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Company Of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business Hardcover – January 15, 2019
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Enhance your purchase
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMariner Books
- Publication dateJanuary 15, 2019
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.91 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-101328972356
- ISBN-13978-1328972354
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Jarvis makes a compelling case for making your business better instead of bigger. A must-read for any entrepreneur who prioritizes a rich life over riches." —CAL NEWPORT, bestselling author of DEEP WORK “You're not a machine, so why would you run your business like one? Company of One shows you another way. If you've ever wondered how to have a business that works for you—instead of the other way around—you need this book.” —CHRIS GUILLEBEAU, bestselling author of SIDE HUSTLE and THE $100 STARTUP "Growth has been hacked to simply mean “more”. More revenue, more customers, more employees, more products, more, more, more. That’s a tragically myopic view of growth. Paul Jarvis will help you open your eyes to a broader, wiser definition of growth. One of learning, one of betterment, one of contentment. There’s never been a more opportune time to launch or run companies that embrace having and being “enough”. The most important ingredient is a new world view. Company of One can give you just that." —DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Creator of RUBY ON RAILS and Founder of BASECAMP "Your business can thrive with less! Company of One is an riveting, lucidly written guide to run a successful minimalist business." —Joshua Fields Millburn, host of The Minimalists podcast “The default equation of more = better in business isn’t working anymore. If you want to build something that matters, make a difference for your family and the world, and actually enjoy what you do, Company of One offers the inspiration and step by step actions that will change the way you do business, and the way you do life.” —COURTNEY CARVER, bestselling author of SOULFUL SIMPLICITY "Paul Jarvis beautifully illustrates that “Small is the new big.” It's true. It's not about how many employees you have (or how many customers you serve). It is about “who” you are working with. This is a revolutionary idea for our times: build your business based on your values. There's nothing small about that. This book is a treasure." —MITCH JOEL, founder, Six Pixels Group, and author of SIX PIXELS OF SEPARATION and CTRL ALT Delete “Ever since starting MailChimp 18 years ago, I’ve always been told that my way was wrong. My way has never been to “be big.” My way was always to “be useful.” My company has become a global brand with millions of customers, over $525 million in annual revenue, and almost 1000 employees united by a single mission to empower companies of one. Go figure. There's not one, right way. Only your way. Paul’s book can help you find your way.” —BEN CHESTNUT, CEO and founder of MailChimp "Company of One will give you invaluable insights to focus on the purposeful, interesting, and impactful work you actually love doing, right alongside permission to stop blindly chasing growth by defining success on your own terms. This book is great for freelancers, side-hustlers, and small business owners who are looking to bring autonomy, self-reliance, and creativity to their work without becoming total workaholics. —KATHLEEN SHANNON and EMILY THOMPSON, authors/hosts of Being Boss "Paul Jarvis is the savviest sole proprietor I know. This book is a permission slip to reject tired corporate business advice in favor of a sma —
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Mariner Books (January 15, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1328972356
- ISBN-13 : 978-1328972354
- Item Weight : 13.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.91 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #135,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #669 in Job Hunting & Career Guides
- #1,074 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- #1,504 in Business Management (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Paul is a veteran of the online tech world, and over the years has had such corporate clients as Microsoft, Yahoo, Mercedes-Benz, Warner Music and even Shaquille O'Neal.
Today, he is the cofounder of Fathom Analytics.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on June 4, 2019
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Top reviews from the United States
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When we first started emailing, he told me about the book and how he was working with a traditional publisher which meant it was going to take at least a year longer than if he self-published. I don't think that the delay added any value to the book...and I am interested to see whether the publishing deal translates into greater visibility and sales. I hope so since the author is a good person and more importantly these are important ideas that are not usually given much attention.
Having waited a year for the book, though, I was disappointed. The ideas are important, and Jarvis does a good job of providing data and examples to support his point of view. Unfortunately, many of the stories he uses are of companies that are not companies of one. They may share some of his values about building relationships with customers and quality over growth, but they are not examples that support the larger argument about a company of one.
There are examples of companies that do follow this model, and it is a missed opportunity to not talk more about those in greater depth. For example, he talks about a design firm that is a network of designers. It would be great to understand better how they operate, what systems they have in place, and how others could follow from than example.
Jarvis talks about his accountant and lawyer, but I know from his other writings that he works with a team of other contractors. Yet the book does not really go into those details. Overall, the book is NOT a how to manual. It is what I would describe as a manifesto that articulates a particular vision and set of values, but it could do that much better. I wonder how much the publisher and editor influenced the direction of the book in this way, because it was not as strong as his weekly newsletters.
My personal belief is that the future of business will be very large companies and lots of companies of one that form networks to solve problems. This book is a first step in articulating some of the values and reasons for this future. Interesting omissions, though, are the idea of the long tail and 1,000 true fans that are foundational to the shift from mass marketing and production to micro marketing and production that leverage personalization versus scale.
Maybe the book would have been better as two books. One on the company of one and the other on relationship marketing. While these are related ideas and both reflect how Jarvis operates his own company, they are also separate. This would allow discussion of how companies like Basecamp operate to develop relationships with customers and how companies of one can operate their businesses.
Despite my frustrations with the execution of the book, it is still a valuable read and important.
Top reviews from other countries
As a long-time company of one, this book didn't give me anything new whatsoever, and no real concrete advice I could use. Midway through I felt sure it wasn't going to provide, but I finished it anyway.
It's a valiant attempt, but more hype than substance.
Save yourself the time and get the value you need on a forum like Indie Hackers instead.
I purchased the kindle version of this and love it, so easy to read and add notes to and highlight! I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested or running a business already. If you’re looking for an alternative way to run a business, this is the best book to read in my opinion. It’s based off research and real life people/businesses as examples to back up what Paul says in the book.
The book is not badly written and Jarvis refers to lots of real world examples to back up his points but those points are the same ones recapitulated for 220 pages. This isn't an instruction manual for doing more with less. There are some allusions to the ideas in Eric Ries' The Lean Startup but I found this book too obvious and lacking in any new insight.












