Taking the Pain Out of Growth by Jon Abrams Although the dream of every small business is supposed to be unlimited growth, for many small builders business expansion is a mixed blessing. Many of us settled into this field because we wished to avoid an impersonal work life in a large institution. We were attracted to the freedom, the desire to use our physical and mental capacities together, and the opportunity to create something real and lasting. Viewed from this perspective, growth can seem like the enemy, not the goal. Yet there are compelling reasons for slow, wellmanaged growth, too. The custom-building business I run has been growing slowly but steadily for 14 years. Despite our efforts to keep it small and
