When I was in high school nurturing my Liza Minelli aspirations, getting cast in the spring musical was everything. Casting would determine the second half of the school year. Playing Townsperson #7 for me and the other theater nerds in class was a surefire way to send us sobbing into pillows. To soften the blow, every year the drama teacher, any drama teacher from grammar school to high school, would always remind us, “There are no small parts, only small actors.”
They didn’t make this up, it’s attributed to acting teacher legend Konstantin Stanislavski, who was so influential there are entire schools dedicated to The Stanislavski Method. With an appetite for big belting numbers center stage, I didn’t really buy this concept then. Nevertheless the sentiment behind it has stayed with me. At its heart, Stanislavski was basically preaching a gratitude practice. Fully commit to the role, to the moment, even if it’s a small one.
I’ve thought about this more than once since joining the WOSB (Women Owned Small Business) club. Every time I hear “small business,” the Russian acting guru of my youth springs to mind and reflexively looks for relevant tags.
“There are no small businesses…only smaller access to capital.”
“There are no small businesses…only smaller windows to turn a profit!”
How about:
“There are no small businesses, only small mindsets!
That’s more in the Stanislavsky vein! As with acting, if you want to shine, you can’t think of your business as small! For the record, according to the government, a “small business” can have up to $7.5 million in annual receipts and up to 500 employees. So from a federal perspective, there really are no small businesses!
Fortunately, through WBENC, the Forbes 50 crew, and my work with M.A.P.S., I’ve met some incredible business dreamers, as I like to think of us. And I’d love to share some of them with you:
- Given that its small business month, may I please direct your attention to SUBARZ - delicious and highly shippable cookies. Created by Daphne Subar, after spending years as a lawyer and developing a passion to make corporate gifts easier and more joyful! She left with a box after dinner one Friday night. Let’s just say the cupboard was bare by Sunday afternoon.
- Another friend who takes a joyful approach to all things IT, including staffing, is NeeTu Sadhwani with her company the Sunrise Group, Inc. Neetu has consistently taken a “yes…and” approach to my technical panic with equal parts calm and problem solving!
- This is also a perfect opportunity to mention BeLight Care! This small business is founded by Adria Thompson who is killing it in the dementia care space with hundreds of videos to help all of us navigate the highs, lows and everything in between as caregivers. Not only that, but Adria will be the special guest on our next webinar on May 22nd!
Love my small business warrior women and the men who engage our services! It’s great to have a pool of experts to lean on, to share stories of our trials and tribulations, and to laugh with through all of it.
