Dashboard: Is Staying Small Selfish?

I met Lamar Tyler, founder of Traffic Sales & Profit, a couple of years ago at a Zone of Genius conference, where I interviewed him on the main stage. It quickly became clear that Lamar, who helps business owners grow, had a lot of smart, practical advice to offer, and I’ve been following him ever since. He recently posted something on LinkedIn that stopped me: “Staying small as a Black business owner is selfish.” Lamar, obviously, was speaking primarily to Black entrepreneurs, but his challenge applies more broadly. His argument is that owners who have the ability to build larger companies—and create more jobs, wealth, and opportunity—should not use “protecting their peace” or “staying lean” as an excuse to remain comfortable.I understand and appreciate what Lamar is trying to accomplish. But “selfish” is a heavy word. Isn’t an owner entitled to say, “I built this business to create a good life for myself and my family. Isn’t that enough?” Entrepreneurship is already hard. Most businesses fail. How much more risk should we encourage owners to take—and how much responsibility should they be expected to carry? That’s where Lamar and I begin this week’s Dashboard conversation. The episode is brought to you by Grasshopper Bank.