Why do some people have difficulty understanding businesses that aren't growth (at all costs) focused?

Understanding businesses that aren't focused on growth above all else can be challenging for some people, especially in a world where the prevailing business culture often emphasizes rapid expansion and scaling up.

There are a few reasons why this might be the case but in my view and experience, these are a few of the key ones that I have encountered as we grow our SAP Business One Cloud Hosting business globally.

Cultural Expectations:

In many modern economies, particularly in the Western world, there is a strong cultural emphasis on growth and expansion as indicators of success. Businesses are often measured by their revenue growth, market expansion, and ability to innovate. This can make it difficult for some to understand the value or success of a business that doesn't prioritize these goals.

Investment Perspective:

Investors often seek returns that come from rapid growth. Startups and businesses that are growth-oriented tend to attract more venture capital and media attention. Therefore, a business that isn't focused on growth might seem less attractive or successful from an investment point of view, leading to misunderstandings about its value and potential.

Media Representation:

Media coverage often glorifies fast-growing companies and entrepreneurial success stories that involve rapid scaling. Less attention is given to businesses that operate sustainably within their means or those that choose a slow and steady approach.

This can skew public perception, making it seem like all successful businesses must be high-growth.

Economic Metrics:

Traditional economic indicators and business metrics typically focus on growth-related measures such as GDP growth, quarterly sales increases, and customer acquisition rates. Businesses that prioritize other values like community impact, employee satisfaction, or environmental sustainability might not score as high on traditional economic scales, thus being misunderstood.

Misconceptions About Success:

There's a common misconception that if a business isn't growing, it's failing. However, some business owners might intentionally keep their operations small or stable to maintain quality, work-life balance, or community integrity.

For us, quality of delivery is the primary driver of everything we do and is not just a marketing message to appear to be more than just revenue driven.

How many times do you see companies that claim to be customer focused until there is a dollar on the table and all their decisions are focused on getting the dollar rather than meeting the customers needs?

This deliberate choice not to focus on revenue growth above all else is often overlooked or misunderstood in a growth-centric business environment.

Understanding that businesses can succeed through various models—not just through growth—requires shifting perspectives and appreciating different kinds of value creation, such as stability, sustainability, and quality, which are just as important but less visibly celebrated.

At SMB Solutions, our primary metric for determining success is customer and partner satisfaction and revenue growth tends to follow from there in my experience.