Today I’m going to talk about the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each cycle while also extending the lifespan of your business.
The four different phases of a business life cycle are:
- Infancy
- Adolescence
- Growing Pains
- Maturity
Let’s talk a little about what each of these phases mean and how they can each help expand your business’ lifespan.
Infancy
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 new baby. There is an impenetrable bond that is necessary to determine the path your business will follow.
The key is to know your business must grow in order to flourish. You cannot remain in this stage forever and be a success.
Adolescence
In this stage you need to start bringing your support staff together and delegating tasks – which allows growth to happen. The first line of defense is your technical person as they need to bring a certain level of technical experience. This is considered the manager phase. Here’s where future planning needs to start, and a relationship should be built with the entrepreneur to plan for the future.
Growing Pains
There’s a point in every business when business explodes and becomes chaotic. This is referred to as growing pains. It’s a good problem to have, but it is a “problem” nonetheless. You are often faced with a number of choices:
- Avoid growth and stay small
- Go broke
- Push forward into the next cycle
Maturity
The last is the maturity phase, though this doesn’t mean the end of your business. Your passion for growth must continue in order for your business to succeed. You need to keep an entrepreneurial perspective in order to push your business forward.
You see how all four of these phases are connected and how they depend on a strong foundation for your business to be and continue to be successful. All of your key roles must also work together to work through these phases.
If you’re having trouble putting together your business life cycle and figuring out which of the key roles you fit into, try our GUIDED TOUR and work with one of our amazing coaches.
