The Five Stages of a Business

Formulation

In this stage, perform a brain dump about all you are doing, thinking, and planning about your business. You put together business plans, budgets, marketing plans, recruiting plans, economic forecasts, etc. You commit to paper everything you can think of about your business.

Concentration

Concentration is characterized by lots of energy and activity going out but little coming in. For every ten actions you take, only 1 produces a result. You’re not spinning your wheels because your actions are on purpose and designed to keep your business running. It’s just that you’re expending much energy with very little to show for it.

If you’ve ever had to jump-start a car by popping the clutch, you know what I mean about concentration. Remember how you got behind the car, which was at a dead standstill, and pushed and pushed with all your might, but the car barely moved?  You put out a lot of energy and hard work with minimal results. The car just barely began to roll forward. But then you entered Stage 3.

Momentum

Using our car analogy again, momentum is where you still apply energy and effort, but now you’re beginning to see results. The car is starting to move. It’s picking up steam. You’re still struggling, but the car is moving faster and faster, and it’s getting easier to push. Instead of 10 actions, momentum is now to produce one result, 7 to 1, 5 to 1, 3 to 1, and so on.

More phone calls are being returned, connections on Social Media increase and individuals are starting to recognize you. You’re putting out advertising, and more people are responding. You’re going on sales calls and closing more sales. You can feel the momentum building.

Stability

In this stage, your business has become fairly stable and predictable. You know that if you do certain things, customers will show up. Ads produce a steady stream of clients, cold calling or prospecting gets so much business, etc. If you go on x number of appointments, you’ll close y number of sales. Your conversion rates are steady and predictable. It’s one action out, one result in.

Breakthrough

If you reach this stage (and I say if because, in my experience, few businesses ever get here), your business takes off, often in unpredictable ways. The phone is ringing off the hook. Your seminars are filled to overflowing, and you’ve got so many client appointments you can’t keep track of them. In fact, you’re getting calls and leads from the proverbial “out of the blue.” Someone’s aunt’s brother’s cousin’s sister calls you, and you can’t even remember where you met the first person in the chain.

Business cards you left at someone’s office months ago fall into the hands of someone you don’t even know. They call wanting a meeting as you are the answer to all their problems. On some level, you could almost say you’ve got too much business. You must generate new structures and systems to handle and manage it. It’s almost like going back into formulation again because, in essence, you’ve got a totally new business different from the one you conceived back in Stage 1.

Overview

These stages are linear, and if you skip over one, you usually pay the price somewhere down the road.

If you don’t formulate and go into concentration, you’ve got a lot of activity but no direction or purpose. It’s random and ill-conceived.

If you don’t do the legwork of concentration, you’ll miss valuable learning experiences and insights that only come from hard work and perseverance.

I have occasionally seen clients in the real estate field go from momentum to breakthrough (a quick explosion of leads and appointments and listings and buyers). They get so wrapped up in servicing those clients that they stop prospecting and lead generating. Then when things calm down, and all those houses are sold, and buyers have found homes, there’s no business, and they must go back to concentration again, hitting the phones, walking their farm area, etc., and it takes them 2-3 months to get back to building a stable business. So be aware of following the model one stage at a time.

Brad Warren, Land Banking Consultant @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleykwarren/

Brad Warren was a national and international speaker, author, seminar leader, and business coach.  He travelled to 19 foreign countries and 27 of the United States over the last 40 years, teaching a wide range of business courses, including time management, communication skills, lead generation, and negotiation skills.  

He's also coached over 500+ business owners on goal setting and accomplishment, business planning and implementation, and how to be more effective and productive. 

He is the 2014 recipient of the Bay East Association of Realtors Affiliate of the Year award and the author of Just Sold! The Real Estate Professionals Guide to Selling More in Less Time. 

He’s spoken at the National Association of Realtors 2016 and 2017 Annual Conventions on Time Block Your Way to Success with Less Stress! and he’s also certified to teacher.

The ONE Thing, based on the national best-seller of the same name by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.  After 40+ years as a business coach, speaker, and trainer. Brad transitioned to a new career as a land banking consultant, helping patient investors build generational wealth by investing in land.

Brad Warren welcomes your calls to learn about land investment. LinkedIn

The definition of leadership is “The action of leading a group of people or an organization” Leading is primarily based on the skills and knowledge of the leader. 

I've always considered myself a leader.  The first to step up, I don't shy away from a challenge. I help others in need of guidance or offer suggestions for an approach to a task or problem. As an extrovert, this comes naturally but there are those who find leading a challenge. Sometimes as a leader, we need to know when not to be the one to be the first to jump up, speak, or raise our hand. 

I had the opportunity to lead and manage people early in my career.  To be honest I wasn't very good at it at that time. I had not realized that I couldn’t make people do things my way or bully them into it.  I had to leave them to determine their own path to achieving tasks.  Demanding just did not work, and as a result, I was not a very effective sales manager.    It was somewhat like leading a horse to water and trying to make it drink, and we all know how that turns out.  It did show me that I could use my leadership skills in other ways.  Thankfully, I learned through experience better ways to lead a team. 

What is Leadership

Part of leading is letting others find their own way.  Leadership isn't about being the smartest person in the room.  Successful leaders listen to their team and guide them towards achieving results.  Brian Scudamore Founder and CEO of OE2 Brands, https://www.o2ebrands.com/about-us posted about the growth of his company is guided by three leadership principles;

• Accountability—to each other and our contributions.
• Collaboration—working together, harnessing the power within our system.
• Innovation—perpetually challenging the status quo.

With the success of Brian’s business, you can see that it works.  It is an excellent foundation for any leader or manager.  This approach is like the Wardell philosophy and management strategy leading your team with the following factors.

• Accountability -Ensure staff have a commitment to a proposed result
• Authority - Empowering team members, with the ability to make decisions necessary to complete a task autonomously
• Responsibility - Assurance that the work that needs to be done will get done according to plan.

We liken these three key factors to a three-legged stool.  If you cut one of the legs the stool will fall over unless someone else is holding it up.  It is best to support your team, but not do the work for them.   Leaders must give up control to let others flourish.  Applying this management strategy provides employees with the ability to do their work and move the company forward.

Team Members

Confidence in yourself and your abilities as a leader along with confidence in your team when you empower them with this strategy is the best way to have your vision come to life.   Finding team members that share your values and support your vision and mission, is key to the growth of a company.  Your mission is the reason for the existence of your business.  Sharing it provides a solid statement that the team can all get behind and push forward.

“Be the leader you wish you had”, one of my favorite quotes from Simon Sinek says it all.  Are you the leader you wish you had?

Click to Discover Free Leadership Tools

https://bit.ly/FreeWardellBizTools

Overall, health and fitness always played a part in Michelle’s life and continue to be part of her consulting approach today, differentiating her from others in the industry. Michelle guides business owners to develop a self-sustaining business, generate more revenue, and take back time to do things that excite them!

Raised by a strong, independent single mother, Michelle’s vision and values were instilled early. Michelle’s entrepreneurial journey started in the 90s in event planning and speaking. In addition to Michelle’s over 30-year Corporate career in Media, Logistics and Financial Services, her passions shaped Michelle’s experience, providing innumerable opportunities to give back as a volunteer.

Passionate about making a difference, Michelle is on a philanthropic foundation, “Board of Advisors,” building sustainable schools in developing countries and supporting Digital Samurai’s efforts, an entrepreneur focused on reducing youth unemployment in Africa through apprenticeships.

Michelle’s 35 years as an Account Executive spanned credit card processing and financial services, transportation, logistics, media, and consulting, with many projects including managing consultative alliances, live event management, and sales team leadership. In 2021 Michelle completed Wardell International Advisor training and had recently undertaken S.O.S. Sales Objection System group training with renowned trainer Joe Marcoux. Her career and entrepreneurial ambitions have taken Michelle outside Canada, providing extensive experience in multiple markets in North America and beyond.

You can find Michelle Ricketts on LinkedIn at https://linkedin.com/in/michellericketts