Company of One
Easy read
Refreshing

Company of One Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business

Paul Jarvis2019
What if the real key to a richer and more fulfilling career was not to create and scale a new start-up, but rather, to be able to work for yourself, determine your own hours, and become a (highly profitable) and sustainable company of one? Suppose the better--and smarter--solution is simply to remain small? This book explains how to do just that. Company of One is a refreshingly new approach centered on staying small and avoiding growth, for any size business. Not as a freelancer who only gets paid on a per piece basis, and not as an entrepreneurial start-up that wants to scale as soon as possible, but as a small business that is deliberately committed to staying that way. By staying small, one can have freedom to pursue more meaningful pleasures in life, and avoid the headaches that result from dealing with employees, long meetings, or worrying about expansion. Company of One introduces this unique business strategy and explains how to make it work for you, including how to generate cash flow on an ongoing basis. Paul Jarvis left the corporate world when he realized that working in a high-pressure, high profile world was not his idea of success. Instead, he now works for himself out of his home on a small, lush island off of Vancouver, and lives a much more rewarding and productive life. He no longer has to contend with an environment that constantly demands more productivity, more output, and more growth. In Company of One, Jarvis explains how you can find the right pathway to do the same, including planning how to set up your shop, determining your desired revenues, dealing with unexpected crises, keeping your key clients happy, and of course, doing all of this on your own.
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Reviews

Photo of Sarah Schumacher
Sarah Schumacher@smschumacher
3 stars
Jun 25, 2023

I guess this isn’t what I expected - I was hoping for practical application. He has questions at the end of each chapter (“start thinking about”) but otherwise it felt like a regurgitation of business concepts I’ve read elsewhere. I also didn’t need to be convinced; I’ve been running a company of one for years. I guess read this if you have doubts about the advantages of staying small, but personally, I would have liked to read more about how to manage subcontractors, strategies for determining what work to invest your time in vs. delegating, etc. Chapter 13, with his personal story, was the closest it got to practical advice along these lines, and that’s the book I’d like to read. Update: The Million-Dollar One-Person Business by Elaine Pofeldt is the book I wanted to read. I found it much more practical and applicable and would suggest reading it instead. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Photo of Nick Gracilla
Nick Gracilla@ngracilla
4 stars
Jan 16, 2023

On the plus side, Jarvis is asking a critical question: how do you make a business better, and not merely bigger? He argues against scale and growth for growth’s sake, and for focus, profitability (from the very start!), deep customer relationships, and business model experimentation. It’s a great mindset and a useful antidote to “growth hacking,” with its implied manipulation and dishonesty. On the other hand, much like “how to social media market” from social media marketers, this book strongly advocates for a digital product business model: training, ebooks, etc. This is how Jarvis made it big, and its something to aspire towards—but not every high touch service company is a products company. He is also extremely conservative on existing customers; but my experience is that as a firm clarifies its direction and purpose over the years, it’s healthy to let go of customers that aren’t in alignment with the new direction. Recommended.

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Cams Campbell@cams
3 stars
Jul 31, 2022

I found this enjoyable and helpful. I’m a solo freelancer and have been thinking of ways to apply this philosophy to my own situation as I was listening to it; I’m not really quite sure yet, but it feels like I ought to get the philosophy first and then keep that in mind as I build my company of one. I’ve joined the group and bought the Mailchimp course too — the former mainly to give me access to discussion and the latter, well, because Paul’s automated sales funnel works well and I took advantage of the discount he offered. I look forward to learning more and keeping growing into the author’s mindset.

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Chris Raastad@craastad
5 stars
Apr 20, 2022

I love this book. Company of one brings to life the ideas brewing I've had brewing about business and companies for a few years now. The main idea is easily digestible in the first chapter: staying small is powerful. There is a way to build a career where your work works around life and life doesn't have to sacrifice for work. 9-5 and salary work does not incentivize productivity, does not incentivize quantifying "enough work is done today" and going home early. This book questions the entire venture capital startup mentality. Build an MVPr (minimal viable product with revenue) and you can let your customers dictate your growth. Sometimes growth is not the answer, enough is enough. The author brings many examples of small businesses and companies that grow in this company of one philosophy. The book is a pretty easy read.

Photo of Ivaylo Durmonski
Ivaylo Durmonski@durmonski
5 stars
Oct 29, 2021

Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis is like a breath of fresh air. It shows you an alternative - and better - way to build a company and live your life. It's much more than just a business book, it presents a way of living. A way of making enough money to support your business and staying true to your principles and goals. By starting small and staying small, you're doomed to succeed. When you're big there's a lot that can go wrong. When you're small though, you're just too small to fail. You'll slowly progress and beat the big corporations thanks to your faith in what you're doing. https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

Photo of Aske Dørge
Aske Dørge@aske
4.5 stars
Oct 4, 2021

This is a great read if you feel disillusioned by corporate or startup life. The promise of the book is that there is another way: where growth is questioned, and that it’s desirable to build a business of one where you earn *enough* and then stop. That the end goal is not an IPO/global market dominance/100x return for your investors. I found it a bit repetitive at times, but one could argue it is just spaced repetition. Definitely recommend it for anyone finding themselves at a crossroad in the career. It’s a good boost to go build something alone!

+2
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Doug Belshaw@dajbelshaw
2 stars
Sep 15, 2021

Disappointing, as I was a fan of his 'Sunday Dispatches' newsletter.

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Adam@adam
3 stars
Aug 17, 2021

The idea of a single person company, or a small lifestyle business is increasingly interesting to me personally. In an age like today where one person can create something that provides value and people pay for, its amazing how low the barrier is to entry — assuming you put in the work.

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Reader Rabbit@reader_rabbit
5 stars
Aug 3, 2024
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Henri Bredt@henri
4.5 stars
Oct 20, 2023
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Denis@denis
2.5 stars
Feb 18, 2023
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HsinJu@hsinju
4.5 stars
Dec 26, 2022
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Bridger Tower@bridger
5 stars
Aug 12, 2022
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Martijn Runia@martijnrunia
4 stars
Feb 6, 2022
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Alberto Gallego@albertogalca
5 stars
Oct 24, 2023
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Konstantin Münster@konstantin
4 stars
Jul 4, 2023
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Joshua M.@primus
5 stars
Apr 13, 2023
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Dom Zuend@domz
5 stars
Feb 6, 2023
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Jimmy Cerone@jrcii
5 stars
Feb 4, 2023
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Ben Roberts@benjammin
5 stars
Jan 31, 2023
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Rory O'K@ror
4 stars
Jan 26, 2023
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Ermin Celikovic@ermin
3 stars
Dec 17, 2022
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Jason Skicewicz@jskitz
4 stars
Oct 25, 2022
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Bob Wassermann@bobw
4 stars
Oct 19, 2022

Highlights

Photo of Aske Dørge
Aske Dørge@aske

For a company of one , being vanilla isn’t going to allow you or your work to stand out. Companies of one have to be the pistachio ice cream of their market.