You’re an entrepreneur. You made it through the core startup phase of your business growth. You’ve refined your buyer and honed your offerings. Your marketing funnel is consistently generating client leads. And, you’ve built a strong reputation in your industry. Well done!
The good news? You no longer worry about survival.
And yet…
You’re overwhelmed. Burned out. Exhausted.
You work long, endless hours. Each day is utter chaos only to wake and do it again the next day.
With no end in sight, you wonder how much longer you can work at this fevered pace.
The worst part? Despite your continued effort of hard work and long hours, your business growth has slowed or stalled. Egads!
You’ve hit a plateau — a ceiling — that seems impenetrable regardless of the successful implementation of effective strategies.
What started out as an exciting journey for you as an entrepreneur has turned into a bit of a nightmare. You feel trapped. You’re falling out of love with your business but can’t quit!
You’ve invested too much.
You no longer own your business – your business owns you.
Welcome to the Stage II Enterprise!
Stage II Enterprise: By The Numbers
Imagine that. There’s actually a name for the current state of your business existence.
As a Stage II Enterprise, you’ve moved beyond startup. During the three to five-year period of business ownership, you’ve proven your business model and achieved some level of sustainability. (Insert sigh of relief here.)
Annual revenue is between $350,000 – $1 Million. And, although you “enjoy” some fluid cash flow, revenue is stalled. Your response? Tighten down the hatches and work harder!
You manage a team of 5–15 hybrid employees and freelancers, which allows you to expand and contract as dictated by cash flow and opportunities.
Sadly, your talent pool is a bit stagnant with unqualified hires stemming from the earlier, inexperienced days of business ownership.
Employees haven’t grown with the organization and because pay may not be aligned with the labor market, you’re hesitant to ask them to step up their game.
Plus, as the former “lone ranger,” you are accustomed to “doing it all” yourself. You either don’t know how or are uncomfortable delegating to the staff. Staff is underutilized.
Your ability to survive missteps, misjudgments, and bad decisions is real. With little to no time focused on forwarding movement and strategies needed to grow the business, the ability to remain relevant is challenged.
And yet…
You know what it takes to run a business and have the aptitude and appetite to continue growing.
Stage II Enterprise: The Information Gap of the Entrepreneur
As a Stage II Enterprise, the marketplace does not serve you well — if at all. Few sources exist to provide you with the proven strategies that work.
A colossal information gap exists between startup, stage one business growth and development, YOU, and the corporate behemoths; information vital for solving the problems of your enterprise.
What you long for — and need — are effective strategies to accelerate the process of stopping the stall and getting to the next level.
Stage II Enterprise: Bridging the Information Gap
To turn a stall into success requires navigating complex challenges, especially in times like this. It’s a strategic balancing act to test the boundaries of what is possible, understand the limits of your business, and maximize its potential.
Although your chosen strategy is business dependent, there are several problems to solve, such as:
- Inability to focus.
- Sense of overload, overwhelm and overburden by the current business environment.
- Limited access to resources needed to succeed like money and talent.
- Poor deployment of resources such as staff, time, and money.
- Cloudy thinking accompanied by poor decision-making.
- Lack of a clear direction, plan, or focused execution.
- Missing knowledge or skill. Not knowing what you don’t know.
Despite the challenges faced, you want to put your talents to use, grow your business, and make smart decisions. Good for you!
The question remains — where do you start? Don’t worry. We’ve got your back!
_______________________
Connect with Community. Contribute to the Conversation.
Visit our community platform to connect, commiserate, collaborate, and collude with like-minded Stage II Enterprise entrepreneurs on what it takes to rise above your growing pains.
