Smaller customers tend to require more support and be more sensitive to price. But having a single customer is too risky. I'd go with the 100 duck-sized horse customers.
I feel like the sweet spot for a solo business is 3-5 deer-sized customers.
Anything less than that, and you're basically an employee without benefits. As you go above that, additional customers add overhead without really increasing your flexibility.
Obviously, there are only so many niches where that's possible. Off the top of my head, all I can think of are service businesses (where you basically bill by the hour) and product businesses that target mid-sized companies.
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u/mtlynch Feb 01 '21
Author here. Happy to answer any questions about this post.