Peter Pan, hidden Peter Pan, and hidden pseudo-Peter Pan - or Do you REALLY Want to Grow your Business?

In my journeys as a mentor in Neverland I have come across various types of #business owners:

- The genuine Peter Pan: small business owners, mostly solopreneurs, or them and an assistant that just love what they do and never want to grow.

- The hidden Peter Pan: those who say (and may even think) that they want to grow, mostly because they (or people around them) think it’s the “right” thing to do but deep down inside don’t really want to grow, and know it. The reason for this reluctance to grow can be that they actually like to run a small business.

- The hidden pseudo-Peter Pan: they say they want to grow but do all the wrong things to achieve growth. This may be due to fear of losing control, reluctance to be overwhelmed with work, or simply because they don’t know how to do it.

- Those that left Neverland: business owners who genuinely want to grow in spite of the difficulties that are associated with it.

The first challenge is to identify which of the above types applies to you.

A genuine Peter Pan is an easy case. You already know you feel comfortable with your business the way it is and may only need practical support in daily issues like managing cash-flow, sales and marketing, pricing, etc.

A hidden Peter Pan is a bit trickier because first you need to uncover your true desires and then find ways to realise that it is OK to not want to grow and that you need to pursue your dreams and not other people’s expectations. Only then you can proceed to dealing with the practical part that would not be very different from a genuine Peter Pan.

A hidden pseudo-Peter Pan is the hardest of them all. First you need to realise the gap between what you say and what you do, which is usually the reason for the failure to grow. This is not easy because a camel cannot see its own hump, so some help may be needed. A good coach can help with this. Only once you understand this be-do gap you can move on to do what's right. If you eventually realise that growth is the ultimate goal the process should include a growth plan.

If you have already left Neverland you know you want to grow and actually attempt it; if you need help with it you are open to get it. This doesn’t mean that it is going to be a smooth ride – knowing you have a challenge and actually dealing with it are two different things but in any case it is easier than with someone who does not even acknowledge the problem like a hidden pseudo-Peter Pan. Here as well a growth #plan can make the result more attainable.

So what are your #growth wishes?