There’s a lot to keep in mind when searching for a new job. Naturally, you’ll want to look for roles that match your background, skill set, and future goals, but beyond the actual job duties, it’s important to consider what kind of company you want to work for. How close do you want to be with your coworkers? Do you thrive in an environment where there are lots of moving pieces, or do you prefer a bit more structure? Does the idea of wearing multiple hats excite you, or give you pause? It’s tough to get an idea of what it’s like to work for a given company without actually working there, but you may be able to answer some of these questions to an extent by looking at the company’s employee count.
Being employed by a Fortune 500 company is a wildly different experience than working for a mom and pop shop. Resources, technology, coworker relationships, and actual job responsibilities at a large company will be poles apart from those at a super-small business. Outsiders don’t always realize it (because our employees are an absolute dream team), but Treehouse Partners falls pretty squarely into the category of ultra-small business. We’re currently operating with five full-time team members, one permanent part-timer, and a handful of external contractors who ramp up and down depending on needs and availability.
Most of our team members came to Treehouse from much larger companies and had to adjust to the quirks that come with working at a company with fewer than ten employees, so we’re uniquely qualified to speak on the pros and cons of working for a (literal) mom and pop shop – and why this type of environment isn’t for everyone. For the sake of simplicity, we’ve stuck to addressing true super-small business environments (we’ll say ten or fewer full-time employees) here. While much of the below still applies in a startup environment – or even small businesses with 30, 40, 50, or more workers – mom and pops are a distinct animal. Here are six things to chew on before you take the leap and accept an offer from a very small business.
You’ll wear a lot of hats
Get ready to remove the phrase “that’s not in my job description” from your vocabulary. When you work for a company with fewer than 10 employees, you’re going to wear a lot of hats, whether you want to or not! To illustrate, our Candidate Relations & Social Media Manager here at Treehouse, Sarah (also the writer of this blog – hi!) primarily focuses on sourcing and communicating with candidates, scheduling interviews, and running Treehouse’s blog, social media, and other communications – but on top of that, she also manages our website, tracks statistics, is the first line of defense for IT troubleshooting, oversees the CEO’s LinkedIn profile, organizes calendars, conducts research for business development, writes job descriptions, and a whole host of other special projects.
Wearing multiple hats can be a pro, a con, or both, depending on your preferences and skills. If you’re a hard worker who’s eager to learn and expand your skill set, you’ll likely thrive in a small business environment. Because you’re working closely alongside the CEO/Founder/Owner and often pitching in on projects that fall outside your job description, it’s a fabulous way to explore a company’s various functions. Hence, if you’re not sure of your path, or are contemplating a big career change, scoring a role with a mom and pop shop can be hugely beneficial. On the flip side, being tasked with assignments that are beyond your scope can be frustrating, and that pain is amplified tenfold when things get busy and you don’t have much spare time. Our team here at Treehouse Partners embraces the opportunity to learn and grow in areas we might not otherwise be exposed to, but there are certainly times we find ourselves wishing we had a dedicated IT person or an in-house payroll specialist (though we love our outsourced vendors!) The ability to learn on the fly and roll with the punches is a necessity when you work for an ultra-small business. If these qualities aren’t your strongest suit, you may be better suited for a larger organization.
There’s no phoning it in
When you work at a corporation with vast teams of people all doing the same exact job, it’s honestly not too difficult to get away with slacking off. The sheer size of the organization creates a kind of anonymity – because when dozens of people share the same responsibilities, one person’s lax attitude and lack of effort can fly under the radar almost indefinitely. Anyone who’s worked for a large company can swap war stories of coworkers who put in the absolute bare minimum – showing up late, spending half the day scrolling TikTok, never offering to go the extra mile… basically, doing juuuust enough to avoid being called out by a colleague or flagged in a performance review.
Skating by isn’t an option at a small business. If someone isn’t pulling their weight at a small company, it becomes apparent very quickly. If only one or two people are performing a task, and that task is not being completed, it’s not hard to narrow down the list of suspects and determine who’s responsible. A team member who isn’t pulling their weight puts strain on everyone else, forcing colleagues to pick up their slack and ultimately breeding resentment. Underperforming employees may be able to get away with their goldbricking for months or even years at a company with thousands of employees, but at a small biz, this dynamic tends to self-correct pretty quickly. Those who aren’t willing or able to perform at the necessary level must sharpen up after a warning from leadership, get fired, or exit on their own.
Culture fit is paramount
Ironically, you may go through more interviews for a job at a tiny company than at a Fortune 500! Large corporations often attempt to codify culture through messaging, mission statements, and HR processes, but for a business that employs hundreds of thousands of people, “company culture” is often more of an abstract concept than anything tangible – and the “culture” may vary greatly between teams, departments, and office locations. For a small business, company culture is both palpable and intimate, often stemming directly from the values, philosophies, and attitudes of the owners, founders, and/or leadership team. Early and long-term employees play a major role in shaping culture as the company evolves, and when hiring new employees, fit is a huge and extremely important piece of the puzzle.
When a small group of people is working so closely together, one person’s attitude, work ethic, or communication style can have a major impact on the group as a whole. Some elements of culture fit are fairly obvious: If you’ve culled together an incredible team of upbeat, enthusiastic, dedicated employees, a Debbie Downer who puts a dark cloud over everything isn’t going to mesh well. Others are more difficult to determine – some small companies (including us) actively try to foster genuine, lasting relationships between coworkers by team building activities, events, or even short trips outside of work. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to keep your work life and personal life separate. However, if you’re debating an offer from an ultra-small business and are 100% not interested in attending events outside of work or becoming friends with your teammates, this could be an issue. Ask for details about company culture during the interview process: Are people friends outside of work? What type of team bonding activities take place (if any), and how frequently? Are outside-of-work-hours events mandatory, and if not, is non-participation frowned upon? Not all small companies have tight-knit teams, but if you cringe at the thought of bi-weekly happy hours, an escape room challenge, or an all-team Sunday BBQ, you may want to look elsewhere.
Coworker relationships matter
Coworker relationships go hand in hand with company culture, and at a small business, maintaining positive relationships with coworkers is a must – it’s a huge factor in why the hiring process for smaller businesses can be surprisingly rigorous. These businesses often wind up feeling like a close-knit family. It’s almost inevitable for close relationships to blossom between people who work closely together for 8+ hours every day, and the importance of workplace friendships cannot be overstated. Here at Treehouse Partners, most of our core team members have been with the company for five-plus years – we’re all friends outside of work, and many of us still keep in touch with former coworkers who left the business years ago. What can we say, bonds are formed quickly when you’re sipping spicy margs together at an offsite!
You don’t have to be actual outside-of-work friends with your coworkers. If you stick with a business long enough, chances are there’s going to be someone at some point whom you don’t particularly like. It’s perfectly fine (and in some cases, a wise decision) to keep your personal life separate, but at minimum, it’s essential to keep things friendly and above-board with confreres. A sour relationship with associates or team leaders leads to unwanted drama and can make your work life hell, so even if there’s a coworker you don’t particularly like, keeping the relationship professional is in everyone’s best interest. This is another great area to probe during the interview process if you’re considering a position with a small biz.
Upward mobility looks different
Titles, seniority, and opportunities for growth look very different for small businesses versus large enterprises. It’s 100% possible to join a company with fewer than ten employees right out of college and be second- or third-in-command within a few years. You’re typically working alongside the CEO/Founder/Owner and other senior executives from the get-go, so if you’re willing to put your nose to the grindstone, jump on opportunities for growth, and soak up the wisdom of those around you, your hard work will not go unnoticed. If advancing quickly is a goal, a small company may well be an excellent fit, IF – and this is a BIG if – you are willing to put in the work. Just like anywhere else, doing the bare minimum, refusing to go beyond your job description, and failing to be a team player won’t get you promoted.
On the other hand, as great as it is to be able to explore different functions– something that happens by default at a small biz – there’s also a risk of feeling like there’s nowhere for you to grow. It takes years, and sometimes decades, to move up the ladder at a large corporation; and chasing promotions can provide a sense of purpose and drive. When you join a tiny company as an Analyst and are sitting at a Director-level position 5-6 years later, where do you go from there? If the company is scaling quickly, there may be room to grow with it, but that’s not always the case. Sentiments of resentment, boredom, or even feeling trapped may surface when you reach the top of the ladder and don’t know what’s next. A company with 10, 20, even 30 or more employees may simply not have the headcount to create a true management track, and a senior-level title at a very small company may carry less weight externally. Be sure to evaluate your current standing and future goals at regular intervals, just like you would anywhere else.
Scrappiness is non-negotiable
Resource allocation and availability is one of the biggest differences between small business and larger companies. Where a mega-corporation will have structured training plans, vast technological tools, dedicated specialists, and the like, small business employees frequently have to come up with creative ad hoc solutions to bridge the gap. The ability to think outside the box is a valuable attribute no matter where you work, but at a small company, scrappiness becomes a non-negotiable. This may look like sharing resources, relying on free or lowest-tier plans for technology platforms, taking free or low-cost online courses to learn new skills, scouring online forums for troubleshooting, and so on.
Take your learning style and day-to-day work preferences into serious consideration before you jump the gun and accept an offer from a mom and pop shop, particularly if you’re early in your career. Bear in mind that you’ll need to hit the ground running and may not have much training or guidance at all; growth and learning tend to happen organically through actually doing the work versus through any standardized training program. While a good manager or supervisor will make themselves available for questions and counsel, people leaders at a small business don’t have time to micromanage, which can be a blessing or a curse. At an ultra-small business, it’s on you to ensure projects are completed satisfactorily, deadlines are met, and that you’re continuing to learn and grow.
There are plenty more differences between working for a small company and a large enterprise, but these are some of the most important things to keep in mind if you’re in the midst of a job search and looking at roles with companies that employ fewer than ten people. Large companies often have better resources and provide more structure, so if these are things you value, you may be drawn to a corporate setting. In contrast, if you flourish in the face of chaos, value close relationships with coworkers, jump at the opportunity to learn new skills, and love tackling projects outside of your comfort zone, a small company could be right up your alley.
During the interview process, it’s important to go beyond job titles, compensation, and responsibilities and ask questions to uncover what the day-to-day at a company actually looks like. For the right person, taking a job with an ultra-small business means amazing growth opportunities, the chance to explore different business functions, and in some cases, lifelong friendships. Small businesses, medium-sized companies, and multinational Fortune 500s all have their pros and cons; preferences, habits, abilities, and work styles all factor into whether an individual will thrive in a given environment. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to understand how your own preferences, goals, desires, and work style will fit in.