There are several stages of growth that a business goes through, and each stage will present the business owner with new challenges and obstacles to face. Growing a business is not an easy process.

Being aware of the different business cycle stages can help you plan better and navigate towards increased sales and scalability. After all, it’s the goal of every business owner to grow, in terms of sales volume and the actual size of the business — from the number of employees to the number of locations.

Here are the most important stages of a business to focus on.

The Development Stage

This is the planning stage, where you map out how you are going to launch, who your initial customer base is, and how you are going to position your offer in front of that audience. You have to have a solid plan and this is the early stage in which that plan must be identified.

The Startup Stage

The early days of a business are the most important, and it’s what you do during this time that defines the path your business takes. You have to make intelligent decisions that allow you to survive and prove that the concept works and is worth pursuing. One of the best indicators that a business will succeed is sales.

The Survival Stage

The beginning days of a business are a battle, especially if you have a lot of competition. Any time a new business enters the market the more established businesses will be gunning for you. After all, you are essentially taking food off their table. There will be many ups and downs and the early days act as a survival stage and you need to do whatever it takes to stay above water.

The Initial Growth Stage

Once your concept is proven and you have passed the initial survival stage it’s time to grow the business. This is when you can introduce additional advertising and marketing channels as well as scale-up proven strategies.

You never want to be content with your sales and growth. There is always room to improve, and with competition increasing at all times only the businesses that are always hungry for more will experience the growth needed to dominate their industry.

The Maturity Stage

This stage occurs when a business has proven itself as a leader and anchored its place within its industry. At this stage, the success of the business should automatically contribute to some organic growth, but you cannot sit idle at any point.

Constant forward progress is required, and even when you reach the maturity stage you need to continue to lead with innovation and creativity. Having a ‘never satisfied’ mentality will work in your favor.

More Business Growth Tips

To help you even more, check out the infographic below that features tips from business experts across a variety of industries. Their insight and suggestions can help give you ideas and when executed correctly can help you grow your own business. Take a minute to check out what they have to say.