by Brad Farris, principal advisor at Anchor Advisors
Anchor Advisors, a Chicago-based small business advisory firm, conducted a study on over a 130 business owners to find out what owners of growing companies and those of struggling companies were doing differently. The respondents consisted of mostly founder-led small businesses with sales from less than $1M to over $10M.
We categorized business owner respondents into two areas: “Movers,” owners of growing companies, and “Head Shakers,” owners of companies with flat or no growth.
With the economic environment trudging along the last several years, we’ve heard many business owners say that “flat is the new up,” but despite the bad-weather economy, we found many owners that managed to grow their businesses – by over 25% since 2008.
In the study, Movers & Head Shakers: A Study on Business Owners of Growing & Struggling Companies, we found several key differences between Movers and Head Shakers:
- Movers worked hard and played hard. They worked more hours and took more vacation than the Head Shakers.
- Movers spent more time in front of customers/clients.
- Movers reviewed company performance more than Head Shakers.
- Movers spent less time in meetings.
- Movers spent less time resolving employee issues.
- Movers made more money – a lot more money – than the Head Shakers.
- Movers more frequently read business and personal-growth books.
Download the report to get a more complete view, and compare your actions and attitudes to see where you stand.
Question now is – are you a Mover or Head Shaker? Leave a comment below and let us know what you’ve changed or done with your business in order to keep your enterprise growing.
Brad Farris is principal advisor of Anchor Advisors, a Chicago-based small business advisory firm. Brad has worked with over 100 Chicago area small businesses leading businesses and owners into new levels of growth and success. Farris is the author of two books, “Business Owner Champion” and “Ask Your Budget.” He is also the managing editor of www.enmast.com, a business owner membership community.
