The 6 Stages of the Business Journey

Recently I’ve had some interesting discussions around the journey of a business owner.

Some people don’t like the word Journey. But for me, I think it exactly describes what the heck we are doing each day when we turn up to our businesses or jobs! Continuing the journey.

My clients, private and group, come to me at all different stages of their business journey and no matter what stage you’re at there is somewhere else to go – up, down, sideways.

Being in business or owning a business is not a linear line – I don’t have to tell you that – pretty sure almost all of you have lived the “two steps forward, one step back” saying before!

But I think all of us start at the same place and have the goal to get to the same place.

This is what I call invisible to invincible.

So in this post we will explore the concepts and journey of a business owner, in the context of going from invisible to invincible.

And perhaps you will see yourself on the timeline somewhere and get some tips on what it will take to get to the next stage!

Caveat – This is NOT a step by step thing.

And what I mean by that is - you might be on one level with your business, then you may change something in your business structure, services or products, which necessitates you beginning right at the start again.

INVISIBLE:

Ok, so we all start at INVISIBLE.

This is where we are taking the leap.

Starting a new business.

Our passion is high but we need clients or customers – because every business needs money – and we also need to be seen.

We feel quite invisible in the noisy and competitive marketplace.

We are trading money for time as we are more than likely in the hustle by ourselves – no money to pay for assistant services or staff.

We are in this and giving it our all.

This is the invisible stage, but could also be called our READY, FIRE, AIM stage – we are firing all over the place, taking action, and aiming later!

It can be a very overwhelming, confusing and at times frustrating stage of your business journey.

If this is you, then please know - you’ve got this!

Remember your WHY and your passion for when it gets tough, and it’s going to get tough – but your “Why” and passion you bring to your business will pull you through.

ACTIVE:

Our next stage in the journey is the ACTIVE stage.

Our passion is still high, we are in hustle mode, and we’ve had a few wins.?We might have some clients or customers already and some money is starting to come in.?They might not be the exact clients or customers we want, but we are prepared to take the money!

We are still at the “fingers crossed this will work” stage and trading our time for money.

But we are learning, implementing and doing the stuff to get seen.

BUSYNESS:

The next stage is the BUSYNESS of business.

Oh, and boy do we love the busyness stage!

This is where we are busyness being busy but our bank account just isn’t showing the rewards for effort.?Yes, some money is coming in but we just seem to be busy!

We are doing all the right things that the marketing and business gurus are telling us to do, starting to think about strategies, looking at insights, getting more and more knowledge.

We feel like for the amount of work we are doing, we should be further along the journey – the business just isn’t growing quickly enough.

We have some cash to hire some help in this stage also, to help with all the busyness!

The daily grind is real here.

CLARITY:

The next stage is CLARITY.

We are getting clarity in our messaging, in our strategies, in our marketing, we are attracting the people who want what we sell and know the expertise we bring to the table.

They know us, trust us and like us!

We know our target audience, what we want to be famous for and the money is coming in easier than before.

This is a good stage!?We have help, the virtual assistants/personal assistants or bringing on some staff, and things are going quite well!

INFLUENTIAL:

Our 5th stage in business the INFLUENTIAL stage.

At this stage of business, we are in control.

We are the “go-to” person in our industry and attracting the right clients.

Our brand is well established and people know what our brand values are and how they can work with us.

We are starting to work less and earn more.?We influence people in our industry with our expertise and knowledge.

INVINCIBLE:

The final stage is where we become INVINCIBLE!

This is where we are completely in love with our business model, our offerings and we are working less and earning more.

We are enjoying the lifestyle and freedom we set out to create when we started our business.

We earn what we are worth, and we are giving back to our communities and making a difference in the world.

We have the income now to outsource all the “jobs” that don’t light us up in our business or don’t make sense for us to do.

So, where do you find yourself on this journey?

At the:

• Invisible stage?
• Active stage?
• Busyness stage?
• Clarity stage?
• Influential stage?
• Invincible stage?

No matter where you are in this journey, here are my top 5 tips to help you boost your business:

• Have goals

Know where you are heading, know what you want from your business – know what freedom and lifestyle looks like for you – what’s the reward at the end of this business thing works?

• Have solid branding

Know what your business values are, what you stand for and your why. Express all of these in everything you do.

• Know your ideal client

Back to front, front to back. You’ll probably have more than 1, perhaps 2 but you shouldn’t have more than 2 or 3 – it’s too hard to market to them – it’s too broad to get traction.

• Know what you want to be famous for

What are you hanging your hat on? Know it, live it, love it.?You can’t be the “go to” person in your industry if no one knows what you do or who you do it for.

And most importantly, make marketing a priority.

Seriously, the only way to go from being invisible in the busy and crowded marketplace is to tell more people about about what you do, how you do it, what you do it for, why they should buy from you

And - the only way to do is to market yourself and your business.

You can’t get to be INVINCIBLE without making marketing a priority in your business.

So let’s recap.

What bits do you need to improve on?

Is it your:

• goals
• branding,
• knowing your ideal client
• knowing what you want to be famous for
• simply making marketing a priority

If you feel like you are at a stalemate in your business, do something!?Surprise your audience or surprise yourself – but do something!

Just start marketing – ready, fire, aim – perfection is a trap.

CONTACT JENN:

If you need some marketing or business help, book a discovery call with me!

We can have a chat about your goals, your struggles and roadblocks and what’s holding you back and how I can help.

Send me a message on any of my social platforms or book a call at: https://calendly.com/jenn-smm/discovery

I also have my brilliant Facebook Group dedicated to all things small business - Like Minded Business Owners . Please join if you aren’t already a member and become a part of a wonderful community who really get around other business owners and share their knowledge!

Or you can DM me on Instagram or send me an email [email protected]

I wish to acknowledge?the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.

About the Author:

Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia.?Jenn’s a coach and mentor from rural NSW and is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world.?The Founder of Buy From a Bush Business, Co-Founder of Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace and host of the very popular podcast Small Business Made Simple , Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans!?H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk! Jenn’s online?community is over 320,000 with her famous Facebook Group currently at almost 320,000 members and still growing every day.?She’s the major of her own little online city!

Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au

On Instagram - @jenndonovan_

On Facebook – Social Media and Marketing AU

Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan