Growing Your Business – Understanding the Business Life Cycle

To scale a business means to grow it without a big increase in resources.  In fact, when your systems and procedures, technology, funding and staffing are all set up to build on the demand coming your way, the happy result is both top line and bottom line growth.  The difference, post-pandemic will be that to some degree, business owners are all starting a new business cycle again. What do we mean by that?

Portions of this article are exerpted from the Scaling Business Operations Course, part of the MFA™-Business Growth Designation Program .

From the moment you make the decision to set up a business, you enter a business lifecycle. That’s been forever affected by the pandemic, which now brings new opportunities for business to rebuild and everyone is thinking about it. 

From experts at the World Economic Forum opining on growth in the European Union to presidents of firms here in Canada, understanding how to restart, even if you have been in business for years, begins with rethinking your new business lifecycle.  

Knowledge Bureau, in fact, will feature an interesting keynote speech at the 2021 Distinguished Advisor Conference this October on this very issue.  Joe Glionna, President of Newcom Media Inc. will be discussing “STARTING POINTS: The Lessons Learned and How to Build on Them”.  Joe says that going back to basics to practicing your business “footwork” really matters in times like these.

In fact, Joe and his employees must contemplate, much like you do in your business, what clients as diverse as  financial advisors, truckers, dentists and brides have in common in their demand for services from you.   Newcom Media Inc., is one of Canada’s leading publishers and event producers serving the financial advisory automotive, bridal, dental insurance, fashion, meetings & incentives travel, supply chain, trucking, and waste management sectors. 

The challenge for his business?  Not unlike yours or that of the clients you serve, it’s how to get going fast, better and stronger than your competition after a crisis as big as COVID-19 has disrupted everyone’s norm.

In this inspiring keynote, Joe will share insights on how to engage all the personal and business sacrifices made, to turn a defensive mindset into an offensive one and harness the big wins just around the corner in the new economy.  Register before June 30 for the best early bird rates for you and your staff.   

In the meantime, it is instructive to think about the 5 phases within a typical business lifecycle and where your business now resides:

1. The Seeding Phase. This begins with an entrepreneurial idea and determining whether there is a need or want in the marketplace. Are you thinking about your existing business as a new start up in a new economy?  If not take the time to do so now.
2. The Start Up Phase: when a company becomes an official entity. It is when the idea is put into motion. Unfortunately, 90% of Start Ups fail. What will be different for your firm as you think about positioning it for future success?
3. The Growth and Expansion Phase: at this stage your company should be generating a consistent stream of income and be expanding their customer base. Is your business stagnating and if so why?  Is it overburdened by growth you can’t handle?  If so, how are you going to scale to meet demand?
4. The Maturity Phase: at this point the business is taking in stable profits and wondering what’s next? Is it time to expand and look for new growth opportunities? How will you invest for the future?  If that won’t be you, who will?
5. The Succession Phase: this happens when the business leadership decides that they are no longer interested in growing the business further. Without the commitment and determination to go another round of growth, the most prudent leader will then develop their succession plan.  But are you ready to let go?  Perhaps you need to talk this through in a safe haven of other like-minded business owners.

Scaling up to embrace the new economy, is a planned and deliberate process, and understanding when to scale up is key to getting the greatest equity out of your business. Today many “start-ups” pre-plan for growth by deciding in advance when they will move to the next level and set specific timeframes, targets and plans to do so.

The leadership skills used to grow your business to its current size can be quite different from the ones you will require to grow it to the next level and to succession. The vision you had when you began your business will need to be re-set in a scaling up period, as will your strategies and processes.  This includes a definitive plan to put in place the resources required to build your firm’s financial success.  Building out your team to share in the responsibility for growth will ensure you have the time to plan and strategize your way to success.  

By recognizing business life cycles and the barriers to growth through the effective deployment of business strategy, process and the engagement of people you can begin to scale up and work towards business growth.

To learn more, take the Scaling Business Operations Course, part of the MFA™-Business Growth Designation Program .