Stages of Growing Your Business

Stage 1: Existence

• In this stage, the main problems of the business are obtaining customers and delivering the product or service
• Among the key questions are the following:

1. Figure if you can get enough customers, deliver your products, and provide services
2. You need to expand from that one key customer to a much broader sales base
3. Have enough money to cover the cash demands of this stage

Stage 2: Survival

• In this stage, the business has proved that it is a workable business entity 
• It has enough customers and satisfies them sufficiently with its products and services
• The key problem is the relationship between revenues and expenses
• The main issues that you can solve are:

1. Generating enough cash to break even in a short period
2. Getting enough cash flow to stay in business

Stage 3: Success

• The decision at this stage is whether to use the company name and expand or keep the company stable
• There are some sub-stages in this as well which predict outcomes for better understanding

Stage 4: Take-off

• In this stage, the key problems are how to grow fast and how to finance that growth
• The most important questions are in the following areas:

1. Delegation

• Giving responsibilities to experts for various domains
• Hiring managers and employees to increase work is done at this stage

2. Cash Flow

• If the owner rises to the challenges of a growing company, it can become a big business
• If not, it can usually be sold at a profit provided the owner recognizes his or her limits

Stage 5: Resource Maturity

• The corporation must expand the management force fast enough to eliminate factors that hamper growth.
• This can be done by use of such tools as budgets, strategic planning, management by aims and standard cost systems
• Your company has now arrived. It has the advantages of size, financial resources, and talent

To know about these stages in-depth and also about key management factors, do read this entire article: https://hbr.org/1983/05/the-five-stages-of-small-business-growth

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