As you move through the stages of business, you learn new things. In Stage 1 – IDEA, you learn how business works, all the things from Financial to Marketing. It’s all new and you’re usually doing it all yourself.
In Stage 2 – PRACTICE, you’re starting to get a handle on it all, you have customers who love you and things are starting to grow. You begin to hire on assistance and are really starting to look at the future.
Which brings us to Stage 3 – FRUITION.
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 on bigger and better, bringing more to those you touch in your world. Your vision expands as you gain capability.
You now have a team. It could be small, 2-3 people, or it could be larger 10+. The point is you are no longer running the day-to-day tasks that took up so much of your time in the early stages. You are now concentrating on higher level items. You’ve most likely started to batch your time so that you can take care of your customer’s ultimate needs.
You are spending your time on Strategic Planning, creating new products, and your concern is focused on scaling your business to a more comfortable level.
It takes time to get to this stage of business.
Moving through the stages takes time, and one typically moves into the FRUITION stage after about 5+ years of solid work. Of course, this time frame fluctuates depending on the business and how you and your customers show up for it. Some hit this stage early, some later.
But one thing is for certain, to get to this stage requires knowing how your business flows and having it documented so that everyone knows what’s happening.
Taking the time to really determine your core processes will help you find gaps in your business that you didn’t even know were there. Being able to close these gaps will yield better results for both you and your customers. It effectively removes the rocks that cause the major rapids in your river of flow.
The other benefit to documenting one’s processes is that hiring people will become easier. You will begin to see what positions you need to fill and why. You’ll be able to determine exactly what skills are required for the job and eliminate the confusion of hiring the right person for the right job.
No more guessing about what you’ll be giving your new Virtual Assistant, Social Media Manager, Launch Coordinator. They will have their foundational tasks laid out for them. Your new team members can be easily and quickly brought up to speed about your business and their part in it.
Yeay! We made it!…But what’s next?
A lot of small business owners stop here. Things are comfortable. They have a great balance between work and play. They are able to maneuver in their lives with ease. The money and time are there to be able to afford a life that is comfortable and as drama free as possible. Life is good.
But then there are those who want to push for more. Because they have their processes and systems in place and are running a well-oiled machine, they can see big growth potential and know how to document new processes as they grow and head toward the final stage of business, Stage 4 – IMPACT…or as I like to reference it, SPIRIT which we’ll dive into in the next blog post.
Until then, remember:
Keep your eyes on the horizon, your hands on the wheel, and your foot on the GAS!!
Let’s DO THIS!!
(If you’re interested in learning more about getting your processes and systems in place, click HERE to download the 3 Easy Steps to Identify Your First Process.)