The Entrepreneurial Journey through the Business Lifecycle is characterized at each stage by a progression of decision-making opportunities that are critical for the Business to be successful and prepared for the next growth business stage. Upon review of each of the entrepreneurial stages one can quickly recognize the value of knowledge that affords accurate decision-making.
Making good decisions at every stage in an entrepreneurial journey is a crucial skill that requires development. It's not hard to make good decisions if you know what values you're trying to create.
The Strategic Research Consortium provides a business Decision-making model (Capability-Driven Strategy) that is designed to address all of the questions in the entrepreneurial journey stages to ensure quality and decisive decisions making. Please see the Strategic Research Homepage for more information.
The Entrepreneurial Journey
To ensure your company’s success into the future, you should know where your business currently lies on The Entrepreneurial Journey and how it can move to the next stage of business growth.
Depending on where you are on your pathway to success, you need to adopt certain practices and position yourself for the next phase.
Don’t get left behind like a Neanderthal dragging his knuckles through the mud; rise to your feet and evolve into a successful enterprise by following the steps of the business life cycle outlined below.
A capability maturity model is used to assess the current state of the enterprise business capabilities. The process starts with an assessment of the current state of the enterprise capability by measuring the maturity of the business capability’s components. Subsequently, using the same components, we define the future state of each capability.
As a result of this exercise, we have a clear view of the gaps that need to be closed to bring the capabilities to the desired maturity level.
Maturity Model (no jumping )
- Stage 1 – Initial /undocumented process /low commendations
- Stage 2 – Repeatable functional -process/ sales/order/manufacturing / fulfillment
- Stage 3 – Defined process – documented/ communications /integration
- Stage 4 – Managed – measures and matrix /better decisions
- Stage 5 -- Optimizing – continual improvement/program of changes / new strategy
Using the Maturity Model in the Entrepreneurial Journey each of the stages of the capabilities will be recognized for the business's capacity to mature in its development.
How to respond to the turbulent marketplace of today
For the new Micro Startup Venture: Your main priority is to find and obtain customers, develop a product or service, and build a brand identity.
For the Entrepreneurial Growth Stage: You need to formalize all of your workflows and operating systems and maintain multiyear client relationships.
For the Established SME Business Stage: Because of the predictable revenue and possibilities of acquisitions, this is the prime time for investors to buy into the firm because of the consistent performance and revenues. Vigilantly looking for signs of decline is paramount.
For the Renewable or Declining Stage: The leadership of the business must constantly be searching for new growth opportunities in new markets to break into. How a business chooses to adapt to determine whether it becomes a thriving enterprise once again for failed venture.
Learning to Know Your Organization's Capabilities
For the new Micro Startup Venture Must have the capabilities to:
- Secure enough customers to become viable
- Deliver products on time
- Able to compete with competitors
- Expand on sales
- Can secure enough cash to cover all accounts payable
For Entrepreneurial Growth Stage having Managerial skills to delegate authority and empower employees is critical to the long-term investment is the game for growth strategy.
For the Established SME Business Stage where Year-to-year growth and predictable revenues is accompanied by a need to be vigilant for signs of employee turnover, competition is prevailing, core business is declining.
For the Renewable or Declining Stage requires the firm to consider whether or not it is headed toward the business lifecycle stage change. Because of the changing economic landscape the firm must act quickly or become irrelevant.
Document Your Organization's Tacit Knowledge
For the new Micro Startup Venture: Discover what you need to know before you start a business and the hidden implicit know-how that makes it work.
For Entrepreneurial Growth Stage: This is a good time to decide to rely on debt or equity financing to fund the operational system to formalize the workflows that all team members can easily follow.
For the Established SME Business Stage: Predictable revenues and possible multiple product line spinoffs also requires vigilance to signs of to consider if the business is headed towards renewable decline and a decision for revising the business model capabilities.
For the Renewable or Declining Stage: Decline and a decision for revising the business model capabilities.
Create A Comprehensive Business Strategy
For the new Micro Startup Venture: Maturity Stage 1: Decisions to make are:
- To ensure product service value benefits for customer
- To conduct market research potential customers
- To identify potential customer profile
- To intensify marketing and sales methods to reach the customer
- To explore customer acquisition opportunities
Entrepreneurial Growth: Maturity Stage 2: Decisions to make are:
- To formalize all work flows and operating systems
- To develop managerial skills for team delegation for creating empowerment
- To dip into cash reserves to further growth in revenue streams
For the Established SME Business: Maturity Stage 3: Decisions to make are:
- To solicit investors to buy into the firm for business renewal
- To define process for documentation and integration
- To be vigilant for signs of decline of core business
For the Renewable or Declining: Maturity Stage 4: Decisions to make are:
- To consider where the business is headed for a change in the life cycle
- To aggressively search for new opportunities for growth
- To tighten the budget to sustain cash flow
Create a Capability Driven Strategy
Maturity Stage 5 : Optimizing – continual improvement of program for changes for a new strategy
Discover How to Create Sustainable Competitive Advantage for Long-Term Growth by Reconfiguring Your Company’s Resources and Capabilities into a business model solution for creating competitive differentiation In turbulent markets.
No matter where your firm is on the Entrepreneurial Journey you can Achieve a new Competitive Advantage from within the Organization by creating a Capability Strategy.
Maturity Stage 5. On the Entrepreneurial Journey you can Achieve a new Competitive Advantage by creating a Capability Driven Strategy
We Start by Partnering with your firm to scan and sense the opportunities and threats in The turbulent competitive market place In the firm industry.
We Partner with you to determine what your firm does best in your industry by identifying the core capabilities and resources the firm has.
We Partner with you to shape a new busines model with internal tacit micro foundational elements that can be harnessed to reconfigure resources and capabilities into a dynamic capability system.
We Partner with you to formulate an agile capability driven strategy to operationally seize upon the best opportunities in the turbulent marketplaces.
The changes in each of these steps is a fundamental transformation of the business capabilities rather than simple incremental performance improvements Booz & Company, (2009).