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The 7 Irrefutable Rules
of
Small
Business
Growth
Steven S. Little

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The 7 Irrefutable Rules
of
Small
Business
Growth
The 7 Irrefutable Rules
of
Small
Business
Growth
Steven S. Little

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright © 2005 by Steven S. Little. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Little, Steven S.
The 7 irrefutable rules of small business growth / Steven S. Little.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-471-70760-0 (pbk.)
1. Small business—Management—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title: The 7
irrefutable rules of small business growth. II. Title.
HD62.7.L58 2005
658.02′—dc22
2004022890

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 To the memory of
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who gave us all the gift of perspective this summer.
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 CONTENTS

Preface: Did I Really Say “Irrefutable”? ix

Acknowledgments xvii
About the Author xix
CHAPTER 1 A Realist’s View of the Small
Business Landscape 1
CHAPTER 2 Are You Really the Entrepreneurial Type? 27
CHAPTER 3 RULE 1: Establish and Maintain a Strong
Sense of Purpose 43
CHAPTER 4 RULE 2: Thoroughly Understand
the Marketplace 69
CHAPTER 5 RULE 3: Build an Effective Growth
Planning System 85
CHAPTER 6 RULE 4: Develop Customer-Driven
Processes 105
CHAPTER 7 RULE 5: Put the Power of Technology
to Work 137
CHAPTER 8 RULE 6: Attract and Keep the Best and
the Brightest 167
CHAPTER 9 RULE 7: See the Future More Clearly 197
Appendix: Personality Tests That Measure
Entrepreneurial Types 217
Index 231

vii
 PREFACE

DID I REALLY SAY

“IRREFUTABLE”?
ea, I sure did. Ir-re-fu-ta-ble. There . . . I said it again.
Y Without question, this is the one word that best describes
what I’m trying to say. However, like many words, this one
may have different meanings for different readers. To get us
off on the right foot, I want to be sure that you and I are clear
on my meaning. Let me explain.

SOME BACKGROUND
Throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s, I was president of
three different fast-growth businesses. In each case, these
businesses went from pretty small to considerably bigger (but
still pretty small in the grand scheme of things). The biggest
one reached more than $12 million in revenue and 100 em-
ployees, and all three went through significant growth phases.
At a relatively early age, I did learn a few things about what it
takes to grow a small business.
I also learned that I liked talking about small business
growth more than I liked actually doing it. I come from a long
line of teachers and orators, and eventually the pull of that
familial persuader gene proved more than I could resist. I

ix
PREFACE

decided in early 1998 (along with my inexplicably under-

standing spouse) to pursue a full-time career as an indepen-
dent consultant and speaker, specializing in the area of
business growth for the privately held business. So far, so
good.
Soon after, people began to hire me. In almost every case,
they hired me based on my experience growing smaller busi-
nesses into bigger ones. That’s what gave me credibility in
their eyes. Whether it was as a speaker or a consultant, it was
my past success that got their attention. I have now spoken di-
rectly with literally tens of thousands of owners and managers
of private enterprises. To this day, people still usually hire me
based on my real-world experience.
But here’s an interesting thing. As I said before, I did learn a
few things about growing businesses while I was doing it. How-
ever, I’ve learned much, much more about the concept of busi-
ness growth since becoming a consultant, speaker, and “expert”
in the field. What I’ve learned, combined with my experience
growing small companies, is really what I bring to the table.
For years, I’ve immersed myself in the study of business
growth. Who does it? Why do they do it? Why does this owner
make it work and not that one? What do the academicians
say on the subject? Successful entrepreneurs? Other self-
proclaimed experts? The media? It’s a fascinating subject and
one in which your sources of information are never exhausted.
So what have I learned? For one thing, I’ve learned that
back when I thought I knew everything I could on the subject
of growth, I actually knew very little. I’ve also learned that the
more I know about my chosen field, the less definitive I can
be. In other words, the more I see and hear and experience
what it takes to grow a privately held business, the less able I
am to make sweeping pronouncements and general state-
ments of truth.

x
 Preface

For every small business study that points in a specific di-

rection, there’s invariably another that points in exactly the
opposite direction. I can get consensus from one group of
business owners on one idea, only to be shot down as irrele-
vant by the next. Even some of my own nuggets of wisdom,
slowly unearthed during my many years of digging in the
trenches, have proven to be nothing more than fool’s gold.
But I have found a few concepts that seem to resonate with
people in the know—people who have witnessed sustained,
profitable growth. Through years of dedicated effort (aka trial
and error), I’ve managed to hone in on a few big ideas that
seem to make sense—ideas with which people I respect ap-
pear to agree.
How do I know they agree? It has more to do with what they
don’t say than what they do. On the whole, company leaders
who’ve had even a modest amount of success become stark-
raving “experts.” (Believe me, as a former company president, I
know.) They are never shy about shooting down anyone or
anything that espouses ideas that are contrary to their own ex-
perience. (Believe me, as a speaker and consultant, I know.)
These seven rules of small business growth that I include in
this book are not rules because anyone in particular agrees
with them. Instead, it’s because I can’t find any credible indi-
viduals inclined to disagree with them. To me, that is exactly
what makes them so gosh-darn ir-re-fu-ta-ble. It’s not that
they’re scientifically proven. It’s that no one wants to disprove
them, because almost everyone already agrees with them.
Does that make sense?
You’ll find that I like to make use of analogies, so here goes
the first of many. Everyone seems to agree that a rose is beau-
tiful. The notion that a rose is beautiful is irrefutable, despite
the fact that it would be impossible to prove. Sure, I guess we
could conduct some type of poll about attitudes toward rose

xi
PREFACE

beauty by various demographic groups, culminating in a sta-

tistical proof of general rose beauty across the human race.
No one does this, though, because it’s silly. A rose is beautiful,
and everyone knows it.
The rules I present here are important, and everyone “in
the know” knows it. They are irrefutable.

OTHER STUFF YOU NEED TO

KNOW BEFORE WE GET STARTED

This is not a checklist book. Every year, I speak to literally tens

of thousands of business owners and managers interested in
growth. After the event, people often call or e-mail me with
additional questions. Without a doubt, the second most com-
mon question people ask me is, “What book can I buy that
will tell me how to grow my business?” (By the way, the most
common is, “How can I become a speaker?” That answer I’ll
save for another day.)
The book question is an interesting one for a couple of rea-
sons. First, they never say “read.” It’s always what book should
I “buy.” Perhaps I’m thinking about it too much, but the ques-
tion implies (to me, anyway) that the mere act of purchasing
the book will somehow help your business grow. My editor es-
timates that 20 percent or less of all business books purchased
are ever read.
Second, the idea that someone has written a book that can
give you specifics on how to grow your business is ludicrous.
J. Paul Getty (a pretty successful growth guy) once said, “No
one can possibly achieve any real and lasting success or ‘get
rich’ in business by being a conformist.” While a guaranteed
17-point growth guide checklist would undoubtedly be pop-
ular, it would also be irresponsible. Checklists don’t grow
businesses.

xii
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