Small in a Biggie-Size World

In our world of bigger, larger, or jumbo sized everything, I began to think about our industry and how the home inventory service companies are all small businesses. This is by design.

As the Managing Director of NICA, I have spoken to many of our members, and have learned from them that their desire to remain small is personal. I am asked periodically about our home and business inventory company, Hartman Inventory, and why we don’t work on growing it into something larger than just being a 2-person business. After all, we have been in business since 2004, so why aren’t we bigger than we are?

After some time contemplating this topic, I listed many reasons for a personal property inventory company to remain small. Most of them are what have encouraged us – and I assume others in the industry – to refrain from striving for growth.

Reasons home inventory companies remain a small business entity:

• Confidentiality is a key element of this industry and the service provided
• Total control over how the business is run (one thing many entrepreneurs “need”)
• No employees – no employee issues
• They want to give the personal touch
• They enjoy getting to know their clients
• The business image and the owners’ professional image are one and the same
• It’s great having direct contact with the clients
• Clients know they are working with the owners, which gives them a feeling of comfort and trust (many clients have told us this)
• Small means there is an ability to adjust the process and customize the service to meet each client’s needs quickly, without going through a lot of corporate regulations to make a change

Now, I’m not saying it’s bad for people to want to grow a business, and many – in different industries – are working toward and achieving this initiative. Other industries are ripe for growth and it makes sense to become a larger company. However, with contents inventory being such a personal service, we see the value in remaining small and personal.