I frequently get asked this question. And, I often see business owners who are eager to grow the business and want to put in the work to do so, but they grow impatient. They want to grow now, but sometimes their business just isn’t ready. The downfall to scaling too soon is that you may miss key steps that will ultimately hinder your success.
Therefore, it’s important to evaluate your business before you move to scale. The following four stages help you understand which stage your business is in and whether or not you’re ready to scale.
Four Stages of Growing Your Business:
Stage 1: The Infant Stage
Let me stress this: This is the HARDEST and MOST IMPORTANT step. And, it’s the one that people resist the most. But, skipping this step will cost you in the long run.
At this point, your business is just getting off the ground. You are figuring out what type of business you want to create, what your message is, who your ideal customer is, and how you’re going to attract potential clients.
In this stage, your focus is on a number of specific things:
- Set up your “storefront” which in your online business entails a professional, domain-specific email address and a website (though it isn’t always necessary).
- Figure out your online presence on social media. Start creating content that provides value and connects you with your ideal clients to develop an audience.
- Network, network, network! Get yourself and your business out there. Look for podcast interviews, summits, and speak engagements to begin to get your message out there and continue developing your audience and fine-tuning your understanding of your ideal client.
- Establish an Application Funnel that directs people to schedule an initial one-on-one with you.
This is the hustling phase of your business and marketing. And, it’s a vital part of your ability to grow your business in the future. In this stage, your monetary investment is low, but you want to get a decent ROI from the time you’re putting in.
Stage 2: The Toddler Stage
As you transition into this phase, you have a few clients and you’re ready to start growing. You’ve used stage one to become clear on your message, who you want to work with, and the value you provide to people.
You’re ready to add some automation into your marketing to scale your business.
In this stage, invest in:
- The development of a lead magnet. This draws people to you. It provides your potential clients with something of value that moves them to decide to work with you.
- Validating your lead magnet. Do this by directing paid traffic to your lead magnet and into your funnel. Then, based on your results, tweak it until you get the desired outcome. This is where you test your messaging to ensure it provides what your audience needs to work with you.
Once you are generating your desired results out of your funnel, it’s time to start scaling.
Stage 3: The Teen Stage
You may discover your business is not having the impact that you really want. This is where you start to expand your branches to discover the various ways you can expand your business to really reach the impact that you’re looking for.
In this stage, there are several ways to approach this:
- Start with a low entry paid offer. The benefits of this are two-fold: 1) A micro-offer allows you to provide value to your clients and get paid for it and 2) It’s much easier to sell to people who have already bought from you.
- Focus on the up-sale. Again, people are more likely to become loyal customers when you’ve already established value and trust. Therefore, when you frontload with a program that provides that value at a lower price-point, they are much more eager to make the investment to continue receiving that value and more.
- Create launches. If you’re, for example, going to scale your business by creating group coaching programs, it makes more sense to start the program at a specific time rather than bringing new people at different times. Plus, you generate excitement and anticipation for your program that draws people in.
Stage 4: The Flourish and Thrive Stage
You’ve established yourself and you’re looking for new ways to scale.
In this stage, consider:
- What new ideas do you have that you believe will bring value to your clients? Or, what have you learned from your clients that you know will bring value to their lives?
- Use your model that works. If you’re in this stage, you’re obviously doing it right. Perhaps you’ve created a fantastic course through a group coaching model. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use what works to grow your business to add branches that increase the value and impact you provide your clients.
When looking to scale your business, the key is not to jump to the next stage too soon. If you do, you risk having to scale back and waste valuable time in the process.
If you’re ready to build a marketing strategy that leads to a scalable business, contact me today, and let’s chat about it!