The Company of One
From the moment an entrepreneur sketches an idea on a napkin, the pressure begins. Society tells us that success in business is synonymous with growth. It’s a relentless pursuit of “more”—more employees, more offices, more market share, more complexity. This narrative is so pervasive that choosing to stay small is often seen not as a strategy, but as a sign of failure.
Paul Jarvis’s concept of a “Company of One” offers a powerful and refreshing counter-narrative. It’s a philosophy born from his own journey of trading a hyper-connected city life for a remote cabin in the woods, all to build a business that served his life, not the other way around. It champions the idea that a business can be intentionally small, highly profitable, and built to support a rich and meaningful life. This philosophy isn’t about stagnation; it’s about defining success on your own terms. This post will distill five of the most impactful and counter-intuitive rules from this philosophy for building a better, not just bigger, business.
1. Redefine Your Endgame: Why a Company of One Prioritizes ‘Better’ Over ‘Bigger’
The core principle of a Company of One is that staying small can be a deliberate and intelligent long-term strategy. It challenges the traditional assumption that growth is always the ultimate goal. Instead of blindly chasing expansion, this approach focuses on improving quality, efficiency, and resilience.
A powerful illustration of this is the story of Sean D’Souza, founder of the consultancy Psychotactics. He intentionally caps his company’s annual profit at $500,000. This self-imposed limit isn’t due to a lack of opportunity but a conscious choice to preserve his desired lifestyle, which includes a three-month vacation with his wife each year. If his business grew bigger, the complexity and stress would grow with it, compromising the very life he built his business to support. He achieves this not by constantly chasing new customers, but by focusing relentlessly on making his products better for his existing audience, who in turn become his loyal, unpaid sales force.
This idea is transformative because it allows a business to be built around a life, rather than forcing a life to conform to the ever-increasing demands of a business. A Company of One questions blind growth and asks a more important question: what is the purpose of growth in the first place?
There’s no such thing as perpetual growth. Yet that’s what traditional business people crave. But what is growth meant to achieve? … “To grow bigger” is not much of an effective business strategy at all.
—Ricardo Semler, CEO of Semco Partners
2. The Profitability-First Principle of a Company of One
One of the most startling facts in the startup world is that most high-growth companies don’t fail because of competition. They fail because they scale too quickly. A study by the Startup Genome Project analyzed over 3,200 high-growth tech startups and found that a staggering 74 percent failed due to premature scaling. This finding was confirmed when the Kauffman Foundation and Inc. magazine studied the 5,000 fastest-growing companies and found that more than two-thirds of them were out of business or sold for a low price within five to eight years. They spent and grew based on where they hoped their revenue would be, not where it actually was.
The Company of One offers a more resilient alternative by prioritizing immediate and sustainable profitability.
Minimum Viable Profit: Your True North
Instead of chasing growth based on potential future earnings—a model fueled by venture capital—a Company of One focuses on achieving what can be called a “Minimum Viable Profit” (MVPr). This is the point where the business is profitable as quickly as possible with the lowest possible expenses, ensuring the business is self-sustaining from the very beginning. By keeping overhead low and focusing on what can be done right now, a Company of One builds a stable foundation that can weather any economic climate, free from the pressures of outside investors whose goals may not align with its own.
3. Your Personality Is Your Greatest Asset
Conventional business wisdom often encourages us to suppress our unique personalities in favor of a generic, sterile “professionalism.” The Company of One philosophy argues the opposite: your authentic personality is your single greatest competitive advantage.
Author and speaker Sally Hogshead uses the “pistachio ice cream” analogy to explain this. Large corporations often strive to be “vanilla”—universally acceptable, but ultimately bland and forgettable. A Company of One, however, should aim to be “pistachio.” Not everyone loves it, but those who do are intensely loyal fans. It’s polarizing, but it’s unforgettable.
Marie Forleo, founder of an eight-figure business training company, initially worried that being her quirky self was unprofessional. She soon discovered that her personality was precisely what allowed her to connect with her audience and build a massive, devoted following. While skills, services, and products can be replicated by competitors, a unique personality cannot. It is the ultimate differentiator that allows a small business to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
4. Passion is a Side Effect, Not a Prerequisite
“Follow your passion” is one of the most common pieces of entrepreneurial advice, but the Company of One mindset reveals it to be deeply flawed. The idea that we must find a pre-existing passion and then build a business around it puts immense pressure on founders and often leads to disappointment.
The alternative view, championed by author Cal Newport, is that passion is the side effect of mastery, not the cause of it. A compelling career is not found, but built. By focusing on becoming a “craftsperson”—getting exceptionally good at a skill that is valuable to others—you develop the competence that leads to autonomy, respect, and, ultimately, a deep sense of fulfillment and passion for your work.
…she didn’t follow her passion; instead, she discovered it by accident as she worked her ass off. Her passion came after her hard work—as a result of it—not the other way around.
—Barbara Corcoran
This insight frees a Company of One from the paralyzing search for a perfect “passion.” The focus shifts to the practical goal of solving problems for an audience and mastering the skills required to do so. This approach builds a sustainable business, and the passion follows as a natural result of doing meaningful, high-quality work.
5. The Generosity Engine: Teach Everything You Know
In a traditional business mindset, trade secrets are guarded closely. The Company of One thrives on a counter-intuitive strategy: out-teaching and out-sharing the competition. Instead of hoarding information, you build trust and authority by giving it away freely.
The foundational story for this principle is that of Brian Clark. As a young attorney, he started sharing his legal knowledge online. This built a reputation that led to a roster of clients, which he then parlayed into a successful but burnout-inducing real estate brokerage, applying the same content marketing principles. His ultimate success came when he synthesized these lessons into his multi-million dollar business, CopyBlogger (now RainMaker Digital), built entirely on the strategy of generosity.
Why Sharing Builds Your Business
This strategy is effective for several reasons:
- It establishes you as a domain expert and authority. By consistently teaching what you know, you become the go-to resource in your field.
- It shows the audience the benefits of what you’re selling without a hard pitch. Education demonstrates value and allows potential customers to understand how your product or service can solve their problems.
- It builds the trust required to turn an audience into customers. Selling becomes easier when you’re pitching to people who already know, like, and trust you because you’ve been consistently helpful.
Many entrepreneurs fear that if they share their best ideas, someone will steal them. But this fear is misplaced. Ideas alone are worthless; execution is the only valid currency. The value isn’t in the idea itself, but in your unique ability to execute it with your specific personality, style, and expertise.
Conclusion: Your Business, Your Rules
The core philosophy of a Company of One is a radical redefinition of success. It asserts that success is personal and that building a better business—one that is more resilient, more fulfilling, and more aligned with your life—is a far more meaningful goal than simply building a bigger one. It’s about questioning the default path of relentless growth and choosing instead to build a business on your own terms.
As you move forward, consider this: What if the smartest path to success isn’t scaling up, but scaling down to what truly matters?
Paul Jarvis is an author, designer, and entrepreneur best known for his book, Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business. He began his career as a corporate web designer and internet consultant, helping major clients like Yahoo, Microsoft, Mercedes-Benz, and professional athletes (including Warren Sapp, Steve Nash, and Shaquille O’Neal) with their online presence. Jarvis then shifted to consulting with online entrepreneurs such as Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte. Today, he runs his own “company of one,” Mighty Small Ventures, where he focuses on writing, creating software, podcasting, and teaching online courses to thousands of students. His work, which emphasizes the value of small, sustainable business growth, has been featured in publications like WIRED, Fast Company, and USA Today. He lives with his wife on an island off the coast of British Columbia.
Book details
- Title: Company Of One
- Explanatory Title: : Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business
- Author: Paul Jarvis
- Publisher: Mariner Books
- Publication Date: January 14, 2020
- Print Length: 272 pages
- ISBN-10: 0358213258
- ISBN-13: 978-0358213253
- Category: Business Management / Entrepreneurship / Job Hunting & Career Guides