Where did october go? I remember having a birthday at some point, but the rest is a blur. The good news, I suppose, is that the economy has finally picked up (for us at least) and we have more work than we can handle. We need to hire another designer and programmer, immediately. The bad news is, due to the sudden influx of work over the past couple months, I have been sucked back into the vortex of project management and programming, which means I have had no time to do any pro-active business development, partnership development, or strategic leadership for the company. This is the story of all small businesses, and it happens far too easily. But responding to the immediate crises, though it seems responsible, is counterproductive to growth.

I'm sharing this, because I'm sure other small businesses have experienced the same thing. And it's a good reminder to all business owners, that your business' success is not based on your ability to personally address every need that arises, but your ability to build a team that can do more than you can do alone. This involves added financial risk in even the most stable economy, and it requires trust in your team (if they only do things half as good as you would do them, it's still a net gain). But if you find the right team members, and you create the right environment that is both enjoyable and productive, then you will all be able to accomplish much more.

I read an article this weekend that argued it was false to assume that slow steady growth was the best way to grow a business. Responsibility, Integrity, commitment to customers, yes of course, but without fail, the businesses that succeed are not always the ones with the best product or services, but the ones that grow faster than their competitors and become the de facto standard for the industry. Once a business reaches a critical momentum, customers prefer to do business with the company that is recognized as the leader, and slowly the market share shifts away from the slow, steady growing business. It's something to think about.