Micro, Small, Medium, Large: Which Are You?

Micro, Small, Medium, Large and Enterprise businesses; what does it all mean? These are the terms used to describe different size business, however, the definitions vary depending on what part of the world you are in. For example, in the USA a Small Business is defined as less than 250 employees. Yikes! That is not very small. In Europe, Small Business is less than 50.

Does it matter what category your business falls under? Actually it does. Different size businesses need to take different approaches in overcoming their challenges. Meaning, the size of your business will dictate the types of problems you will encounter and the most effective ways to solve these problems within a realistic time frame and budget.

Let’s define what these business categories are, depending where you are around the world. In the USA, Micro is less than 10 employees, Small <250, Medium <500, Large <1000. In Europe, Micro is less than 10, Small <50, Medium <250, Large <1000. In Australia, Micro <2, Small <10, Medium <200, Large <500.

Many Micro Business Owners (MBO’s) try to overcome the challenges in their businesses by using strategies that are meant for Small businesses. Therefore these strategies, although very smart and effective, are not the right fit for the MBO. It is like buying a suit or a dress that is the exact style and color you want, but is two sizes too big. You can’t wear it the way it is. You will need to get it tailored to fit, and even then, it may not look quite right. I see this all the time with “wrong size” solutions for the MBO.

So, the first step in helping MBO’s become more successful is getting them to admit to who they are. Go ahead, it’s okay, you can say it: “Hello, my name is (Your Name Here) and I am a Micro Business Owner.” See, don’t you feel better? Our next step is to get our Co-MBO’s to do the same. This will allow us to form the basis of a community. By knowing what we are and who we are, we can then work together at creating greater successes for each other.

As a MBO, your solutions to your challenges are unique from other size businesses. You may have the same challenges Small or Medium size business owners have, but the way you need to resolve them is different. You must be quicker, more flexible, more creative and more effective. You have no room for inefficiency or ineffectiveness.

Growing, interviewing, hiring, managing, leading, developing a team, processes, systems, communication, as well as, marketing, sales and customer service; are all an integral part of running a successful business. However, if you don’t know what you are, if you keep following “small business” advice instead of microbusiness advice, you can be hurting or certainly delaying your success.

In your networks, make sure your fellow MBO’s know what they are. Together, we can really make a difference in our own businesses, each other’s businesses, our local communities, our nation’s economies and global entrepreneurship.