The 7 Stages of Business Life Cycle
The 7 Stages of Business Life Cycle
The 7 Stages of Business Life Cycle
Your business is changing. With the passage of time, your company will go through various stages of the business life cycle. Learn what upcoming focuses, challenges and financing sources you will need to succeed. A business goes through stages of development similar to the cycle of life for the human race. Parenting strategies that work for your toddler can not be applied to your teenager. The same goes for your small business. It will be faced with a different cycle throughout its life. What you focus on today will change and require different approaches to be successful.
Seed
The seed stage of your business life cycle is when your business is just a thought or an idea. This is the very conception or birth of a new business. Challenge: Most seed stage companies will have to overcome the challenge of market acceptance and pursue one niche opportunity. Do not spread money and time resources too thin. Focus: At this stage of the business the focus is on matching the business opportunity with your skills, experience and passions. Other focal points include: deciding on a business ownership structure, finding professional advisors, and business planning. Money Sources: Early in the business life cycle with no proven market or customers the business will rely on cash from owners, friends and family. Other potential sources include suppliers, customers, government grants and banks.
the coming months is critical. During the first months, the company is going to develop its business model without getting revenue from sales. There are multitudes of good ideas when attempting to launch a company. But in order to be successful, the young company will need visionary managers with assiduity and flexibility in order to dynamically adapt the business model to stay in line with rapid market evolution. Launching a company and assessing the business model will often consume the equity invested by the owners. During the seed stage, the young company could readily prepare a tree year plan in order to convince new shareholders to support the next phases of development.
Start-Up
Your business is born and now exists legally. Products or services are in production and you have your first customers. Challenge: If your business is in the start-up life cycle stage, it is likely you have overestimated money needs and the time to market. The main challenge is not to burn through what little cash you have. You need to learn what profitable needs your clients have and do a reality check to see if your business is on the right track. Focus: Start-ups require establishing a customer base and market presence along with tracking and conserving cash flow. Money Sources: Owner, friends, family, suppliers, customers, grants, and banks.
Growth
Your business has made it through the toddler years and is now a child. Revenues and customers are increasing with many new opportunities and issues. Profits are strong, but competition is surfacing. Challenge: The biggest challenge growth companies face is dealing with the constant range of issues bidding for more time and money. Effective management is required and a possible new business plan. Learn how to train and delegate to conquer this stage of development. Focus: Growth life cycle businesses are focused on running the business in a more formal fashion to deal with the increased sales and customers. Better accounting and management
systems will have to be set-up. New employees will have to be hired to deal with the influx of business. Money Sources: Banks, profits, partnerships, grants and leasing options.
Established
Your business has now matured into a thriving company with a place in the market and loyal customers. Sales growth is not explosive but manageable. Business life has become more routine. Challenge: It is far too easy to rest on your laurels during this life stage. You have worked hard and have earned a rest but the marketplace is relentless and competitive. Stay focused on the bigger picture. Issues like the economy, competitors or changing customer tastes can quickly end all you have work for. Focus: An established life cycle company will be focused on improvement and productivity. To compete in an established market, you will require better business practices along with automation and outsourcing to improve productivity. Money Sources: Profits, banks, investors and government.
Expansion
This life cycle is characterized by a new period of growth into new markets and distribution channels. This stage is often the choice of the business owner to gain a larger market share and find new revenue and profit channels. Challenge: Moving into new markets requires the planning and research of a seed or start-up stage business. Focus should be on businesses that complement your existing experience and capabilities. Moving into unrelated businesses can be disastrous. Focus: Add new products or services to existing markets or expand existing business into new markets and customer types. Money Sources: Joint ventures, banks, licensing, new investors and partners, profits, banks, investors and government.
Mature
Year over year sales and profits tend to be stable, however competition remains fierce. Eventually sales start to fall off and a decision is needed whether to expand or exit the company.
Challenge: Businesses in the mature stage of the life cycle will be challenged with dropping sales, profits, and negative cash flow. The biggest issue is how long the business can support a negative cash flow. Ask is it time to move back to the expansion stage or move on to the final life cycle stage...exit. Focus: Search for new opportunities and business ventures. Cutting costs and finding ways to sustain cash flow are vital for the mature stage. Money Sources: Suppliers, customers, owners, and banks. Profits, banks, investors and government.
Exit
This is the big opportunity for your business to cash out on all the effort and years of hard work. Or it can mean shutting down the business. Challenge: Selling a business requires your realistic valuation. It may have been years of hard work to build the company, but what is its real value in the current market place. If you decide to close your business, the challenge is to deal with the financial and psychological aspects of a business loss. Focus: Get a proper valuation on your company. Look at your business operations, management and competitive barriers to make the company worth more to the buyer. Set-up legal buy-sell agreements along with a business transition plan. Money Sources: Find a business valuation partner. Consult with your accountant and financial advisors for the best tax strategy to sell or close-out down business.
company without cashing too much during company lifetime. At the exit time, they might be disappointed. Family companies with a charismatic owner are usually unprepared for a transfer where they have to stay in the company for a period of time (MBO or training of the new owner). They are not used to delegate nor seldom inclined to shed their power gradually. When no candidates are willing to pay the amount hoped for, e.g. in order to avoid the foreclosure of the company, they will prompt a MBO through a member of the management team. Owners of family companies and middle sized companies can be helped considerably by advisers during the preparation of a transmission. When an entrepreneur, a fund, or venture capitalist, want to acquire a company, all will spend much time to evaluate the financial results. All the banks will do the same. Very few analyze the non-financial aspects of a company: quality of the management, IT, production means, distribution networks, staff motivation, perfect fit between products and market demand. These non-financial elements are nevertheless essentials for a complete evaluation of any new acquisition.