So you want to grow your business? This is a term you hear online all the time! But do you really understand what that means and what is involved?

And here’s a newsflash for you! There is a difference between growing your business and scaling your business. Do you know the difference?

This is one of my favorite topics! I love talking about how you can scale your business. But there are some phases you have to go through first so that you can scale your business and achieve sustainable success.

So before I dive into the specifics about how you can grow your business, we need to talk about the four phases of business. You need to know which phase you are in so that you can identify what the next level is for your business and streamline your operations to support that growth. 

So here are the four phases in my world.

Phase 1 – Incubation 

This phase is where you have the idea to start a business using your skills and natural abilities. Now at this point you don’t have a proven product but you’re testing things out. You have decided what problem you solve and you have an idea of how you can get paid but you aren’t quite sure. Having a clear vision is very important at this stage of your business because it determines how you create your business model. You want to create success on your terms and create a lifestyle business. So ask yourself these questions. 

1. What do you want your business to be known for?  

2. Who are your customers now and what are they going to need from you in the future?

3. What lifestyle are you trying to create?

4. How should your business help you achieve that lifestyle?

This is also a great time to find an online community where your target market hangs out so you can do some market research. But this is also the best time to find a community online with women you can brainstorm with and bounce ideas off of. That’s exactly what we do inside of my Facebook group! We support each other on this journey because it is not easy, we bounce ideas off of each other and we support each other in our personal and professional lives. Click here to join. 

And if you would like to know how to find the right online community even if you have a tight schedule, make sure you check out this blog post where Emily Aborn and I talk about how to find your tribe online!

Now once you’re clear on how you want to move forward with setting up your business you move into phase 2…

Phase 2 – Startup

Now that you have found your place in the market and I say that in air quotes. You begin to market your business sharing that particular solution for a specific type of business owner or target market. Then you focus on your price point because now your ideal clients feels like they’re getting value and you start generating revenue. 

But you’re learning a lot because you’re trying a lot of different things, you’re wearing a lot of different hats, you might be working with a lot of different customers because you haven’t niched down yet and you haven’t documented any processes or created any systems. 

In the start-up phase you invest a lot of your time and resources but you are not going to generate much if any income so you’re bootstrapping which is ok. That’s what most of us did when we started our business. I know I did! So if you would like some tips to help you grow your business while bootstrapping, check out this blog post.

Now once you start working with clients you will gain clarity that is going to be a game changer! You will have identified where your services fit into the market. You will have a better idea of what you want to be known for and you can refine your marketing message at this point. You will have identified and refined the description of your ideal client. And you will know what price point your services need to be to provide value for your clients while generating some income for you (finally).

Now when you get to this point, you will realize more than ever that you need systems because things are getting overwhelming. 

But the good news is you are starting to move into phase two which is the growth stage. Now before I talk about this stage, let’s talk about the fact that there is a difference between growth and scaling because these words get used interchangeably a lot. More often than not, it’s hard to be really clear on the difference between the two but I enjoy helping my clients with both phases. 

So growth produces more revenue and requires more resources (money, time, tools, processes). Now you can’t scale until you have gone through the growth phase. And scaling means you have systems in place which save you time, your generating income and building on the things that are working in your business. But it doesn’t require more resources. 

Phase 3 – Growth 

You are generating income so you’re creating more business systems, eliminating anything that no longer serves you business, creating additional revenue streams and possibly building a team. 

Now in this stage you are focusing on reaching new clients because that usually means more revenue. In turn, that requires more resources. So it’s going to take you more time, more money, and more systems. Now when you’re in this phase, you can be here for quite some time and that’s ok. Because the things you are going to discover and create in this phase are critical to you scaling your business.  

So when you’re in this stage it’s so important to notice that revenue is going up which is great, but all your expenses are going up too and your complexities are going up which means your time investment, usually your level of stress is also going up because you will find yourself having to put out a lot of fires. But you can reduce those fires if you get your systems in place early. 

You don’t want all of the details of your business inside your head. I am going to be straight forward with you about this because I’ve seen too many businesses fold because the owner never documented anything and never created systems and they had an emergency arise that took them away from the business so things came to a screeching halt. Or even worse, they died unexpectedly so the business died with them. 

And if you’re not being really strategic about what you spend your time and resources on, you will end up making bad choices that can be costly. So you need to get comfortable with the word NO. No is a complete sentence. If you’re always saying yes, you’re saying no to something else in your life or your business. And your business definitely needs boundaries to make sure this doesn’t happen. Check out this blog post for tips to help you set and stick to boundaries with your clients. 

Now I want you to beware of some of the so-called expert advice that’s out there, specifically that you need to hire a virtual assistant. This is a big mistake if you and your business are not ready for this strategic move.  And you DO NOT want to just hire someone out of desperation to get something off your plate because you’re overwhelmed or you’re going to end up more frustrated. Now if you think you are ready to hire a virtual assistant, please check out the blog post series I did to help you successfully partner with a virtual assistant.

Part 1: Debunking the Myths About Hiring a VA

Part 2: 3 Mistakes I Made When Hiring A VA and How You Can Avoid Them

Part 3: 3 Ways to Successfully Partner With a Virtual Assistant 

Now the fun part of this phase is when you start to create intellectual property to share your expertise and establish yourself. So you may create online courses, launch a podcast, host webinars and start speaking at events. This is definitely when you need to think about investing in experts to help you get the right pieces in place. It is critical to make sure you have the pieces needed to successfully grow your business. 

Now you may not be able to afford a business coach, a systems strategist like me or a marketing consultant but you can look at other options to tap into the knowledge others have by booking a paid consultation if they offer that. Free is great but when you really want to grow your business, you have to get some skin in the game and pay for that “pick your brain” session. 

And if you can invest in some online training, do it! If you would like my help to figure out your next step, book a 15 minute Discovery Call with me. 

Phase 4 – Scale 

At this point in your entrepreneurial journey, you have the systems in place that allow you to expand your business without increasing your operational costs or using additional resources. And because you have more time, you focus on your zone of genius. This is when you get really strategic because you have evolved, your business has evolved and you need to focus on leading your business – being the visionary for the business. You are really feeling like the savvy SheEO you are!

So you will spend your time sharing your expertise from the stage by giving Ted Talks, pursuing keynote opportunities, maybe even writing a book and serving on boards. Now there are some who do these things while in the growth phase and that’s ok. No matter when you pursue speaking opportunities, you still need to be strategic and you even need a system in place for sourcing and booking these opportunities. In a nutshell, you will always need to create systems for anything new that you do in your business. 

But with this phase comes growing pains because you may need to make some upgrades to your existing systems. If you decide to expand your operations and build a team you will need to make changes like switching from Trello to ClickUp or Monday so you can assign and track tasks and stay focused on your vision. The goal for any of these changes is to create a more efficient business that stays in alignment with your vision and your lifestyle. 

If you are ready to streamline your operations and grow your business, you can start by making sure you the clarity you need to solve your target market’s problem, that you have a clear vision for the future of your business and it aligns with the future you’ve dreamed for yourself and your family, and that you have a strategic plan to execute that vision.

If you want to start growing your business but all the things seem a little overwhelming you don’t have to do this alone. If you want to talk to me about it and see where to start, book a 15 minute Discovery Call with me. 

Now if you are ready to get my eyes on your back office operations and work together to get your systems in place, then book that Discovery Call so we can talk about my Solo Power Assessment. This is a recorded 2 hour deep dive (via Zoom) into your current operations. It will help me get a better picture of your current business operations so I can create a comprehensive 90 Day Action Plan that will address your specific needs.

It’s time to get your time back so you can do more of what you love, increase your impact and revenue, and unlock the next level of your entrepreneurial journey.