Today I’m going to talk about the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each cycle while also extending the lifespan of your business. 

The four different stages of a business life cycle are:

• Infancy
• Adolescence
• Growing Pains
• Maturity

We’ll discuss what each of these cycles entails and how they may help your company survive longer.

Infancy

The owner, usually known as the technician, is in this stage. The connection between the company and the owner is that of a father to his new newborn child at this time. There is an unbreakable tie that must be discovered in order to chart your company’s future course. Never let go of your child.

The secret is to recognize that your company must develop in order to thrive. You won’t be able to stay in this phase indefinitely.

Adolescence

In this stage, you must begin combining your support staff to delegate and enable progress. The technical person is the first line of defense since they must have a certain level of technical knowledge. However, in this cycle, the manager takes center stage. A connection should be established with the entrepreneur before anything else occurs in order to plan for the future.

Growing Pains

There’s a time in every company when it grows and becomes chaotic. This is known as the growing pains phase. It’s a problem, to be sure, but it’s an issue nonetheless. You’re frequently presented with a number of options:

• Avoid growth and stay small
• Go broke
• Push forward into the next cycle

Maturity

The fourth stage, maturity, does not signal the conclusion of your company. In order for your business to flourish, you must maintain a growth mindset. To move your firm forward, you must keep an entrepreneurial viewpoint.

You’ll notice how all four of these cycles are linked and rely on a solid base for each one of them in order for your business to thrive and continue to exist. All three of your essential positions (the technician, manager, and entrepreneur who I discussed in my previous post) must collaborate to overcome these cycles.

If you’re having trouble putting your business life cycles together and determining which of the key roles you belong to, try out our FREE test drive.