Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of working with a wide range of different businesses. Some have been operating for a year or two, others for several decades, and then everything in between. But they all have something in common: they realised they were excellent at what they do but need help with a specialist aspect of their business in order to grow and achieve a goal.
Some businesses weren’t ‘stuck’ – they could see a way forward and just needed a boost to get there (such as help with a tender or grant, advice on how to tweak and implement a strategy, or creating some additional marketing material). These guys were smart and asked for specialist help, rather than trying to do things outside their zone of genius.
But some businesses were ‘stuck’. They decided to be smart and brave and asked for help because they literally couldn’t see what the next step was. We get it, this can be scary. But also incredibly liberating and exciting once you do it.
A common reason for getting stuck (especially for service-based businesses) is being unable to break out of the early stages of development and become sustainable. We often see this situation – you’ve had an idea and come up with a business concept (usually with some kind of basic business plan or partially fleshed out idea). You’ve launched and gotten some traction that has allowed you to test out the concept and work out what people want to some extent. But you can’t seem to get enough business to be viable. You keep trying new things (constantly validating new ideas) but can’t get enough steam with any of them (or just enough to sustain you but not to really kick any decent goals).
We usually find working on one of these areas helps our clients get unstuck:
1. Foundations – Gaining clarity about what you are selling (and its value) and to who (specifically), along with the financial model underpinning your approach is key to being in a position to take a leap forward.
2. Systems – Working out your business model and how you can replicate what you do relies on having systems and processes in place that allow you to let go and grow without losing the quality you are known for. That’s hard. But it’s possible (and essential if you want to grow).
So as the year rolls along, what is your long term vision for your business? Where do you want to be in five years’ time? Ten years? And what does that mean for this year and this quarter?
If you’re wondering what stage your business is in (and how to move forward) you can read more here.
If you need help getting unstuck, our team can help.