Is There Such Thing as Too Much Expansion?

I’ve written about this before—about the way most businesspeople want to expand, and I don’t. Oh, sure, I’d love to earn more. But I’m not wild about working 80-hour weeks—and when it comes right down to it, really what I’d like is to keep doing what I’m doing.

I occasionally get offers and ideas from others who feel they know what’s best for my business—and what I should want as a businessowner. Usually, they don’t work for what I’m trying to do. Here are a few ways I have no intention of expanding.

Hiring other writers. I remember writing here a while ago about a guy who owns an outsourcing firm in India. He was trying to sell me on the idea of outsourcing my entire writing business. Obviously that wouldn’t be a great decision for me, but I’m really not interested in taking on help in any capacity except when absolutely necessary because of serious time constraints. I don’t want to have regular employees.

Going beyond the writing. Every so often I get an inquiry from someone who thinks I also do SEO or web design or business consulting. I could have expanded into those areas, but really I would prefer not to. They don’t excite me as much as writing does—and since I can design my own business, I get to pick and choose what I want to do. IT’s a pretty nice life—and I keep my business focused on writing.

Being a “guru.” Sometimes I get ads from various places and individuals trying to sell me on becoming some sort of copywriting guru—you know, the guy who teaches all the other pros how it’s done, who writes the acclaimed how-to manuals and who’s hired to train employees at global companies. I’m not really into that. I’m perfectly fine not being famous for copywriting—as long as my business keeps humming along.

What expansion ideas are right out for you?