By Fernando Berrocal

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As founders scale their new startups, a variety of difficulties lay ahead of them.  As a small business owner, you want to know what growth stages your new business will experience, the difficulties they bring, and how to overcome each–ideally before launch.  While it is intimidating to contemplate everything going wrong before starting a business, this endeavor will protect your success in the long run.

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The beginning of your own business is the first step.  After this point, it's not surprising that there is a roller-coaster of emotions such as anticipation, stress, shock, happiness, and excitement. After that, your following goal is to ensure that predicted growth occurs to maximize the potential for profitability for your business.

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All organizations seek expansion.  It leads to bigger opportunities, experiences, and further development. Nevertheless, the impact can be negative if there are no plans to help deal with the difficulties growth brings. The following growth challenges are likely to face your new business, therefore it's critical to be ready–and make plans for each one of these challenges.

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The Business Proposal

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Whatever your business goals, the first step is to develop a concrete business idea. But first, you must prepare the crucial business plan.  This guide will assist in providing the groundwork for a more solid foundation. Your strategic planning will lay out the mechanics of your new venture, allowing you to assess its potential without launching it. Additionally, it will assist in defending any demand for monetary contributions. Potential investors would also gain from seeing your strategies. Another scenario to contemplate is owning the firm's financing. You would want to see in a thoughtful plan how you propose to reimburse your investment.

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The standard components of a business strategy are:

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• The central idea of your business. This should include a description of the industry you're approaching as well as your projected trade patterns and business structure.  Make sure to include specifics about your product offers, as well as your long-term objectives and the steps you'll take to get there.

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• Your targeted, then segmented market. Early market research is undoubtedly important, since it should contain marketing data. Information on your target market, which must be obtained from primary and secondary sources, would contain things like geographic, demographic, and lifestyle data combined. Your business strategy should contain all of this information, alongside specifics on how you aim to dominate your target market.

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Set Up and Launch

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This is your first chance to start building a physical firm–and watch your business strategy materialize. As a new business, the first thing you will learn is how to manage a firm without making a profit.  You will do this while adapting to the purchasing patterns of your initial consumers and feedback. Many things can help with these challenges, such as:

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• People. This may also involve support from family. When you hire new employees, their enthusiasm and dedication can encourage a healthy work atmosphere. The culture of your firm will be influenced by your workers. When hiring, be careful to take longevity into account as well as initial aptitude because you want them to grow with the business.

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• A comfortable (and affordable) workspace.  When picking your first office space, location, size–and whether to buy or lease–are important considerations. As a young startup, you don't want anything to inhibit your efforts, including the persistent concern of unexpectedly outgrowing the premises.  Therefore, anticipated expansion is another deciding factor.

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Inevitably, the cost increases with square footage, so your best option for finding an economical yet sustainable commercial property is to look up. If there is sufficient height, the requirement for additional office, retail, or storage space can be satisfied through the installation of a podium level, allowing you to promote expansion with confidence.

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• Developing supplier relationships: Build your network instantly, since suppliers will be just as eager to get to know you as you are to get to know them. This will make it easier for you to find the products, components, or raw materials you require at affordable costs.  Strong relationships will support your position against outside forces.

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Growth Stimulation

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Despite being past the “launch” phase, your business is still in its infancy–and depends on stimulated growth. Here are a few suggestions to boost growth:

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• Create tactical plans to keep up with competitors.
• Follow the regions that are more motivated by profit than others.
• Implement a strategy for client/customer retention.

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Think of your startup entity as you would any other business that depends on you for all of the necessary conditions for growth. Your business will gain greater strength and integrity if you take care of its expanding needs immediately.

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Scaling (Up)

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Your business is at its best moment. It has earned its wings with many indications of continued growth.  The enterprise is exhibiting stability, wealth, and success. This expansion gives you options to boost revenue, while enabling you to compete with more well-known rivals. To ensure that your growth plans will benefit you, it's vital to study all possible alternatives. However, the expansion also involves investment, and the dangers connected with a poor expansion might be enormous.  These include:

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• Entering new geographic regions.
• The launch of new products.
• The merging or acquisition of a business.
• Large marketing expenditures.

It's important to remember that some business owners choose to keep their firms in their existing configuration–even though there is room for growth. A large portion of this might be attributed to a reluctance to expand, especially when present profitability levels are high. The only point to keep in mind while choosing not to expand is that your expanding competitors might overtake you in the market (if they are efficient).

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The Matured Business

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Your firm has now matured into an established entity with substantial market acceptance. Sales and product development have achieved their highest points; therefore, your current goals should be to maintain continuous performance and improvement. This occurs even if your firm is in its last stages of development or is fully developed–the chance of declining sales will increase. This is a result of different suppliers, shifting markets, and market entrants. Even while future actions won't be as intense as they were in earlier phases, you should nevertheless try to maintain a consistent customer base, sales, and business position.

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• Maximize any chance to broaden target market segments.
• Maintain consumer awareness through ongoing promotion and advertising.
• Preserve positive connections with suppliers.

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Ready to bring your startup to the next level? Apply to MassLight’s next batch. MassLight supplies capital and a dedicated tech team. We take equity in return. Have questions? Refer to our FAQ page.