Running a business is something that provides a large amount of flexibility and a number of financial opportunities. In fact, you can achieve things that you simply will never be able to as a conventional employee. In order to make the most of your business growth, however, you’ll need to understand the company growth stages.
Knowing where you are in the business lifecycle can be the difference between whether or not you hit your intended metrics.
Development
For many people, this is a highly enjoyable segment of the business growth process. This is where you get to come up with all the fun ideas that you could use as the basis for your company.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for groups of people to spend hours brainstorming about the possibilities. There is a unique satisfaction that stems from having all of the pieces begin to fall into place. As the development stage continues, you can begin crossing off ideas that are not practical.
You can then begin researching certain details like finding a supplier or concept in products/services that you can offer. Since starting a business is something you can do entirely online these days, the development stage doesn’t always have to be lengthy.
In some cases, it might only last weeks. Depending on the industry that you are involved in, though, the development stage can last months.
This is particularly true if you are looking to acquire investors, additional staff, etc. As long as you are pragmatic with your planning, you should be able to minimize your risk in most areas.
Startup
So, you decided to get things up and running.
Congratulations! Your company is officially in the startup stage. Now that you’ve finally kicked things off, though, you have a new set of challenges to face.
During the development stage, there is no risk of something going wrong. The only thing that you ever stand to lose is the time you invested into coming up with new ideas.
During the startup stage, however, you’ll find yourself in a sink-or-swim situation. You need to navigate each obstacle carefully in order to come out on top.
A few key responsibilities include understanding your target audience, crafting a comprehensive marketing strategy, and providing stellar customer service. There are countless other nuances you need to keep in mind, but these are some of the most important.
You also need to have a strong understanding of any regulations that are present within your industry. The last thing you want is to encounter legal issues and experience penalties or fines. Additionally, you run the risk of damaging your brand’s reputation.
General Growth
After a few years in the startup stage, your company should be relatively stable. From here, you can begin moving toward general growth.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to increase certain metrics. For example, maximizing revenue is something that takes a specific strategy in order to do.
The same can be said about reaching the largest percentage of your target audience. However, it’s entirely possible that you grow exponentially within a short period of time.
As your company continues to perform, you will acquire more customers. This increases the chance of people telling their friends about your product/service, and it also helps establish notoriety in your industry.
Expansion
After your company has grown substantially, it can begin to expand. This means moving into other regions in order to take advantage of these markets. It could even involve international expansion, something that can be highly profitable.
Regardless of where you choose to go, there are certain factors that you need to consider. Primarily, your target demographic will differ based on the region that you focus on. For example, a 25-year-old male in New Mexico is much different than a 25-year-old male in New York City.
Both of these individuals are much different than a 25-year-old male you would find in China or Singapore. Put simply, you cannot overlook your obligation to thoroughly research the region that you expand to.
This also means looking into international laws/regulations. What currently works within the United States might not be something that you can utilize overseas.
When you’re ready to explore global expansion, you can check out this link.
Maturity
After years of hard work, countless brainstorming sessions, and many sleepless nights, your company will finally reach the maturity stage.
During this stage, it’s entirely possible that your company will run itself. All of the systems have been put into place and they likely only need minor configuration from time to time. However, this doesn’t mean that you should sit back and sail off into the sunset.
If you choose to take this route, though, you can sell your company and let somebody else handle all of the nuances of running your business. If you choose to remain at the helm, now is a great time to implement new business strategies that you might have come up with over the past few years. As long as you don’t significantly change what already works, you should not encounter any issues.
Understanding Company Growth Stages Is Essential
Otherwise, you will not be able to make the most of this opportunity. Be sure that you keep this in mind when moving forward so that you can leverage the company growth stages as you are experiencing them.