Trusting Dunbar

I went self-employed as a sole trader in 1997, determined to enjoy making a living as a freelancer. Over time I have worked as a strategic consultant as well as a worker bee marketing exec in businesses both large and small. Being flexible paid dividends for me as I struck out on my own. Hence, I was interested to read this week that whilst the news headlines might scream otherwise, ‘business’ is in fact, largely made up of very small companies. There are 5.9 million companies in the UK and most are small and run by entrepreneurs rather than being large, faceless corporations. Of these companies, 98% employ fewer than 50 people and most employ just one or two. I can vouch for working for small businesses or in small project teams benefiting from the rapid transmission of information, agility of thought and action and just all-round enjoyment and success. 

According to ‘Dunbar’s Theory’, devised by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, the optimal size for any business organisation is 150. Within this limit every member of the team has the cognitive capacity to process whatever data and information is necessary to maintain stable relationships with everyone else. This upper limit of 150 also equates to the optimal number of meaningful contacts any individual can maintain. Other business gurus posit that organisational challenges really hit home once a business reaches 25 employees. At this point team members will be looking for promotional opportunities, training may need to become more structured, employment legislation more stringent, in effect, the dynamism of a smaller organisation will be challenged.  No wonder so many successful entrepreneurs sell up and start again on their next business adventure.  I can’t claim the status of a business entrepreneur but I am proud to have made a good living from skipping from one successful project on to another – variety is the spice of my freelance life.