Where are you on the entrepreneurial ladder?

Quick question for you, how can you best grow your business? How you phrase your answer will depend on your perspective and where you currently stand on the entrepreneurial ladder.

We want to share with you a framework to show you where you currently stand and help you solve problems in a business by changing mindsets. Let’s begin…

What you will takeaway from reading this article

An understanding of the different stages of an entrepreneur
The ability to identify where you are currently placed on the ladder
And finally, understand the benefits of moving up the ladder to grow your business

Step one – employee

Most of us begin on this step, as an employee. We understand that trading time for money is the goal.

Step two – self-employed

This second step often comes when you have decided you can do it better than your boss or you might have been made redundant. Either way, being self-employed is the start of your journey as a business owner and is often the hardest step to make.

The goal and your focus as a self-employed person is often just about paying the bills.

When you are successful as a self-employed person it can often cause problems down the line. You have learnt how to do everything successfully yourself that you find it hard to delegate and don’t want to invest as you know you will have to work harder to make the money back. This creates a barrier to growth. It becomes exhausting and you end up spending too much time in the business.

Step three – manager

At some point, you will need to break cover and make the leap to manager. Instead of asking ‘how can I fix it?’ The question will be ‘how can the team fix it?’

Step four – business owner

When you reach the business owner step you view your business as an investment rather than a personal attachment. It comes a source of cashflow and has an asset value.

This is an important level to get to. Successful business owners run “a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you” as defined by Brad Sugars, founder and CEO of ActionCOACH.

You never know when you might be ill so it is important your business can work without you.

As a business owner you don’t make all the decisions and you don’t focus your time on day-to-day operations. At this level you have created a business that operates smoothly when you aren’t there.

If you have to be on site everyday handling day-to-day operations, you have a ‘job’ not a business.

Step five – Investor

This step is all about looking at your portfolio of other businesses and seeing how they can work together.

Step six – Entrepreneur

And finally, this step is about rapid scale and getting investors on board.

Most business owners need to concentrate making the move from self-employed, to manager and business owner. That’s where your focus should start.

So, back to our original question…How can you best grow your business?

Where is your mindset?

If you answered…

“I need to work harder… I need to do this, that…” – then you’re mindset is at step one as a self-employed person
“The team need to do… The team require training on…” – then you’re mindset is at step two as a manager
“What needs investment next to get a return on my business…” – then you’re mindset is at step three as a business owner