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Understanding the Four Stages of Business Growth

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Establishing a business takes four phases. Just like a living organism, a business is thriving and it continues to grow until it becomes mature. As an entrepreneur, going deeper into the context of entrepreneurship is essential as you would encounter a lot of impediments when starting one.

The importance of understanding the four stages of business growth will allow you to have definite actions for various scenarios and circumstances, wherein the entrepreneurial skills will be applied. By acknowledging these stages, you will know what, why, and when to do the specific responses amid every phase of your business growth.

1st Stage: Startup

Business professionals find startup as the riskiest stage. As a golden concept: risk is a door to opportunity. Holding an idea and concept with you would be the emerging and compelling threshold of your business. In starting a business, business guidance is a challenge, that is why getting support in forming a business, for instance, from companies that offer formation services like Zenbusiness is crucial. Gathering sufficient capital and funds is also an important factor. On the other hand, an ideal marketing and business plan, strategic location, adept entrepreneurial background, and a burning passion would help you to triumph at this stage despite the risks. As the initial phase, this will serve as the lead towards the continuation or even modification of your business. Hence, an outstanding marketing strategy is needed to attract potential clients and/or customers.

Usual Impediments:

  • Low capital
  • Limited capacities
  • Modification of plans
  • Marketing and advertising

2nd Stage: Growth

The stage wherein you have surpassed the initial risks from the startup. In growth, a sufficient number of customers and an ideal cash flow are observed. Thanks to the startup phase as you have discovered and identified the challenges and you are now able to have a firm marketing and operation budget framework. Managerial skills should be applied here as this stage serves as the bridge towards the expansion of your business. Sustainable and constant investment is essential too. From the profits that your business has earned, be strategic on how you could double its number through an effective investment system and empowered workforce.

Usual Impediments:

  • Constant cash flow
  • Consistent workforce quality
  • Sustainable growth through investment
  • Effective business management

3rd Stage: Maturity

A known brand name, stable cash flow, long-term customers or clients, firm marketing strategy, secured investment, effective management, and efficient workforce — in the maturity stage, your business is now having a safe condition over the impediments and challenges. Year-over-year growth is observed and a harmonious union of workforce staff is found over the decades. Other business entities started to partner and invest in your business.

Usual Impediments:

  • Huge operational management
  • Lack of service or product innovation
  • Lack of care and motivation to employees
  • Criticisms both from internal and external views

4th Stage: Renewal or Decline

As the final stage, the business growth includes renewal or decline. Just like a living organism that adapts to the changing environment, a business also needs to renew itself when the time comes. This stage happens due to the nature of economic growth and trends that become a challenge for businesses that missed to innovate their products or services over the competitive markets.

Usual Impediments:

  • Changing economic landscapes
  • Competitive strategy of other businesses
  • Technological innovations
  • Lack of public relations

Conclusion

In order for your business to grow and succeed, you must have the passion to learn and be updated in the trend of the changing environment and consumer behavior. Indeed, being an entrepreneur and starting a business is a continuous learning process so make sure to always expand your knowledge and skills.

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

The Ultimate Guide to the Essential Social Skills in Business

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Effective communication and strong relationships are essential for success in the workplace. One factor that can greatly influence these qualities is emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ. EQ refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Research has shown that individuals with high levels of EQ are better equipped to handle stress, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively with others (Chamorro-Premuzic & Sanger, 2016).

Research has consistently shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is an important predictor of job performance and success in the workplace. EQ is comprised of a set of skills that allow individuals to recognize, understand, and regulate their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. In addition, individuals with high EQ are better able to communicate effectively, build relationships, and navigate complex social situations. As a result, they are often viewed as effective leaders and collaborators, and are more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals.

In fact, a number of studies have demonstrated the significant impact that EQ has on job performance and success. For example, one study of 85 upper-level managers found that those with higher EQ scores were rated as more effective leaders by their subordinates (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Another study of 151 employees found that those with higher EQ were more likely to be promoted within their organization over a five-year period (Carmeli, Brueller, & Dutton, 2009). These findings highlight the importance of EQ in the workplace and suggest that developing these skills can lead to significant benefits for both individuals and organizations.

According to a study conducted by TalentSmart, a leading provider of EQ assessments, EQ is responsible for 58% of success in all job types (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). In contrast, IQ only accounts for about 4% of success in the workplace. This suggests that EQ is a crucial skill set for individuals in any professional field. Fortunately, EQ is a skill that can be developed and honed over time with practice and awareness.

There are several key components of EQ that are particularly important for success in the workplace. These include: 

Self-Regulation: This refers to your capacity to recognize and control your emotions. Sometimes treating them when they arise may be necessary. Understanding how to manage your anger is essential. However, it can also cover how to control the feelings you’ll experience.

Self-Awareness: This implies recognizing and understanding your own feelings. Do noisy places make you nervous? Do other people talking over you make you angry? Knowing these truths about yourself shows that you are working on your self-awareness. Being conscious of yourself is necessary for this phase, which can be more complex than it sounds.

Socialization: This category focuses on your capacity to manage social interactions and direct relationships. It doesn’t entail dominating others but knowing how to work with others to achieve your goals. This could entail presenting your ideas to coworkers, leading a team, or resolving a personal disagreement.

Motivation: Strong motivators include external forces like money, status, or suffering. Internal motivation, however, plays a significant role in Goleman’s concept. By doing so, you demonstrate your ability to control your cause and initiate or continue initiatives of your own volition rather than in response to external demands.

Empathy: It’s equally critical to be sensitive to others’ feelings. This may entail learning to identify different emotional states in individuals — for example, can you tell the difference between someone at ease and someone anxious? — but it also requires comprehension of how other people may react to their current situation. Empathy is one of the essential traits in business and business leadership.

A thought leader in this space, Michael Ventura has built a career advising organizations on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace. In his book, Applied Empathy, Ventura highlights the value of empathy in business and provides strategies for developing and applying this skill set. With two decades of experience as a leader, facilitator, and educator, Ventura’s work has made impact in with prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and the United Nations as well as corporate clients such as Google and Nike.

Through his work, Ventura advises leaders to focus on the development of EQ in order to help individuals improve their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, ultimately leading to greater success in the workplace. Experts like Ventura continue to support the growing body of research on the value of EQ in business, and the evidence that organizations who invest in the EQ of their teams help to create a more empathetic and successful professional environment.

And it’s worth noting that EQ isn’t just important for individual success in the workplace, but also for overall organizational success. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that EQ was a better predictor of success than IQ or technical skills in the workplace, and that teams with higher levels of EQ tend to be more effective and productive (Boyatzis, Goleman, & Rhee, 1999). By cultivating a culture of empathy and emotional intelligence, organizations can improve their overall performance and create a more positive work environment for their employees.

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is a crucial component of success in the workplace, and individuals and organizations alike should prioritize the development of these skills. The ones that do not only develop a leading edge in their category, but also become a meaningful place to work for their teams. And in today’s rapidly changing talent landscape, the retention of highly capable, emotionally intelligent leaders is one of the greatest keys to unlocking success.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E., Goleman, D., & Rhee, K. S. (1999). Clustering competence in emotional intelligence: Insights from the emotional competence inventory (ECI). In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 343-362). Jossey-Bass.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Sanger, M. N. (2016). Does employee happiness matter? Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 3(2), 168-191.

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