Co-founders of Walter Craft Caesar, Canada's first all-natural craft Caesar company.
We started our careers as a designer and lawyer, respectively, and, over our working lives, we have spent time at both big and small companies.
Four years ago, when we launched a craft Caesar company, it was just the two of us. Thankfully we've grown and our team is now 10 strong. Through the process of building our team, we've confirmed what our own work history taught us. That is, working for a small company is definitely not the right fit for everybody.
Think a small company might be the right fit for you? Here are some things to consider.
Generally, can you be a generalist?
Small companies, by their very nature, typically require all team members to wear a number of hats, often working on tasks and projects outside their area of expertise or comfort level. For some, this type of challenge represents an exciting opportunity. It's a chance to grow, learn new skills and keep each day different from the last.
For others, it is a totally … terrifying … potentially … paralyzing … idea.
When we are hiring, we look for people with a varied skill set that are comfortable just "figuring stuff out" – often with little or no direction. We would happily give more direction if we could, but quite frankly, we often don't know the answer. As our business grows and shifts, so do the challenges and tasks before us. Accordingly, we need people on our team who are self-starters who can dig in, ask smart questions, seek advice where needed and own the work.
Fair warning: at many small companies – ours included – everyone, regardless of title, gets the opportunity to broaden their skill set with tasks such as IT trouble-shooter, floor-mopper, coffee-fetcher, IKEA furniture-assembler, travel agent, etc.
For some people, this all sounds great. For others, not so much.
Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads
Small companies, especially growth-focused entrepreneurial startups, have varying degrees of structure. To the extent that there is a road map, it's constantly being redrawn. For small companies to compete, we need to stay nimble and we do so by constantly testing, assessing and pivoting. Accordingly, we need people who can shift focus, change course and adapt.
Do you crave structure? Do you need a well-defined road map detailing how to get from A to B to C? Do you need to know what you're going to be doing tomorrow, next week, next month? Totally reasonable. There are plenty of great jobs where you'd be a perfect fit. But likely that job's not at a small company.
Let's avoid trying to jam a square peg into a round hole
Every small company has at least one thing in common – size. Fewer people means any one person will have a bigger and more immediate impact on corporate culture at a small company than at a large one. It's really just a numbers game. Walk into a room of 250 people, few people notice. Walk into a room with five people, everyone will notice.
Corporate culture is important – especially so at a small company, given that there are fewer people who likely spend huge amounts of time together, often in close quarters.
If you have the luxury to get to choose who you work with (be that joining a new team, or adding to your existing one), we think it makes sense to choose people you like and respect. We certainly have.
Money, it's a gas
For all employment decisions, salary is a factor.
So, let's be clear. If maximizing your salary is the top item on your priority list, a small company may not be the right fit. As a general rule, small companies can't afford to pay as much as larger more-established ones, to say nothing of benefits programs.
Everybody has bills to pay. But ask yourself this: is money the only form of "compensation" you need to be happy? Perhaps you value work-life balance or a flexible work schedule? Or maybe it's having an active role in a small team or a sense of autonomy and responsibility that is a key motivator? Find the right fit with a small company and you may find the right overall "compensation package" that meets your needs.
Are we having a good time yet?
In the immortal words of Bob Marley, "Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?"
For many of us, a job needs to be more than just a clock-in/clock-out paycheque. Think about how much of your life you spend at work. If you're like most Canadians, it's probably a fair bit. So, at the risk of sounding like a total cliché, think about where you fit – hopefully it's with people you like doing something you enjoy.
Executives, employees, educators and human resources experts contribute to the ongoing Leadership Lab series.