Has Your Business Stalled?

After a quick start, many reach a businesses plateau – a point where growth levels off, and no matter what you try, you just can’t break through to achieve sustained growth.

Where are you on the Plateau?

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The 5 Stages of the Small Business Plateau

We offer a quick, Free Plateau Evaluator and then the more comprehensive Spark Business Diagnostic to help you determine exactly what is holding your business back. The free assessment takes about 10 minutes, while the full Diagnostic is a paid evaluation that takes about 90 minutes and includes in-depth questions about you, your team, and the company’s financial performance.

Learn more about the Great Small Business “Plateau” below and give the Free Plateau Evaluator a try.

Emerging Business

Emerging, growing business

Equilibrium

The business is efficient for its current systems and capacity

Churn Point

Well established, likely profitable, but little or no growth As small businesses grow, needs change; what worked for a start-up, may need to evolve to allow the business to scale. It could be new skills or experience, technology, infrastructure, or even different leadership approaches.

Invest in the Future

Retooling for success often requires additional investment, causing a temporary reduction in performance

Continued Growth

The company is well-positioned to be scalable and profitable

Emerging Business

Emerging, growing business

Equilibrium

The business is efficient for its current systems and capacity

Churn Point

Well established, likely profitable, but little or no growth As small businesses grow, needs change; what worked for a start-up, may need to evolve to allow the business to scale.

Invest in the Future

Retooling for success often requires additional investment, causing a temporary reduction in performance

Continued Growth

The company is well-positioned to be scalable and profitable
Emerging Business
Equilibrium
Churn Point
Investing in the Future
Consistent Growth Scalable, Profitable
  • Emerging Business.
  • Equilibrium.
  • Churn Point.
  • Investing in the Future.
  • Consistent Growth Scalable Profitable.

  • 1 - Emerging Business

    1

    Beyond Start-up, sustainable revenue, beginning to build infrastructure

  • 2 - Equilibrium

    2

    Cash cow, peaceful emerging, balanced business

  • 3 - Churn Point

    3

    Stressed – churn point, difficult to sustain, cannot break through to further/sustained growth – working hard, not growing

    As small businesses grow, needs change; what worked for a start-up, may need to evolve to allow the business to scale. It could be new skills or experience, technology, infrastructure, or even different leadership approaches.

  • 4 - Investing in the Future

    4

    Taking risks, new systems, change, innovation, capacity, working toward solutions, investing in future

  • 5 - Consistent Growth Scalable Profitable

    5

    Systems and talent in place, CEO in appropriate role – consistent growth: scalable, profitable

Of course, every business and each owner is unique, so they don’t all fit neatly into categories, but there are six main roadblocks that are commonly uncovered by the Spark Business Diagnostic:

Founder's Cap

FOUNDER'S CAP

The business is limited by the founder/owner’s current vision, ego, or unwillingness to embrace new ideas, approaches. They may be reluctant to hire key expertise that will advance the company beyond their own abilities.

Jack-of-All-Trades

Jack-of-All-Trades

The old adage, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” aptly refers to owners (or a key employee) who efficiently started the business by doing a little bit of everything. But to really grow, they need specialists in critical positions.

Personnel Inhibitor

Personnel Inhibitor

Employees hold you back when you don’t have the right people in the right positions; when you don’t carefully evaluate, recruit, and continue to develop the proper talent, skills and experience needed for each position.

Infrastructure Inhibitor

Infrastructure Inhibitor

Whether it’s space, equipment, people or even entering new markets – ensuring you have the capacity for growth requires some advance risk-taking; “if we build it, they will come.” If you get behind this curve, the company will stall, and it could take years to recover.

Technology Inhibitor

Technology Inhibitor

As technology evolves ever more rapidly, most businesses need to constantly plan and implement computer/online infrastructure and processes to allow for higher efficiency, productivity – and growth. Partial or stop-gap measures often only perpetuate the problem.

Market Facing

Market Facing

External factors can influence the success or failure of your business. Outside inhibitors can include the economy, opportunities, and challenges facing the communities you work in, competitors, and even the health of your client's businesses.
The Great Small Business Plateau - And how to blast past it. By Patrick Lee

After growing and selling his own business, then consulting with a wide range of small companies, Patrick Lee saw this plateau pattern emerge. Download Patrick’s book for a more detailed explanation of this principle, with lots of real small business examples.

Download The Great Small Business Plateau
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