All entrepreneurs are going through the process of building and growing our businesses and some will go through all the stages of the business building process.
Most entrepreneurs drop out in the first or second stage, some are happy to live in the third stage, and the remaining drive and push to get to the last stage.
But what are these stages of business?
- IDEA
- PRACTICE
- FRUITION
- IMPACT
IDEA Stage
An idea for a business shows up and you do the work all by yourself. This is where you are establishing a foundation, feeling the overwhelm of doing something for the first time, waiting to get things done until the last minute, fretting about doing this crazy new idea, and being concerned about “making it” but are driven by the amazing idea.
The idea can come from anywhere:
- Yourself – Personal inspiration
- Friends – “You’d be GREAT at ‘this’ thing!”
- Mentors/Strangers – “You too could have your own business in three easy steps!” 🤣
However the idea shows up, it grabs you and motivates you into action. You start to lay out how it could work, start to create a structure in which to proceed, and give yourself deadlines but then panic when they show up so quickly!
This is where most folks get panicked, drop the ball, and never move forward.
But others continue on, reset their deadlines, and people start noticing. The business gets its first customers, and you get that first delicious taste of possible success.
PRACTICE Stage
This is where the work really starts to happen. You fumble around, making mistakes, feeling ALL the overwhelm.
Additionally, you feel like you’re drowning in all there is to do and set up, adjust, and learn. You KNOW this can work but you go through all the emotional/spiritual baggage that shows up when one expands out of their comfort zone.
Two things happen at this time…either you quit, feeling shame that you failed, and head back to the ‘status quo’, or you breakthrough and cleanup said baggage and begin to move into getting the business dialed in and really working.
This marks the beginning of the end of this stage where:
- You start becoming comfortable with the daily, weekly, monthly tasks.
- You have hired, or are thinking of hiring, help.
- The overwhelm has decreased some because you’ve gotten into a groove.
FRUITION Stage
In this stage, you’ve passed through the veil of learning. The struggle and frustration have given you knowledge and a business that is providing you with sustenance and support
Now your focus is shifting to bigger and better. Bringing more to those you touch in your world. Your vision expands as you and your team gain capability.
You now have a small team who are starting to take care of the day-to-day tasks and you have some time to concentrate on scaling your business and the high-level items like strategic planning and really taking care of your customer needs.
Some folks are comfortable here and decide to remain in this comfort zone. The business is bringing in consistent income and life becomes fairly easy.
Other folks want to build something bigger and push on to achieve the last stage of business.
IMPACT Stage
This is the stage in which you see the “movers and shakers.” The big names you may, or may not, know like Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, Meg Whitman, Stu McLaren, Marie Forleo, etc.
In this stage, there is an amazing team taking care of all the day-to-day needs of the business. You have been promoted to CEO, Ultimate Leader, and Figurehead. And you no longer worry about how the business is running.
Your main concern is WHERE the business is going and the impact you can make. You expand into other interests. You find other avenues of impact and support for others, finding a need and working to fulfill it.
It is at this stage that the cycle will start all over again because those “other interests” become the next IDEA for you to explore as your business works FOR YOU.
Getting To The Next Stage of Business
So how does one move from stage to stage? Simple, experience. 😝
But really, experience gives you the knowledge and confidence to continue moving forward. The key is having the ability to transfer that knowledge and improve upon it in an efficient way.
In the IDEA and PRACTICE stage you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re making it all up as you go along. Then you start to find some things that work.
You get to the point where you need some help to keep going…but the sticking point is that the people you get to help don’t know what you figured out that works. So, you have to train them.
But training them means you have to remember ALL THE THINGS! Which is a hard thing to do when you run EVERYTHING. Transitions get lost, steps get forgotten, and those tweaks you made that worked so well three weeks ago have faded back into the ether because you didn’t write it down.
It is in the middle of the PRACTICE Stage or the beginning of FRUITION Stage where things can start breaking down and all that progress you’ve made can easily come tumbling down.
If only there were a way to keep that from happening!!!
Oh wait, PROCESSES!
You can bet your bottom dollar that most folks sitting comfortably in the FRUITION Stage have them and EVERYONE in the IMPACT Stage of their business has them. They just couldn’t do business without them. It’s too confusing and too complicated to work without a blueprint. It’s the difference between a blanket fort and the Empire State building.
The cool thing is, you don’t have to wait until you get to the FRUITION or IMPACT Stages to start documenting your business.
If you take the time NOW, chances are that you’ll be able to move to the next Stage just that much faster!
If you want to dip your toe and learn a little bit more about Process Documentation, click HERE for my free guide, 3 Easy Steps To Identify Your First Process, so you can easily take control of your business, generate revenue, and start making your way through all the stages of business building.