How do I know if I have crossed a line?

Usually you already know, and it shows up as reluctance to say out loud what you did. Someone who is not depending on you for a wage is worth asking.

Is it wrong to want to be wealthy?

Wanting security, the ability to be generous and something to leave behind is ordinary. Where it goes wrong is when the number becomes the only thing being measured.

Should I have a number I stop at?

Some owners find one useful — enough is a real concept and very few people ever define it. Others find the useful limit is about how, not how much.

← Answers

Is it wrong to be ambitious about my business?

Wanting to build something that lasts, employs people well and outlives you is not a lesser motive. The question worth watching is not how much you want, but what you would be willing to do to get it — and whether "bigger" has quietly replaced any reason for being bigger.

Ambition and greed are not the same word

One is wanting to build something good; the other is wanting more regardless of cost to anyone. They look similar from outside and feel completely different from inside, and the test is what you do when the two conflict.

Bigger is not automatically better

Doubling revenue can mean doubling headaches, thinner margins and an owner further from the work he liked. Plenty of owners chase growth and end up with a larger version of a business they had stopped enjoying. Be specific about what the growth is for.

The test is what you would trade

Would you underpay to hit the number. Would you promise a date you cannot hold. Would you take a client you know treats people badly. Ambition that stops at those lines is a different thing from ambition that does not.

Low ambition is not automatically humility

A business kept deliberately small can also be a business that underpays, cannot invest, and cannot survive a bad quarter. Staying small is a choice with consequences too, and it should be made deliberately rather than out of unease.

Also asked

How do I know if I have crossed a line?: Usually you already know, and it shows up as reluctance to say out loud what you did. Someone who is not depending on you for a wage is worth asking.
Is it wrong to want to be wealthy?: Wanting security, the ability to be generous and something to leave behind is ordinary. Where it goes wrong is when the number becomes the only thing being measured.
Should I have a number I stop at?: Some owners find one useful — enough is a real concept and very few people ever define it. Others find the useful limit is about how, not how much.

Written for your trade

This is the kind of thing Solomon works through with owners using their own numbers. See how it works →