EMPLOYMENT: Gain the Experience and The Money Will Come.

People are attracted to the success of scaling and/or high growth companies. Fortune 500 receive a lot of attention. Their success is documented, respected and celebrated. The allure of being a part of success, the potential of learning and growing within a company, the possibility of a pleasing compensation program and acquiring shrinking benefits is highly desired.

Yet, according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), United States firms with fewer than 100 employees comprise 98.2% of employer firms and companies with 20 employees or less make up 89%. As much hype that you hear about large firms, the majority of employer firms have less than 20 employees.

Hmmm, what do they have to offer? Small businesses may be in a better position to hire than larger firms.

The 2018 Small Business Profile of the United States, published by SBA’s Office of Advocacy documents that 1.1 million net jobs were generated by firms with fewer than 20 employees and small businesses created 1.9 million net jobs in 2015. The SBA says that small businesses have generated 65% of net new jobs since 1995.

Yet there are other advantages of being employed by small firms:

1. More responsibility and experiences. Though the economy is different than when I started my career, great advice is still relevant. An elder told me to go for experiences first and the money will come. At a young age I was exposed to and embraced the challenges of budgets, chaos, crisis, hiring, leadership, management, supervision and training. It proved valuable. When I interviewed with larger companies, I had case studies that provided such a WOW factor. But more importantly the experiences provided confidence and a focus on relationships.
2. Multi-Skill Set. You are going to wear many hats in a small business. Now you can think you are over-worked or realize the value of skills you are gaining. I often volunteered for additional work across the company - I never regreted it. The cross-training was a major plus when I interviewed with larger companies. But more importantly (later in my career) it provided the confidence to start my own businesses.
3. Creativity. Some small business owners can be just as stubborn as Fortune 500 leader. Yet a good presentation of the facts and options normally will give you some leeway in creative implementation. Who does not want to implement their viable ideas? Yet on the other side small businesses do not have the resources to take too many failures. So you will have to be a quick learner.
4. Freedom. Many small companies realize that they can not compete in compensation so they develop benefits that allow you more freedom, such as flex time and recognition programs. I learned to place a major value on my freedom, it was just as important as money.
5. Access to Leadership. Looking back on my career I valued the time I was able to speak with the Owner/CEO. We did not always agree but it gave me experience in presenting ideas and an insight to the mind of entrepreneurs. Again another value gained.
6. Close to the Customer. I have a quote that I follow, "The Customer is not always right, but they must be valued". I have worked in and with companies who are layers away from customers. They become disengaged and start to believe that they know more than the end-users. The beauty of small businesses is that you can speak directly to your niche. Listening combined with ideation and creativity creates awesome customer experiences. It is a heck of feeling to see your work positively impact people.
7. Big Brother is Looking. With all the above in mind, it should not be a surprised at the number of copyrights, patents, innovation and disruption small businesses have created. An increasing number of big businesses are aware of this. Often you will hear of bigger businesses purchasing smaller entities to acquire their intellectual properties. But a more often occurance is overlooked. Big businesses recruit key and valued employees of smaller firms. It is a fact of life.

So in your pursuit of gainful employment consider small businesses. Research the firms and industry. Get a feel for the culture. Identify a few that you want to work for. Do not await for an opening. Approach them with a value or a solution and seek to learn. Small business employment has worked wonders for many.

CONTINUED SUCCESS!