Growing Your Small Business to the Next Stage

As a business grows, its needs grow, too. While many companies tend to “evolve” from one stage to another, more successful business leaders learn to streamline operations and grow their businesses smartly and efficiently.

Corporate growth can be broken into four stages, each with different characteristics:

Stage 1 — $.5 to $5 million in annual revenue
• Energy and creativity
• Organic growth
• Processes and procedures just evolve
• Limited profitability analysis

Stage 2 — $5 to $25 million in annual revenue
• Processes need to be streamlined and stabilized
• Initial organizational realignment may be required
• Information access is improved through better reporting

Stage 3 — $25 to $100 million in annual revenue
• Customers and competition force change in the organization
• Organization continues to realign; stronger internal talent requirements
• Continuous improvements
• Performance metrics improving

Stage 4 — $100 million+ in annual revenue
• Business transformation takes place ◦ New applications
• New processes
• New organization
• New performance metrics

Companies that grow most effectively don’t just let the business evolve between stages.  Leaders strategically direct change and manage the people, processes, technology and infrastructure through each stage.

Continue reading this small business article at businessnewsdaily.com.