Several years ago, maybe 3 to 5, you launched a business. Complete with a vision and execution, your business grew and expanded. Sure, you hit a few speedbumps, taken a few bruises (cash flow issues, inventory tracking, to name a few), but you’ve dealt with, and managed them. As a result, with hard work and adrenaline, your startup business survived and even thrived. Sound familiar?
2nd stage
As an entrepreneur, you’re seeing your vision materialize. Whether it’s a unique and innovative product, or a fresh take on providing excellent service, your business dreams are coming true.
Then, with increased frequency, your business starts to experience growing pains.
At this point, you may ask yourself “Is my startup no longer a startup? "Or, more to the point “Has my startup evolved into a second stage venture?” And “Is my business experiencing second stage growing pains? And how do I do more than just manage this growth?”
While there’s no single or absolute litmus test to determine if you’re startup has crossed over into second stage territory, generally speaking, you’re there if your business has between 10 to 99 employees, and/or between $750,000 to $50 million in revenues.
Beyond the measure of employees and revenue, there are many other signs to look for to help you make this determination.
Feeling overwhelmed
Multitasking can be a great capability, but sometimes that ace is no longer when your business leaders are overwhelmed trying to wade through knee-deep operational duties.
On the same page
This is different from being on the same page. For a successful ascent to Second Stage/ Level 2, you need leaders and management to do what they do best. Leadership leads with vision and foresight, while management oversees procedures and operations to sustain and promote efficiency and precision. Like yin and yang, we need both to survive and thrive. Alone, a leader could be a genius with the greatest vision and ideas, but without practical application and efficient operations, those ideas will never materialize. Likewise, even diligent management cannot thrive without a leader to set things in motion.
Clear message or vision
Are your executives, management and staff stuck going through the motions? Are your employees showing up and working hard, but not sure what the end goal is? Maybe they need leadership to corral them to shine a light on the company’s next specific goal. Maybe it’s expansion into new territory. Or, perhaps it’s fine-tuning product delivery? Or, maybe refining excellent service. Give your company’s employees a clear vision of the next goal on the horizon.
And when it’s time for an accounting system for your company, consider Gravity Software®. Gravity is a robust mid-market accounting software written on the Microsoft Power Platform (aka Dynamics 365).
Gravity's goal is to fill the gap between small business applications like QuickBooks and expensive enterprise applications like Sage Intacct. Learn how you can apply this exciting technology for your growing business and schedule your online demo today! Just say GO!
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