Small Business Exposed

Chapter 6

Whatnows

It was high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, – “Always do what you are afraid to do.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Heroism, 1841

Introducing the Whatnows

The Whatnows were initially called the Externally Impacted Growth Seekers. They represent just over 20 per cent of all businesses and they are mostly mature, with almost half being in operation for ten years or more. However, they remain small. Over 90 per cent have fewer than four employees. They continue to seek to grow their business, but like the Seekers are struggling to achieve it. Almost two-thirds of the Whatnows thought their business performed worse than expected over the past 12 months, with fewer than half satisfied with the business’s performance. ...