Six Categories of Business

Start-Up

You've been in business for three years or less.  During this time you've discovered the "real" market place - so different from what you expected when you wrote your business plan.  While you've encountered several unexpected situations, you've also achieved better than expected results.

As days go by, you are able to identify new opportunities as well as, perhaps, money and cash flow problems.  Although you've hired new employees and still your workload keeps on increasing.  There are not enough hours in a day to get everything done.

If you've taken care to create an appropriate management structure and assembled adequate resources, you'll maintain steady progress towards higher profit and growth.  If not, your operational and financial problems that begin to appear, will only worsen as time goes by.

Steady/Satisfactory

You've created a profitable business.  Whether you use an informal "personality-oriented" management style or a more formal "system-oriented" structure, you've attained a level of profit that meets your personal financial objectives.

Perhaps, you've tried to grow your company and found it's not worth increased problems and headaches.  You've settled in a comfortable routine and have given up thinking about bigger profits and a bigger company.

Stagnant

You've been in business for several years.  It's profitable but no matter what you do, growth seems to elude you.  While the company is profitable, you are eager to transform it into a much larger business organization.  You're a very determined entrepreneur and believe you're running the company in the best possible manner.  You also believe the cause of stagnation is to be found outside the company.

Struggling

Your company has been in existence for four or more years.  Some years you earned good profits, others you made a loss but you've managed to stay in business.  Problems are becoming progressively more difficult.  You seem to be spending more and more time putting out fires.  As soon as you put one out, two more appear.  It's likely your bank recently turned down your request for a loan.  Now, you know that unless you take immediate steps to over the problems, soon you'll be forced to go out of business without achieving your entrepreneurial vision.

Successful

You've come a long way since you started the business.  You've built one or more profitable companies.  A strong management team is in place and you are generating sufficient cash flow to finance future growth.  At the same time, you've built close banking relationships.  You know additional money is available if you ever need it. 

You've taken care to delegate most of the day to day operational responsibilities to your trusted and loyal management team.  You are spending most of your time coaching and supporting your managers.  You are focusing on future growth and making sure managers produce planned results.

Shut-Down

You could have operated your businesses as little as less than two years or as many as twenty years.  You were forced to go out of business for a variety of reasons: mounting losses, poor economy, fierce competition, unproductive employees or lack of working capital.  Unfortunate reality is that your business is no more.  In the process, you may have lost a lot of money and, certainly, a full-time job.