Size Matters Growing your business comes down to basic multiplication--just make sure you add in the human factor.

One of the biggest dilemmas you will face after you get your business up and running is the decision to either grow or stay small. Obviously, most entrepreneurs opt to keep their businesses small because it's much easier to control and manage a small business. And that's because growth requires people. As my rich dad often said, "Business would be easy if not for people." If you choose to grow your business, being able to lead and manage people is one of the most important skills you can possess.

As the number of people grows, the number of relationships grows--and grows exponentially once you have four people in the business. For example, a one-person business has zero relationships; add a second person, and the relationship dynamic kicks in. Add another person: three people and three relationships. But look what happens with the fourth person: four people and six relationships. Visualize each person as a dot, and draw a connecting line between each of the dots. You'll see that with four people, you'll have six connecting lines. Take it a few steps further and do the math: Seven people equals 21 relationships; 100 people means 4,950 relationships!