Today, I want to talk about advantages small business owners have. I’m really excited about today’s episode because, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably thought, “I wish I’d started my business years ago… or had that one viral moment where 10,000 followers showed up overnight.”
It’s easy to look at the OGs in our industry, or those who are five years ahead, and think, “Wow, it must have been so much easier back then.” Audience is currency—more followers often mean more opportunities, and yes, making more money usually gives you more options too.
That mindset can be a bit of a trap. But here’s the truth: right now, you have some huge advantages, even over seven-figure business owners. Today, I’m going to share four of those advantages small business owners have—so let’s dive in.
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Table of Contents
Let me set the stage. I work with a wide range of business owners—most of my clients are either just hitting six figures or in the lower multi–six-figure range. I also work with some higher multi–six and seven-figure business owners, as well as a few making less than six figures but who prioritize playing the long game.
And honestly, I have a special place in my heart for those of you outsourcing early for that long game—earlier than most people typically would. I just wanted to preface with that because it’s part of what makes this conversation so interesting. I get a behind-the-scenes look at so many different industries and business models.
Now, I’m going to be honest: in some ways, seven-figure business owners do have advantages over you—unless you’re one of them. Most of the time, they have a bigger audience. If they want to launch something new, test an idea, or run a poll, they’ll get instant feedback.
Meanwhile, for many of us, those “just poll your audience” marketing tips can be frustrating. When I post a poll—unless it’s something funny or personal—I might get two responses. If I ask, “What podcast topics should I cover?”… crickets. Bigger businesses can get valuable market research quickly, and they also have more money to put behind their ideas.
So yes, there are definite advantages small business owners have. But today, I’ve been reflecting on something different—the disadvantages or weak points that I see among the seven-figure business owners I work with. And the truth is, those weak points are actually your hidden advantages if you’re smaller right now.
1. You Can Experiment With New Ideas
Experimentation is a GIFT. When you’re running a seven-figure business, or have a million followers, you have plenty of opportunities, but the stakes are higher. That risk often pushes people to play it safe, keep things “vanilla,” and avoid doing anything too bold. You don’t want to partner with the wrong person, invest in something that flops, or make a move that could mean laying off your team.
You also have more responsibilities. A team of ten means any big pivot requires getting all ten people aligned, which takes time. That’s true for your audience, too—shifting your brand from niche to broad (or vice versa) is like turning a big ship; it moves slowly.
But when you’re smaller? You can pivot, test, and experiment under the radar—and that freedom is a massive advantage small business owners have. When you’re the only one affected by a flop, it’s easier to experiment.
That’s not to say things are risk-free when you’re small, far from it, but experimentation is simply more flexible when you don’t have the weight of a large operation on your shoulders.
2. Trying Something New Isn’t Expensive
The second advantage is that trying something new comes with a real financial cost at the seven-figure level. Big businesses rarely do everything in-house themselves. They’re paying for teams—social media managers, podcast producers, YouTube editors, copywriters, you name it.
Let’s say someone runs a podcast, a YouTube channel, and a weekly newsletter, and they outsource all of it. That means they’re paying those people for months in the lead-up to a launch—often three months of prep—without any guarantee the launch will be a hit.
We tend to think of a “launch” as a seven-day window, but in reality, the costs start piling up well before that. And when you factor in additional support—like a business coach—it’s not unrealistic to see $20–25K invested before a single sale comes in.
I was chatting with someone recently who sold 12 spots for a $1,000 course. Sounds great—until you hear the production alone cost her $20K, not even counting marketing help. That’s a hard pill to swallow.
When you’re smaller, one of your biggest advantages is that “cost” often just means your own time. You can launch, test, and learn without writing a massive check.
3. It’s Easier to Shift Your Audience’ Perspective
The third advantage is about audience perception. The bigger you are, the more people have fixed ideas about who you are and what you “should” or “shouldn’t” do. Changing direction or shifting your positioning becomes harder because you have to bring your whole audience along for the ride.
And in a time when online communities feel incredibly personal—and the political climate makes values and alignment more visible—those shifts can be tricky. If people’s perception of you changes in a way they don’t like, it can hurt. For big brands with close-knit communities, those moments can be heartbreaking.
I don’t mean “extreme example” exactly, but here’s what I’m getting at: we often imagine that people we follow share our same values. Whether it’s actually a values conversation or not, that perception can create friction when someone changes direction.
For example, one of my clients who leans more toward the influencer side decided to pivot into business coaching. She got pushback. Some followers said, “I don’t want you to do this.” Now, usually those people aren’t the ones paying your bills… but sometimes they are. Sometimes they’ve been with you for ten years, bought everything you’ve offered, and suddenly they’re saying, “Wait, you’re not going to do this anymore?”
And you might think, “I’d just tune that out.” But it’s not so easy when people have clear expectations of you, and you want to try something new.
This ties into something I think is a bit of an unpopular opinion: we’ve seen a big push in the last few years toward being “multi-passionate,” and while that’s fine if you’re an influencer, it’s actually harder to market if you’re selling a service or program. Most people invest in specialists, not generalists. If I’m hiring help with Pinterest, I don’t want “a marketing person,” I want the Pinterest and blogging person. If I’m a photographer, I don’t want a generic systems person—I want the Dubsado setup expert for photographers.
Trying to do too many things often keeps us from hitting bigger revenue goals. I’m not saying it’s impossible… just that it’s hard to do well. As a strategic decision, focus tends to work better than being “multi-passionate.”
And here’s the thing: when you have a huge, established audience, shifting focus can alienate people—even if they’re not negative about it. Sometimes it’s not “don’t do that,” it’s simply, “Oh, I guess she’s not for me anymore.”
I’ll give you an example. There’s someone I’ve learned a lot about marketing from, and I loved her content. Now, she teaches almost exclusively how to run group programs—which I’m not interested in. It’s not that I’m upset with her choice, it just means her content no longer applies to me. Sometimes you hang around hoping they’ll “come back” to your area of interest, but often they don’t.
That’s the third advantage small business owners have: you’re more malleable in people’s minds. You can try new things and pivot without your entire audience thinking, “She’s not for me anymore.”
4. Fewer Eyes = Less Criticism
The more visible you are, the more you get picked apart.
For example, Jenna Kutcher—huge name, very public figure—recently made a post explaining why she’s stayed silent in the past on certain issues. This is something a lot of us wonder about with our favorite big-name entrepreneurs: why aren’t they talking about the genocide? Why aren’t they speaking up about rights being taken away?
When you have millions watching, every post, every omission, and every opinion is scrutinized. That’s pressure most smaller creators don’t face—and honestly, it’s freeing.
I think we’ve all asked these questions: Why are you staying silent? You have such a big audience. And I’m not just talking about Jenna specifically—there are plenty of big names who get this criticism. Taylor Swift comes to mind. A lot of people have stayed silent on issues we wish they’d spoken up about.
Jenna recently posted about why she’s stayed silent, and whether you agreed with her post or not, the amount of criticism it got was intense. That’s the part I want to highlight. It wasn’t just discussion—it was thousands of comments, many of them negative. And remember, Jenna’s not someone who usually wades into political conversations, which I think made the backlash even more jarring.
Now, that was a political example, but I’m really talking about this in a business sense. When you have more eyes on you, there’s simply more criticism. More, “Who does she think she is?” More, “Oh my gosh, she’s doing that now? Everyone’s doing that.”
Another example that’s more business-related—is Amy Porterfield. There’s a person on Threads who, every time Amy sends an email, reposts it with criticism, claiming it’s obviously AI-written. This person even said Amy’s at a point where her list is so big, the emails don’t even have to be “good” anymore to sell because she has the name recognition.
Now, Amy’s list size and reputation are incredible advantages—but the flip side is her work gets dissected publicly. Personally, I think that would destroy me. I’ve joked that this is why I can’t have an eight- or nine-figure business—my ego’s just keeping me safe.
So yes, bigger businesses have huge perks, but they also live under a much harsher microscope. And that’s the fourth advantage small business owners have: you have room to experiment, to be wrong, and to learn—without thousands of people holding you accountable at every step. Not that accountability is bad, but the lack of constant public scrutiny can feel incredibly freeing.
I’m not saying big names shouldn’t have that pressure. Part of having a large audience and choosing that career is accepting the responsibility that comes with it. But thinking back to Jenna Kutcher’s post, some of what she described was genuinely frightening. She mentioned receiving DMs with her children’s full names and personal details.
Whether you follow her or not, that’s terrifying. I don’t follow her myself; I just saw the conversation on Threads. But if something like that happened to me, I would probably shut my business down and disappear. That kind of extreme scrutiny comes with massive visibility, and it’s a reminder of how much safer it can feel to be smaller.
Thinking About Advantages Small Business Owners Have
The real point of this episode is that we have so many advantages when we are at a smaller scale. Even if you’re at six or multi–six figures, or you have a small team, you’re still more flexible, more adaptable, and able to pivot quickly.
Right now, the economy feels uncertain. Many people are saying selling is harder than ever. You might feel that, or you might not. Add in the rise of AI and the fact that the business landscape is shifting quickly, and you can see how being small gives you an edge. You can adapt, experiment, and stay ahead more easily because you have less to lose.
There’s real safety in that. More importantly, there’s opportunity.
I hope this episode reminded you of the hidden advantages you have right now. I was excited to share this with you, and I hope it leaves you feeling encouraged. I’ll talk to you next week.
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