Stages of Entrepreneurship
Over the years, I’ve realized that there are several stages of Entrepreneurship. I believe that within them there are several distinct characteristics that can be used to identify what stage of growth you are in. The reason why that is important, is there are, (in my opinion) several benchmarks and steps that need to be taken in order to get to the next level.
There certainly is some overlap with some of the stages as with most things related to growth; however, in understanding truly where you are in your entrepreneurial journey can help in being able to identify what you need to focus on and what kinds of engagements you need to avoid.
In Part 1, we described the Employee and how important it is to say Yes during Stage 1 of Entrepreneurship.
Let’s move on to Stage 2
Stages of Entrepreneurship:
Stage 2 – The Manager
After learning to say Yes, identifying what you don’t want to do and developing some form of client base, the next stage is where the rubber really begins to meet the road. When in Stage 2, learning when to say yes, and when not too is key. In Stage 2, you should have somewhat of a solid foundation in place and have an idea of what you are good at and where you clearly need help from your experience in Stage 1.
Now you should be looking to find ways and opportunities to offload some responsibilities in areas where you need assistance. This is easier said, than done.
The ability to find and retain good help can be extremely difficult. How do you identify what skills you need and when? What is an appropriate salary? What’s your hiring process like? How do you train them?
It is important during Stage 2 of the Entrepreneurial journey that you find help so that you can start offloading responsibilities and focusHow do you keep them so you do not lose all of the time invested?
Failure to find help is something that keeps many in this particular phase up at night. This is where many business owners may get a feeling of their business owning them and not them owning their business. It’s not uncommon for them to feel that way. Honestly, it’s the reality they live in daily. However, it does not have to be the status quo.
As with all the Stages of Entrepreneurship, there are ways to handle this and evolve to the next level. During Stage 1, again, it should have become clearer where you are successful and where you clearly need help. Those are typically good places to start when looking for other geniuses to start developing a team.
Yes, I used the word genius. On some level, anyone that you decide to work with should be considered just and treated accordingly (that is a topic if of itself).
Once you have taken the time and due diligence to get the right team members on board, do yourself (and them) a favor and find ways to help develop their skills within the organization and any outside of them as well.
After taking some time to create a team, delegate tasks to them and focus on what you need to do to grow, then you will be ready for the next Stages of Entrepreneurship.
For those entrepreneurs and businesses that feel as if they are in this particular phase and are actively looking for a way to get to the next level, feel free to contact Neon Blue; for 60 minutes, we do not mind having conversations about where you are, where you want to be and what you can do to get there. Scaling without the risk has never been so easy.
