If I asked you what stage of business you’re at, would you know? I mean really know? We hear the buzz words “scale” and “scaling up” so often that it’s totally lost on founders what that actually means.
The fact is less than 5% of female founded businesses reach $1 million in annual revenue with around 65% of female founded businesses generating less than $500,000 in annual revenue. That $500k mark is the inevitable glass ceiling for women.
Every business has the potential to grow, to be large in fact. It usually just depends on the level of ambition and risk appetite of the owner. And I totally get that not everyone wants to grow their business. But if you do, once you work out the stage of growth you’re at in business and understand each of them, it will help you to determine how much you want to grow and what business strategies you need to focus your time and energy on the right business strategies to help with you moving to the next level.
Most business stage frameworks you see are based on the thinking that most founders will be seeking or have secured funding with the aim of scaling. This does not align with the growth path of the majority of female founded businesses, as we know we have several additional barriers to overcome.
Plus combined with the opening statistics around revenue, these growth frameworks just don’t work for us.
The stages of business growth you see here, are based on research and data from female founders. Here’s a quick overview.
Startup Stage
Revenue: pre-revenue – $50,000
The start up stage can be defined as a balancing act!
Funding: personal savings or FFF fund (friends, family & fools)
Major Goal: to get through the startup stage as quickly as you can
Your time should be spent on figuring out if people actually want and will pay for what you’re offering. And if you don’t validate this, you’re going to run into a lot of problems, including not gaining enough customers to become viable and ultimately closing the business as capital runs out and cash flow is non existent.
Early Growth Stage (Survival)
Revenue: $50,000 to $220,000
The early stage growth stage can be defined by marketing, planning & productivity
Funding: increased funding via cash flow
Major Goal: to survive (you’re one of the ones that has remained in business)
At this stage you have a base of customers but as the owner you’re still very much involved in the day-to-day operations. You should be starting to see consistent growth and as you gain experience you can begin to refine and up level your offerings.
Growth Stage (Success)
Revenue: $220,000 to $500,000
The growth stage can be defined by focusing on profitability & personal growth
Funding: exploring funding options via bank overdrafts and loans
Major Goal: whether to expand or keep the company stable and profitable
In the Growth Stage (Success) you should be achieving sustainable rinse-and-repeat cycles, making it the perfect time to explore whether you want to achieve further high growth or staying as you are in a lifestyle business as a means of support.
Scale
Revenue: $500,000 +
We won’t be delving too much into the scale phase as our focus and area of expertise is startup through to high growth. And scaling is an entirely different ball game including a massive shift in mindset.
Coaches, mentors or online experts that sell their business around getting to 7 figures in 6 months if you follow their magical, money generating formula are full of crap.
There is no shortcut to real sustainable success. You MUST start by building a solid foundation first as you need to be ready for growth.
Now you understand more the stage of business you’re at, ask yourself if you actually want to grow. If you’re happy with your current level of growth and the stage of business, there’s no shame in maintaining the status quo.
