Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business
What if the real key to a more fulfilling career was not to scale up but to work for yourself and become a successful and sustainable company of one? The New York Times bestselling author of Deep Work Cal Newport calls this book a “must-read for any entrepreneur who prioritizes a rich life over riches.”
Company of One offers a refreshingly original small business strategy that’s focused on a commitment to being better instead of bigger. Why? Because staying small provides one with the freedom to pursue more meaningful pleasures in life—and avoid the headaches that come with traditional growth-oriented business. Having personally discovered the benefits of cutting out the corporate hierarchy that constantly demands more, author Paul Jarvis explains how you can do the same. With this groundbreaking guide, you’ll learn how to set up your shop, determine your desired revenues, deal with unexpected crises, keep your key clients happy, and find self-fulfillment and true work-life balance every step of the way.
It’s a counterintuitive approach that redefines success—putting you back in control of your business and your life.
- The Case for Staying Small: Why questioning growth is the smartest move for long-term profitability and avoiding the headaches that come with scaling.
- A Sustainable Business Model: Learn how to determine your desired revenue, keep key clients happy, and create a company built for the long haul, not just a quick exit.
- Build a Lifestyle Business: Discover the freedom that comes from designing your work around your life, not the other way around, to pursue more meaningful pleasures.
- The Solopreneur’s Mindset: Master the autonomy, resilience, and speed required to take full ownership of your career, whether you’re a freelancer or a founder.
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Community Reviews
As a Canadian, I particularly enjoyed that it offered perspective that is grossly lacking in most business books that are (justifiably so) centered on the U.S. experience.
The author's writing style is not obtuse at all. Clearly he has a practiced hand from his interactions over email newsletters and such.
Good general business ideas for someone already in the fold of running a more lifestyle-positive business. Someone who is into sustainability or minimalism would clearly enjoy the content of this book.
Bad:
The book ventures far from its original idea of Company of One and thereby becomes a much more general, feel-good business book; more in the realm of personal-development, rather than this one idea expressed clearly.
In the same vein, it also suffers a bit from what all persuasive books of a similar tone suffer from, which is a myopic view centered on proving the author's viewpoint via stories that feel at times cherry-picked.
I really felt at times that it was a stretch to consider some of the examples the author provided as valid ones for the concept of Company of One. CEOs of multinationals or large companies that are not even small businesses.
I feel like he could have taken an approach of just building a strong, sincere case for their own idea (and kept the book much shorter) rather than stretching it to the point that it becomes quite diluted.
Overall, a decent positive-read of a business book. The author follows a lot of the same people I would read otherwise, so I intend to buy a copy for reference just to have a collected reminder of all the points I would like to remember through my own entrepreneurship ventures.
But for the core idea itself, while it makes a strong subjective case, it doesn't explore it deeply enough and evidence it enough with strong case studies to be a strong reference for that idea of being a Company of One.
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