The Issue

Can’t wait to outgrow the ties of scale that keep your small business small? Be careful what you wish for! With success comes stricture, and it doesn’t take long to outgrow the fierce independence and responsive vitality of being a freestyle entrepreneur.

What I Think

True story. The names have been changed to protect the hopelessly bogged down.

A guy I know works for a government contractor, and travels around a lot on government business on the government’s dime. Tapped for a sensitive overseas gig that would use his technical expertise and people skills, my pal began making the necessary arrangements, beginning with the forms for the $8 travel voucher for his airline tickets, ground transportation, lodging, per diem, and such.

No problemo, or so he thought. [Dear Reader: “no problemo” is used here for humorous effect. I’m a professional: do not try this at home--or at work. The term derives from “no problem,” which continues its relentless spread throughout American discourse, yet remains anathema to lovers of the language].

Functionaries Love to Function!

Sorry, sir, he was told as he turned over his pile of paperwork to the government worker behind the desk, we can’t process any of this. You’ve used the wrong forms, you brought them to the wrong place; and besides, you need to use a red, government-employee passport, not your blue civilian-travel passport. You’ll simply have to redo everything.

As noted, this fellow has unique knowledge and skills for which his employer pays him a pretty penny. More to the point, however, the employer in turn charges the government even more handsomely for those services. My friend estimates the additional time spent running around getting a RED passport—application, photo, proof of eligibility–and acquiring, completing and filing the correct new forms cost the government (you and me) some $500,000!

For an $8.40 travel voucher. That, in a word, is NUTS!

What Do You Think?

That is a bare-bones description of what my friend was telling us over dinner the other evening. Soon he’ll be leaving his family for several months, and traveling hallway around the world to do his job for us all—despite those bureaucratic impediments, many of which I’m sure I’ve left out (cut me some slack, I was working off notes scribbled on a napkin!).

But does anything like that keep your business from functioning—or profiting–at its best? If so, or if you’re about to leave the life of a freestyle entrepreneur for the Big Time, be forewarned.  Policies that impede performance come with the territory and tend to dig themselves in from Day One. We’d like to hear from you. Have you registered?

Bill Willard is a freelance writer in Clearwater FL. He has been a high-impact writer and editor for over 30 years. In addition to his byline pieces, Bill’s beat includes ghostwriting and editing for businesses of all types and sizes, professional practitioners and individuals, and is a www.thefreestyleentrepreneur.com Contributing Author. Visit his Website: www.writergazette.com/WillardAssociates.shtml.

Or contact him at billw15@tampabay.rr.com for additional information or to sign up for his popular eblog: Daily Grin.

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