Google business growth and you’ll get an array of bright red arrows pointing upwards on an impossibly steep trajectory, flip charts showing one side of a mountain soaring high into the clouds or bar charts ascending at increasingly acute angles.

The kind of growth I’m after isn’t reflected in stock shots, and the end goal isn’t about simply being a ‘bigger’ business. In fact, being small is written into Taylor’d Bundles DNA. So maybe it’s time to redefine good business ‘growth’ - here are are five reasons why staying small can be the best business route.

1. Evolution

For us, growth is all about evolution. It’s certainly important not to  stagnate - we don’t stand still and let opportunities go by. Instead, we’re a business that grows by evolving - we pay attention to people's feedback and encourage loyalty and engagement from current customers.

Our size means we’re nimble enough to grasp and embrace new opportunities, and evaluate which is the right direction for us to take.

Growth means becoming wiser on how to manage our finances, our staff and our resources, which leads to increased stability and becoming more knowledgeable. That’s far more valuable that becoming ‘bigger’.

I’m a firm believer that business growth should also encompass personal and emotional growth - learning from mistakes and triumphs and developing your own culture.

2. Small is unique

Much of what makes a business unique and interesting is its size - small is agile and for a creative business in particular, uniqueness and quality are much easier to manage.

The advantages of remaining small include being able to create better rapports with suppliers, having a good relationship with customers and actually being agile, not just talking about it - for example if a campaign doesn't work, you can change it quickly. Being small means you also have the ability to react to news and trends.

Social media is key in our world and as a small team we can talk directly to customers in real time. People appreciate being listened to and communicated with directly - we’re never a faceless company. Customers are savvy - they quickly see through disingenuous voices, campaigns and products.

3. Small supports small

Taylor’d Bundles’ essence is individual, crafted, tailored - becoming bigger and bigger ultimately leads to the mass-produced and ubiquitous. Our business champions small, independent sellers which are the heart and soul of the brand and which would be lost or over-overlooked with expansion.

We also offer support and advice to our business collaborators (who make the gifts). Being smaller means that their businesses can be our business to a certain extent.

As well as communicating on Facebook, on WhatsApp and over the phone we can also attend events collaborators are exhibiting at and see them face-to-face. Being in the small business world can seem like a lonely place. Support is invaluable.

Our company also supports small businesses more broadly through working with smaller PR, and business coaching companies and on events which we’re planning to move into in 2018.

4. Small means quality control

Being smaller means it’s easier to have overall control. It goes without saying that reputation is everything and bad feedback is only ever a click away. Issues can be resolved quicker and we always find that the personal touch counts.

Anyone who works with a business, from colleagues to clients, should have a positive experience and that’s much easier to achieve if the business remains small.

Equally we can currently ensure our heads aren’t turned with managing a large team - we can focus on the business matters in hand.

5. The quest for balance

Being less unwieldy helps towards what is ultimately many peoples’ goal - a work/life balance. It’s possible to flex a smaller business and make more time for the things that count. As the founder I am always personally on hand with a small, tight team. We always have the ability to upscale whereas it’s much more difficult to downsize.

I’ve also found that it’s incredibly important that you have time to yourself when you have cost responsibility associated with running a business and this will only increase as the business grows by traditional means.

Growth is important but so is creating a business that will grow with and flex alongside me. That’s my marker of growth success.

By Caz Taylor from present concierge site Taylor’d Bundles.