Why startup founders should never forget the power of one in business

As founders, we dream big. We live in the land of possibility, of creating something totally new and solving problems that no one else has before. It pays to be a visionary, indeed some of the most successful entrepreneurs are famous for selling their dreams to others. And while being a big thinker is key to a founder’s success, sometimes in the early days it pays to think small. It pays to remember the power of one. 

A journey from corporate behemoth to small business

I’ve been a small business owner for almost six years now, but my work before starting my own thing couldn’t have been any more different.

In the early days of my career, I was part of the founding team to launch Japanese fashion retailer UNIQLO into the Aussie market. It was a crash course in building processes to scale quickly and efficiently, how to run a high-volume clothing brand, and how to operate huge teams. I remember the months-long hiring process to find staff for Emporium, the Melbourne flagship store spread across four levels. If my memory serves me correctly, there were thousands of applications and we hired up to 500 staff to ensure everything ran smoothly during the opening. 

After that, I moved to Mecca, Australia’s biggest and fastest-growing beauty retailer, and was there during a four-year period of explosive growth. When I joined the team there were around 100 people in the office, when I left there were close to 350. Revenue was exponential and we were acquiring thousands of new customers every day. The business couldn’t hire fast enough to keep up with the insane demand. Everywhere we looked there were dollar signs. 

Looking back, working for so many years in insane growth environments with such strong sales and marketing metrics skewed my sense of what ‘normal’ looks like. It was a rude shock leaving the cushy corporate world and entering the startup one where fighting tooth and nail for every single customer is the norm. Finding the elusive product-market fit was a very real challenge, and it was easy to feel dejected when things got rough and compare it to my previous experience. 

The power of one

One thing I learnt from those early days is that there’s nothing more important than number one.

One customer. One client. One purchase. One dollar into the business. One new email address added to your list. One positive customer review. One membership. One subscription. One recommendation or referral to a friend. One piece of positive feedback. One thank you note.

Each of these is an outcome of hours, weeks, or even years of hard work. And every single one is meaningful. Every single one of these is a signal you’re moving forward. 

If you’re a business owner just starting out, never forget the power of one. Embed it into your psyche so you remember it when the going gets tough. Write it on a piece of paper and stick it somewhere visible, so it’s something you can see every single day. When you’re in the trenches and you’re wishing for more, remember that the building blocks of every successful business are simply millions or billions of ones. 

Anna Mackenzie is co-founder of lady-brains.