Business Article

How Evolved Is Your Business?
(The Seven Stages of a Business)

By Pam Butterfield

Stage Five: Unleashing the Machine

In this Stage, the business becomes a high-performance machine, with growing sales and profits.

Founder’s mindset: By this point, the business has largely “outgrown” the founder. As a result, the founder may be unsettled due to his or her diminishing influence and may begin to look for new ventures. The founder may also inhibit necessary changes in the business.

Management practices: Management roles and structures are clearly defined and the management team runs the day-to-day business.

Planning mechanisms: Planning is well developed. The focus now often shifts to tracking and identifying trends that indicate downward performance in the future.

Financial considerations: Managing and controlling costs remains essential. At this stage, reducing costs to maintain profits often becomes essential.

Products and services: Staying close to the existing customer base is essential. Strategies for selling more to existing customers become more important.

Key challenges at the boundary: To move to the next stage, there must be a fine balance between knowing when to invest in growth opportunities and knowing when to hold. The business owner’s understanding of what he or she can control—and what he or she cannot control—is also essential.

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