February 29, 2016 by Neil Petch, Chairman, Virtugroup via Entrepreneur.com
From the moment you make the decision to set up a business, you’re in the “business lifecycle.” This will see you journey from idea to startup, and if successful, through to the growth and maturity phases.
While it’s fair to say that business is never not challenging, a look at each of the stages of the business lifecycle highlights a unique set of obstacles to deal with and overcome. You will have to be flexible in your thinking and adapt your strategy as you move along. Indeed, different approaches are required for market penetration versus, for example, what may be required to achieve growth or retain market share.
According to the recent Startup Genome Report, an estimated 90% of those startups that fail do so primarily due to self-destruction. It was their founders’ own bad choices or lack of preparedness rather than so-called “bad luck” or market conditions that were out of their control. Understanding your position in the business lifecycle just might help you stay a bit ahead of the game here and defy the odds, as you anticipate the potential challenges and obstacles that are upon you or are on the way depending on what phase you are in or about to transition to.
Simply put, as your business grows and develops, so too do your business aims, objectives, priorities and strategies– and that’s why an awareness of what stage of the business lifecycle you are currently in can be helpful.
Read more: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/271290