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camscampbell's review
3.0
I found this enjoyable and helpful. I’m a solo freelancer and have been thinking of ways to apply this philosophy to my own situation as I was listening to it; I’m not really quite sure yet, but it feels like I ought to get the philosophy first and then keep that in mind as I build my company of one. I’ve joined the group and bought the Mailchimp course too — the former mainly to give me access to discussion and the latter, well, because Paul’s automated sales funnel works well and I took advantage of the discount he offered. I look forward to learning more and keeping growing into the author’s mindset.
mokagio's review
5.0
In Company of One [a:Paul Jarvis|3141749|Paul Jarvis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1386946606p2/3141749.jpg] challenges the mainstream belief that for a company to be successful it has to grow and keep growing. Companies that question growth, whether made up of a single person like Paul's business, or by many employees like some of the ones profiled in the book, have strategic advantages compared to huge enterprises. No only they can be profitable, but actually thrive in the marketplace.
By focusing on serving existing users rather than investing in advertisement and paid acquisition, for example, a company of one can develop stronger relationship with its customers, retaining them and increasing their lifetime value. Moreover, happy customers can become the biggest advocates for a service or product. This removes the need for advertisement and paid acquisition, enabling even more focus on serving the existing customers, which creates a virtuous cycle of success and profitability.
Small companies have an advantage big ones don't have, they can show the real people behind the business and create an emotional connection with their customers. Moreover, being small means less overhead, which makes it easier to become profitable.
A key strategy to resist the need for growth is to create systems and automation to get more done in less time. This requires ingenuity and creativity, which I find intellectually stimulating.
Another powerful idea is that you don't need to run a company to be a company of one, you can be one within your own organization. Be the person who can get the job done with less resources, that introduces automation and processes to be more effective, that care about the relationship with the customers.
The book is written in an easy to read conversational tone. It never bores with tangents or repetition aimed only to hit the words count.
I appreciate how well researched the book is. While the idea of the company of one is based on Paul Jarvis' experience running his own business the majority of the examples and cases in point of the book are from a variety of businesses embodying its principles.
I'd recommend Company of One to every business owner, to people considering starting their on businesses, and to anyone who's happy working as an employee but longs for a more impactful and rewarding way of working.
By focusing on serving existing users rather than investing in advertisement and paid acquisition, for example, a company of one can develop stronger relationship with its customers, retaining them and increasing their lifetime value. Moreover, happy customers can become the biggest advocates for a service or product. This removes the need for advertisement and paid acquisition, enabling even more focus on serving the existing customers, which creates a virtuous cycle of success and profitability.
Small companies have an advantage big ones don't have, they can show the real people behind the business and create an emotional connection with their customers. Moreover, being small means less overhead, which makes it easier to become profitable.
A key strategy to resist the need for growth is to create systems and automation to get more done in less time. This requires ingenuity and creativity, which I find intellectually stimulating.
Another powerful idea is that you don't need to run a company to be a company of one, you can be one within your own organization. Be the person who can get the job done with less resources, that introduces automation and processes to be more effective, that care about the relationship with the customers.
The book is written in an easy to read conversational tone. It never bores with tangents or repetition aimed only to hit the words count.
I appreciate how well researched the book is. While the idea of the company of one is based on Paul Jarvis' experience running his own business the majority of the examples and cases in point of the book are from a variety of businesses embodying its principles.
I'd recommend Company of One to every business owner, to people considering starting their on businesses, and to anyone who's happy working as an employee but longs for a more impactful and rewarding way of working.
cwl's review
3.0
Growth, business, technology. Three things I’m very interested in, and perhaps very in tune with because it's what I do. More specifically though, the interest in how a company can be anti-growth and still prosper.
But, beyond the dictates of business, there is something that those of us are aware of - something Jarvis calls “conventional rules.” Some of these rules include the idea that as long as a business exists, it has to grow. I’ve always know there was another way.
This is the “fetishization of wanting more” that Jarvis rails against.
The eagerness at which Jarvis dismisses the freelance way of life (over making products) is almost immediately off-putting. The solid idea of a company built small and agile seems at least possible as a freelancer but Jarvis makes a point that they’re selling time.
I’m very sympathetic to this message as I’m the prototypical “company of one.”
“If you want a piece of content for your business to generate a billion views, you probably don’t understand the purpose of that content or whom it was really created for.”
Lots of unpopular messaging there. It makes sense though. Communications ought to be effective and that probably does run counter to internet popularity.
Throughout, a number of stories are relayed about how companies make the "One" idea work. Jarvis also includes a number of quotes like this one, pushing the idea that everyone need to be savvy to the the new tech.
“Every company is now a technology company” - a quote from Anil Dash.
Much of this feels dated, and the book is unfortunately bloated with repetitive titular mentions and concepts. I felt Jarvis could have pared this down by 50-100 pages and come out with more compelling prose.
But, beyond the dictates of business, there is something that those of us are aware of - something Jarvis calls “conventional rules.” Some of these rules include the idea that as long as a business exists, it has to grow. I’ve always know there was another way.
This is the “fetishization of wanting more” that Jarvis rails against.
The eagerness at which Jarvis dismisses the freelance way of life (over making products) is almost immediately off-putting. The solid idea of a company built small and agile seems at least possible as a freelancer but Jarvis makes a point that they’re selling time.
I’m very sympathetic to this message as I’m the prototypical “company of one.”
“If you want a piece of content for your business to generate a billion views, you probably don’t understand the purpose of that content or whom it was really created for.”
Lots of unpopular messaging there. It makes sense though. Communications ought to be effective and that probably does run counter to internet popularity.
Throughout, a number of stories are relayed about how companies make the "One" idea work. Jarvis also includes a number of quotes like this one, pushing the idea that everyone need to be savvy to the the new tech.
“Every company is now a technology company” - a quote from Anil Dash.
Much of this feels dated, and the book is unfortunately bloated with repetitive titular mentions and concepts. I felt Jarvis could have pared this down by 50-100 pages and come out with more compelling prose.
jamescridland's review
5.0
A good book, and one that was quite inspirational - I run a company of one (at least, have until recently), and I felt Jarvis's ethos was one that I agreed with quite strongly.
Perhaps its only failing is that it tries to convince you of the central idea rather too much, and actually it would be useful to discuss the negatives of trying to do everything yourself (and how to fix that).
I'd recommend this: a good and interesting read.
Perhaps its only failing is that it tries to convince you of the central idea rather too much, and actually it would be useful to discuss the negatives of trying to do everything yourself (and how to fix that).
I'd recommend this: a good and interesting read.
mellowbeing's review
2.0
2.5
I've been a subscriber of Jarvis's newsletter for a while now and surprisingly, this book lacks his voice that shows up in his weekly writing.
As others have said, this book is very general and doesn't have much actionable advice. I struggled to finish the second half because it feels kinda repetitive and I wasn't getting much new information from it.
I've been a subscriber of Jarvis's newsletter for a while now and surprisingly, this book lacks his voice that shows up in his weekly writing.
As others have said, this book is very general and doesn't have much actionable advice. I struggled to finish the second half because it feels kinda repetitive and I wasn't getting much new information from it.
xgebi's review
1.0
*sigh* I wanted to like this book but I don’t. I abandoned it because something didn’t click with me there.
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