Existence Stage of Small Business Growth: Building from the Ground Up

So you have finally made up your mind and mustered the courage to start your own small business. It’s an exciting time, isn’t it? You have all these inspired ideas that make you want to jump out of bed as early as 5 o’clock and start your day right ahead. Congratulations! We hope this kind of energy you have will sustain you in the next couple of years, for it will be an uphill journey from here on, but in time you will see it’s all worth it.

You have named your establishment, stocked up on necessary equipment and supplies, and did some marketing of your business on Instagram and Facebook. You’ve begun your operations and each day you get anxious to find out if  people love what you have to offer.

You are in what the business industry refers to as the Existence Stage of small business growth. And what is the Existence Stage of small business growth?

Read on and learn.

Existence Stage of Small Business Growth

You’re probably wondering what this Existence Stage is and what to do in the Existence Stage of small business growth.

We’re going to lay it out here for you to get a good grasp of it.

The Existence Stage, sometimes called the “Start-up” phase is that point in the small business growth where the owner is responsible for practically everything. It’s like when a mother has just given birth and the child that came out of her is helpless, and is in need of nursing for the majority of the day.

You as a small business owner are probably at your wit’s end as well and terribly confused about what to do in the Existence Stage of small business growth. Keep in mind that what you are going through are all just birthing pains, something that you have to go through and endure so as to enjoy the “new life” you’ve just created.

In the Existence Stage, your goal is simple: SURVIVE.

To do that, it is vital that you obtain customers and ensure the delivery of the product or service contracted for. These are keys to making your small business a viable business.

The types of companies in the Existence Stage range from newly opened restaurants, to retail stores, to even high-technology manufacturers that are yet to achieve a stable production and consistent product quality. It is imperative that in the Existence Stage of small business growth, these sorts of companies gain sufficient customer acceptance or product capability in order to become viable.

Here, the small business owners will also be able to gauge if the demands the business places on his/her time, energy, and finances are something he/she can sustain for a long time.

There would be a lot of possible reasons that the small business will not get past the Existence Stage. Factors such as not gaining enough traction with customers, running out of start-up capital, and burn-out among owners. But as we have established earlier on, the goal of the owner wading through the Existence Stage is to survive.

Tips for Small Business Owners

Yes, we know, a lot of these things make starting a small business seem daunting; but you have already started, you cannot possibly back down just because you suddenly realized how much work starting a business requires.

So let’s take it down piece by piece, that way it won’t overwhelm you. You’ve done a wise thing by getting into the internet and typing into the google search bar: What to do in the existence stage of small business growth. That’s just logical, it’s a must that you study how to survive the Existence Stage of small business growth if you were to have a prayer at building a viable business from the ground up.

To help you take on the challenge of getting past the Existence Stage of small business growth, hopefully with flying colors, here are some tips to help you bypass the most common challenges in this stage of small business growth. Check them out!

Tip #1 Consider Getting Investors

It takes a lot to build a business from the ground up; however many of the challenges imposed by a business in the start-up phase revolve around cash flow. Remember that in this early stage, the business is still trying to obtain customers. This means that if in the first week you have earned a few bucks, it’s no cause for joy as you have barely made any revenue yet; forget about return of investment, too.

Cash flow is crucial in this stage, and a lot of small businesses close down after a few months or barely a year later because of this variable. To address this difficulty, consider getting investors. That way, you can be assured that you have someone to finance the urgent needs of the business while it is still not capable of being  financially self-sufficient.

Having investors is great when the business is promising, but hasn’t quite picked up yet.

Tip #2 Consider Going Inbound

Given the early stage you’re at in the small business growth, paying big bucks for TV ads and billboards probably is not the best idea for your marketing strategy at the moment. This is why going for the Inbound approach of marketing and selling your brand is perhaps the most effective way for you to generate leads.

Most small business owners implement inbound strategies in their operations. These strategies usually include blogs and social media channels.

It’s easy and cheap. Perfect for the small business owner who is just starting out.

Tip #3 Hire Part-time Employees

This is to address owner burn-out. A small business at the Existence Stage is sure to be ultra dependent upon its owner. The owner is the brain behind the idea, the financier, and at the same time, the owner does all the leg-work. This can be taxing and over-all exhausting. At some point, if you continue with the pace without getting help, you might get sick, or worse, decide to let go of the business before it could take off. To address this, look into the areas of running a business that you can offload to someone else, like a part-time employee. Hire part-time cleaners, pay someone to do your inventory, let someone else take care of your social media and blog content so you can focus on other urgent tasks.

This may sound like an additional expense but, if it means that you can maintain the same energy you have to run your business, then perhaps they are worth the investment.

Tip #4 Don’t Rush Expansion

Once a business in existence stage starts to show signs of taking off, some business owners take this as cue to find another branch, or expand the business. While it sometimes pays to strike while the iron is hot, you have to study your new business’ inclinations.

Do you have enough resources to keep up with bigger demands while maintaining the quality of your products/services? If you have, then expanding might be a great idea. But if not, don’t make the mistake of reaching for the sky before you can grow your wings.

Pick quality over a bigger business, for good quality products is your ticket to making it big when the time is right.

Final Take: How to Survive the Existence Stage of Small Business Growth

Now it’s clear to you what to do in the Existence Stage of small business growth, and you now know how to survive the Existence Stage of small business growth.

Getting past the Existence Stage really just requires proper timing, and a lot of self-sacrifice and hard work. You need courage to take chances, hard work and perseverance to get the business to take off, and the wisdom to stay the course when your gut tells you it’s too early to gamble.