Each business is a living, breathing entity in and of itself and will pass through stages as it grows and prospers. Today I’m going to talk about the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each cycle while extending your business’s lifespan. Let’s talk about each of your business cycles, what they mean, and how you can grow and expand your business’ lifespan within each life cycle.
Infancy Stage of Your Business
This is generally considered the technician’s phase, which is the owner. At this point, the relationship between the business and the owner is that of a parent and a new baby. An impenetrable bond is necessary to determine the path your business will follow. And remember to never drop your baby.
The key in the stage of infancy is to know your business must grow to flourish. Although the most exciting stage, this stage, like human babies, is fleeting and will go by very quickly. You’ll have the most passion for your business in this phase and be very excited, but always remember to create a plan of action with a goal at the end so you can keep your business stamina going throughout the other three stages of your business.
Your Business in Its Adolescence
In this stage, you need to start bringing your support staff together to delegate to and allow growth to happen. The first line of defense is your technical person, who needs to bring a certain level of technical experience. This cycle really belongs to the manager, though. Next, the planning stage needs to start, and a relationship should be built with the entrepreneur to plan for the future.
There’s a point in every business when business explodes and becomes chaotic, also known as growing pains. It’s a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. You are faced with several choices at this point in your journey:
- Avoid growth and stay small
- Go broke
- Push forward into the next cycle
Business Maturity
The last cycle is maturity, which doesn’t mean the end of your business. Your passion for growth must continue for your business to succeed. You need to keep an entrepreneurial perspective to push your business forward.
You can see how all four of these cycles are connected and depend on a strong foundation for your business to succeed. All three of your key roles (the technician, manager, and entrepreneur I mentioned in my previous post) must work together to work through these cycles.
If you’re having trouble putting together your business life cycles and figuring out which of the key roles you fit into, schedule a time to connect with Amanda at BusinessGrowthDemo.
