Small Business Lifecycle

Growing Pains, Maturity and Decay

All businesses reach a stage where they are victims of their success. The owners are working day and night to service the customers they have. They are working longer hours than their staff, frequently taking home less pay.

While they might like more customers, in reality they are struggling to handle the customers they have. Until this time, inefficiencies in their business could be handled because they had spare capacity, but now they are operating flat out. Gaps in systems are beginning to show and balls are being dropped. Customer service is starting to suffer.

You may be making a lot of money, but not a lot of real profit (which is what you have left AFTER you pay yourself a market wage).

At this time growth slows as the business cannot continue at the same pace.. The focus now must be on business systems that will allow the owner to take back control of their business. They need to be able to delegate to others or outsource non-core parts of their business. Without business systems, they would be unable to do this and maintain quality.

The ultimate goal for a business at this stage is a Business Management System [link to Business Management System Page] This enables the owners to have a business that does not depend on themselves and turns it into a Saleable Asset.

For further information on strategies for businesses in the Growing Pains stage of the Lifecycle of Business request a Free Preview copy of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success.

Empower Business Solutions has a number of programs designed for Businesses with Growing Pains.

A Marketing Medical is a consultation service which will review a business’ marketing strategy and provide recommendations on the changes that should be made to skyrocket their marketing and sales efficiency and effectiveness utilising the principles of the Five Profit Drivers Marketing System.

A Business Coaching Program designed to give your business a makeover in just 90 days.

Implementing a Business Management System turns your business into a Saleable Asset. This is the principle behind all franchise systems. Whether you want to franchise or not, it lifts the barriers to expansion, especially if the barrier is fear of losing control.

Listen to a Small Business Case Study  of a business at the Growing Pains stage of the Business Lifecycle.

 If you are unsure which of these program is most appropriate for you, request a Complimentary Business Evaluation and find out how to:

Multiply Your Profits and Make Your Business Run Without You

Maturity

At a certain time growth starts to plateau which is a sign of Maturity. This is a very dangerous time for a business. This is the point at which the owner becomes comfortable with their achievements. Their business is running smoothly.

While sales have started to plateau, their profits may still be increasing because they are getting better at doing what they do. The owner has decided that their business is at the right size, they don't want it to grow larger. The owner is in their comfort zone. They see opportunities to increase their profits incrementally, but they see no need to make significant changes in their business. In fact they are somewhat afraid of making significant changes. After all, if it ain’t broke, why change anything?

The reason this is a dangerous time is that the owner has taken their foot off the accelerator, and is starting to coast. You can never coast in business. The only time you can coast in business is when you are going downhill.

The success of your business is dependent on constant renewal. New products and services, new customers, new ways of delivering your service even if you don’t want to grow, as your existing clients start to drift away and new competition enters your marketplace.

If you don't invest in constantly rejuvenating your business, your business will be in decline. At first it might still appear to grow (from the momentum of earlier efforts). But after a time, the sales start to plateau. You start to lose some of your older customers. It becomes more difficult to get new customers.

But in your sector, some seem to survive and prosper- what have they done? They have made a commitment to take make their business survive. This does not necessarily mean to grow, but if they did nothing it would decline. They are looking at ways of keeping their business fresh and replenishing their assets.

It this stage a business needs to review their whole strategy. Is their business model and market strategy sustainable? Will the owners’ long term goals be achieved by continuing the same way?

Read about a Small Business Case Study of a business at the Maturity stage of the Business Lifecycle.

Empower Business Solutions has a number of programs designed for Businesses at Maturity.

A Business Coaching Program designed to give your business a makeover in just 90 days.

Implementing a Business Management System turns your business into a Saleable Asset. This is the principle behind all franchise systems. Whether you want to franchise or not, it lifts the barriers to expansion, especially if the barrier is fear of losing control.

At Maturity the issues are like lt to be more complex. If you are unsure which of these program is most appropriate for you, request a Complimentary Business Evaluation and find out how to:

Multiply Your Profits and Make Your Business Run Without You

Decay

Businesses start to decay while they appear to be on plateau. However, at some point, significant and consistent falls in sales start to occur due to the owner ceasing to invest in the renewal of their business.

At some point the business starts to lay off staff and reduce their services, until they only have a few customers and staff remaining. Friends really. They may even continue for some time while making losses, out of habit, and perhaps, pride.

The owner may start to look for someone to buy their business, but there is nothing to sell. They are their business. Their family wants nothing to do with the business. Their staff are only hanging about for a payout.

They start to blame the economy, the government, imports, staff, even customers. Turnaround at this point is rare. Although not impossible. but the type of changes necessary are radical, and can be costly. Such changes require a commitment that most owners at this stage no longer have. After all, if you believe someone else is to blame, you also believe that its up to someone else to do something, not you. So all their efforts are focused on the impossible task of making everyone else change, rather than the simpler (if not easy) task of changing themselves.

This continues until they get a call from their accountant one day to say, you can’t go on paying people to be your customers.

The psychological position of owners at this stage is that they are unwilling to invest in the effort required to make the necessary changes. The point of outlining this phase here is not to try and elicit business for Empower Business Solutions from this group, because quite frankly they are no longer seeking advice. The purpose of documenting this phase is to complete the picture and to ensure businesses at earlier, recoverable stages are aware of the final stages of a business’ lifecycle so that they can take action well before this stage is reached.

For further information on the Lifecycle of Business request a Free Preview copy of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success.