What age are you as an entrepreneur ? I also call the "ages" the "stages"; but I like more to call it "The phases of the entrepreneur":
Today I want to mention them to you, then we will delve into each one, since in each one the training, needs, decisions and realities are different:
These are the 5 Phases of the Entrepreneur:
Phase 1: The Age of Desires
You want to have your own company. You want that job you can't stand anymore.
You want and need a source of income because you are unemployed and you think that having your own business is a good idea; but you keep looking for a new job.
You want, but you have no idea what kind of business to start.
You are in Phase 1, careful you can spend the years there. Thousands of entrepreneurs do not pass this phase, one day they become "old" and feel that now it is too late.
The fear of undertaking never allowed them to get ahead. You must read the article "How I overcome the fear of starting my own business" that is on our blog.
You have seen many do it before, you are seeing many others do it now and you know you can do it too; but you don't know what kind of business to start, or where to start.
Phase 2: The Age of Illusions
You are a true entrepreneur, you already have a business idea!
You hope it has earning potential.
In this phase you give shape to your business idea. Every day that passes you are more convinced, sometimes naively, of your business. Your enthusiasm and your energy too. Perhaps you have several ideas and you should choose the best among them.
You have not started for various reasons: you lack capital, you do not have the knowledge, the time has not come, you have a good job, you have debts to pay, and so on.
Thousands of entrepreneurs do not take action.
Phase 3: The Age of Realities
You have opened your business. You have started a new project. You are less than a year old.
Congratulations. You already undertook.
You will see that the money is never enough, even if your idea has the potential to generate profits, it will take a while for it to break even.
I also call it the "adolescence of the entrepreneur", because in this phase you mature to become from entrepreneur to entrepreneur.
Of course the challenges are enormous. Day to day becomes a continuum of decision making. There are decisions that are simple, routine, you do not have major importance; But there are decisions that will be decisive in the history of your company.
Phase 4: The Age of Truths
The first year is over. Not everything has been perfect; but you have passed month number twelve, it is because you have done many things well.
Now you will have four more years to consolidate your business.
During this time you completely define the line of your business, consolidate your portfolio of products or services. You decide if the location of your facilities is adequate.
You have consolidated the relationship with a portfolio of suppliers that can offer the raw materials, products and services in the quality and price you require.
You are building a portfolio of profitable clients to whom you like to sell and you are pleased to work for them.
You will also form a work team for your company.
I recommend that you take the intensive training 5 Strategies to measure the profit potential of a business idea, because in these four years you will be presented with new opportunities to do business. There will be many temptations, you can lose money or earn money.
Phase 5: The Age You Get Rich
He also calls her the "contemporary adult." You are giving yourself completely to the development and growth of the business.
It is said that of the 50% of companies that managed to survive the first year, only 10% succeed in reaching the fifth year of life.
This phase begins from the fifth year, coincidentally.
I have my thirty years as a consultant I have seen many companies that pass the five years; but they do not generate profits, the years go by always full of various difficulties. Maybe million dollar sales, every month; but without profits or with very serious liquidity problems.
In this phase the employer must reinforce the controls in his business, many tasks will already have to be delegated. The entrepreneur must dedicate his time and energy to the tasks that generate value, to the key success factors of his business. Even though you are fascinated by production, if growth is in sales you will have to push yourself in sales and marketing. If the products have dropped in quality, you will have to go back to production and improve.
But the area of control is basic, fundamentally. These entrepreneurs should study the 10 Control Errors.
Control is not delegable; It is one of the 5 great functions of the entrepreneur and the general manager of a company:
Planning
Organization
Address
Coordination
Control
After five years, the entrepreneur must be sure that his company is not in crisis and that the profits that he may be really obtaining are those that the type of investment and the level of risk require them to generate.
The article is getting long, so I will leave it until here. Consult in the space that we have dedicated for that. Leave your comments, which will be valuable to enrich this article and to create others in the future.
