The phases of business development (and why it's important to know which phase you're in!)

You know the saying, "Don't put the carriage before the horse"? Well, that statement totally applies to business ... and is an important one to remember! 

It is common to want to skip steps and get way ahead of ourselves as business owners and entrepreneurs. 

What i've come to realize, though, is that in doing so that can actually cause growth to slow down or become unsustainable! When we honor the sacred process of developing a business....(you know, without rushing the process or trying to skip steps)... we can building an incredibly secure and STRONG business!

If you want to increase the success your business can experience, start by clarifying what phase you are in and then be ALL IN that phase (cue in the removal of shiny penny distractions and comparison!).

Knowing what phase of business development you're in can help you to diminish sensations of overwhelm as well as confusion. Especially if you are someone who tends to slip into idea overload and you just want to hid the ground running, it's extra important to identify what phase of business development you're in because it'll help you organize your ideas into a framework that is actually doable! 

Don't let people's highlight reels distract you! 

Just because you see others sharing about huge growths or successes they experience doesn't mean you have the full spectrum of reality painted for you. Right now I am in the process of making some pretty big, scary, yet exciting moves in my own business… such as gearing up to launch a second business in 2022 and preparing to transition my business model into a Social Enterprise.  This has caused me to get mighty clear on not only what phase im in, but how I will strategically plan these big transitions.  If I didn't honor this process, i'd lose myself completely to overwhelm and confusion…which would most likely stall me from even making these dreams a reality!  We have no idea what goes into people getting to where they are in their businesses…and honestly it's not really our business to know!  All we can do is focus on where WE are, where WE want to head, and how WE can honor the stage WE are in!

Check out the slides I created below to help you identify what stage of business you're currently in….

The four stages of business development:

Startup 🌱 

Growth 🌺 

Maturity 🌲 

Maintain 🏔 

The first stage of business development is the most critical and that phase can (on average) last 1-3+ years! 

Sure, some people may experience a QUICK startup and have no problem generating fast results...but don't be fooled: Thats not the norm! Statistically speaking, it can take a small business on average 3-4 years to start becoming consistently profitable! That's why the startup phase is SO important...it literally sets the stage for beginning to see a turn around!!

The growth phase is probably my favorite and also soooo important. 

Often times people start trying to scale their business (phase 3 + 4) before they even have given adequate time for their growth phase to develop. The growth phase is where we establish our rock solid strategies and systems for things like marketing, content, selling, client/customer experiences, service suites and so on...and ya'll: this takes TIME (is not to be rushed!!!). Statistically, it is recommended to be in startup and growth phases for 4-6 years before you start going full steam into scaling. Again, this isn't a one size fits all thing and some people move through these phases quicker or slower than others.  What's important to remember is other people's business is not YOUR business!  Honor your own process, speed, and pace.  Taking things quicker or slower doesn't maker you a better or worse business owner!! If you gave yourself solid time to start, solid time to grow, you will feel incredibly confident and READY to enter phase 3!

Maturity phase tends to be a shiny penny phase because the word SCALE is tossed around a lot in the online biz world...and we are attracted to the concept of scaling because we often attach scaling to making more money (and we all love that idea, right?!).   

But there is no point in entering maturity phase if you haven't properly established the first two phases of your business.  Otherwise, you may wind up wondering why nothing seems to be turning a profit or lasting for the long run!! Doing a bunch of things not very well isn't worth it, ya'll. Its much smarter business practice to give your development the adequate time and attention it needs so that you can do things really well + sustainably!! During the maturity phase, we begin to streamline our processes we established in the growth phase….getting more involved in automation, working smarter not harder, and turning our business into a well oiled machine.  Your business may feel a bit messy up until this phase, and that's ok!

Phase 4 is the maintain stage (or sustain), where I personally add in things like establishing sustainability and impact initiatives, social/environmental contribution programs, and DEI in the workplace practices (which can also be established at startup phase if you are, say, starting as a social enterprise model!).  

The sustain phase is all about thinking long term and getting mighty clear on how you are going to keep the momentum going.  This is a good period to go back to what you cultivated in the growth phase and make updates!  This is also a phase where it's important to stay innovative and flexible.  As the world, industries and people change, our businesses should change too.

I'd love to hear from you:

Do you have any questions about the stages of development?! I'd love to help if so!! If you need deeper support in fully moving through each stage, reach out! This is sort of what my specialty is ;) and id love to help you xx. ❤️