STAGES — where’s yours?

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Rish

Stages of a business

I was just speaking with a seasoned bookkeeper. By seasoned, I mean she’s been running her own operation for just over 10 years now.

Through our discussion she clearly felt what I meant when I explained the different stages of a business:

Starting up: I can do it myself (much like “the terrible twos” stage for babies) – and do they! The bookkeeping, the technical work, the business development, the “figuring it out” as they go – all by themselves. At this point we don’t have much “extra” money, so we invest time instead.

5-year mark: Operating on the habits developed over the past 5 years in business, we start becoming disillusioned. You hear yourself saying: It’s not as much FUN as it used to be. It’s not as much FUN as I thought I’d be having by now … and I’m getting tired of this.

7-year mark: Exhausted. S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d in every direction –

financially (with some of the growth investments you’ve made that aren’t yet paying returns);
time (not enough to dedicate to marketing & sales to keep fueling the larger engine your business has become);
family (not attending the children’s events you were so sure the freedom of owning your own business would give you);
energy – plain and simply Running on Empty!
Sleeping poorly with your mind full of concerns. And feeling trapped; telling yourself: I can’t just let it go and get a job, now, with all my current commitments.

(click here to watch the video)

10-year mark: DID YOU KNOW … that only 1 in every 100 businesses make it this far? I learned that stat in 2003 when I hung out my shingle and again in late 2010 I saw new research that showed the same stats for 10 years. The drop-out rate along the path changed somewhat, but not this destination.

If you made it to 10 years – KUDOS!
CONGRATULATIONS!

80% are my own stats. In the 11 years I’ve been helping owners of small & mid-sized businesses my findings conclude that at least 80% of this surviving 1% are still wondering: But what could I do if I were to “throw in the towel”? And so they don’t. They continue to

Struggle … with the balance between work and life and with cash-flow and employees;
Sacrifice … their personal and family life for the business; and
Settle for less … far less than what they imagined they’d have by now when they first dreamed of being in business for themselves.

And as I was sharing this story with the bookkeeper this morning not only did many of her clients come to mind, but she remarked to me: You’re describing me!! I was on precisely that journey until I worked with Diana (her business coach).

And she got off that path … off that treadmill … and she became very clear where she’s headed and what she needs to do to get there.

If you’re not having the FUN you deserve and the FUN you desire;
If you don’t have a LIFE outside of the Business (Strategy #7), then this may be THE BEST place to start. Order a copy of my book today … for your electronic device – even your cell phone … and then immediately flip to the 3rd sheet where you’ll see a CD with a musical note. Follow the instructions on that page to download the FREE audio version. Listen to me reading the book while you’re driving around town and while you’re going through the book and implementing one simple change per strategy and you, too, can be enjoying the ride again. (And if you, like me, enjoying reading from paper, do order the soft-cover version, as well.)

Not into books? Then take a step up the staircase and schedule your 5-Point Business Diagnostic Assessment with me. It’s a no-risk investment because it comes with a GUARANTEE – 300% ROI or your money happily refunded. Just click here, and we’ll take care of the rest.

THE NEW BUSINESS YEAR starts again in just a couple of weeks – the day after Labour Day – and wouldn’t you want this year to be your best year yet … if that were possible?

Talk soon!

M. Lynne Jacob
Business Performance Coach
MLJinternational.com
613-484-3861

Grow your Business by 20x in just 5 years? Sure! And …
WITHOUT working harder, longer hours. (Get FREE training on 3 simple steps to increase your PROFIT immediately at MLJinternational.com)
Specializing in the construction industry since 2004.

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Are you tired of struggling, sacrificing and settling for less?
Get your copy of my book to help you go from KNOWING how to run your business to UNDERSTANDING how to be a successful entrepreneur, operating a business that becomes a high-performance, finely-tuned vehicle that will deliver you and your family to the lifestyle you’ve always secretly dreamt of.
Click here to order your copy today!
(available in print & electronic formats – PLUS audio for both versions … at no extra charge)