out of college. While big companies place their bets and offer attractive salaries, perks, and privileges to the top three-percent graduates of the leading colleges and universities, small businesses account for 64 percent of new jobs in the past 15 years and employ more than half of all private sector employees according to the US Small Business Administration.
Most people want to work for big companies because big companies have offerings that grab most job seekers’ attention: company culture, leadership opportunities and career prospects. But what most jobseekers and people fail to realize is that, for many job seekers I know, a small business organization may just be the best fit for them.
Joining an organization that’s not a household name [yet] might not have some of the cushy perks a large business can provide, but it can offer opportunities you can’t find elsewhere. Let me give you some of them:
1. It’s Easier To Be Noticed
Job descriptions evolve; cost-cutting is the theme of the day. And if you are working in a big company, you can be asked to take on tasks outside your typical responsibilities. You may find this unusually taxing and stressful, but for small businesses, this is business as usual. When you think small businesses, you think multi-tasking, multi-jobs and multi-responsibilities.
With fewer employees to compete with, your ideas are more easily heard, your skills and achievements, more easily seen. Therefore, if you have the opportunity to offer either ideas or skills, take it. As the company grows, you’ll be remembered for your contributions.
2. Hard Work and Loyalty is Rewarded
Business owners are almost always appreciative of employees who exhibit exceptional loyalty and dedication. You do not have to put in 12 hours work daily in order to show your commitment. Unless you are working for a selfish, greedy and insensitive business owner, your efforts in the long run will reap dividends. In the short term, your boss appreciates your effort; in the long run, you’re more likely to be promoted when the company expands because of your greater visibility. Business owners won’t feel the urge to get outside talents when you’re a hard worker and your office is just a few square meters big.
3. Faster Access Faster Results
You have a direct line to your boss. Your ideas can be heard and implemented faster. If your company makes a mistake, the national media isn’t watching your every move. As a result, your stress level at a small business can be lower and you have a higher level of fulfillment especially when you see your ideas bringing in results.
The glamour is with big companies, no doubt about that. Working in a big business can be very fulfilling, but if you’re fitted to work in small businesses, then you might really want to take a serious look at it.
I came across a philosophy that has become a cliché now more than ever: work for a big business and you may be a small fish in a big pond; work for a small business and you may be a big fish in a small pond. Here’s my take on this: if you decide to be a big fish in a small pond, don’t stop there. Enlarge the pond. Go where God wants you to go.
(Attend this once in a lifetime seminar on “The Leadership Factor” featuring Dr. Harold Sala, Francis Kong and Jim Collins (video) on Nov. 27 at the SMX Convention Center. Call Pam or Kriselle of Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115 for further details.)
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