If you find
The thought of making major change can make a new direction seem daunting
OR
You are not sure that you want to make a new business from nothing
OR
you can’t be sure that a new venture will be profitable
Then,
“Don’t go into business, grow into business”, said Jerome D Belanger, Editor of Countryside and Small Stock Journal.
This is a form of organic growth, the business grows from within and does not create a sudden change in the system.
This allows you to iron out the bugs as you go. It is a case of Bootstrapping and results in a smoother transition from a hobby or a trial into a full business or enterprise.
Bootstrapping refers to pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. Obviously you can’t do that in the physical sense, but you can when you are starting a business.
Some very large ventures started this way. One of the biggest poultry producers in Australia started as a backyard enterprise for a member of a young farmers club.
When you grow into business from the roots up, the Gradual change allows time to fine-tune it as you go.
Plus it can raise its own capital and need not be a big drain on your capital.
The growth will probably be slower, but it is more likely to be in the right direction — profitable and sustainable and less likely to lose its way or take a path that doesn’t work.
Incremental change makes it easy to try new things and have incremental improvement. Any mistakes or wrong turnings are small and can be corrected easily.
It is easier to steer a business that is growing slowly than one that is racing along, so it gives you time to develop your skills as a business manager.
If the business is something you haven’t done before, it allows you time to try different methods, different marketing and find better ways of doing things.
Many a successful business started on a kitchen table.
Remember the old saying: Mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.
This is an example of Gradual change. Just as most field changes that are worth having happen gradually, so it is with enterprise shifts.