Are you ready to expand and grow your business but find something to hold you back from pursuing your dreams? In this article, we will look at one key action related to how to grow a small business: phasing.
Maybe you have a dream about the next phase of your business and are unsure how to move forward; or are you just feeling like you are in a rinse-repeat cycle where you are earning money but feel like you are stagnant? If you are ready for some forward motion, but struggling to gain momentum, it just might be time to sit down and use phasing to build a new business plan.
Phasing is about figuring out the best way for your specific business to go from where the current state of operations is to where you envision it could be—and then taking the steps to grow into that vision.
How to Grow a Small Business with Phasing
First, I want you to observe the overall stability and functionality of your current business model. At this point, you will want to eliminate anything that doesn’t work and expand into what is working and also brings the most consistency along with it.
The truth is, our businesses grow and mature over time just like we do. Think back to when you first started out in massage and see how far your skill set has evolved. Would you go back to the way you did things in the beginning? Most likely not, because you have knowledge, experience and better applications to utilize than when you started out.
Our business and future planning are the same. Some of the ideas and operations you put into action at the beginning will not support you if you are to grow and expand. These functions and tasks will also need to be dismissed or replaced with something better to create the opportunity to phase into something new.
The Building Phase
It is difficult to grow a business when it feels like there is a backlog of unfinished tasks to complete. Many times, these are simply incomplete decisions that will continue to steal the focus and mental energy you need to propel yourself forward. These unfinished business tasks and actions are what you are most likely to hold back.
In this building phase you will take an honest look at your business and see what areas require finishing. Make a list of all the areas you know you need to work on or complete to help your business run better. These areas are typically processes, procedures or even your own behaviors that slow down the efficiency of your current business model.
When I do this for my own business, I break up my company into the functioning parts that run or manage it, such as client care and customer service protocols, computer programs that run my business, paperwork, office or financial processes, and marketing. I then evaluate each area and list all the things I feel need to be completed by category to make that area of my business function better. This helps me identify what needs to be completed per category instead of staring at what feels like a large and overwhelming to-do list.
Once you have completed that list, start sorting those tasks into a finish task list and a phase tasklist. Most business owners are always working towards goals. Some of the things that need work would contribute to finishing your original business structure. those are finish tasks. Some of the goals would expand what currently exists, and those are phase tasks.
Your goal is to complete the finish task list to level up your business model and be ready to add new plans to a phase tasklist.
After you create the finish list for finishing your current business model, schedule the time to complete these tasks. Make sure to celebrate this landmark in your business! This is an accomplishment to be proud of and it means wonderful things are about to happen.
Once you feel your current business procedures are stabilized, now you can start to phase and grow.
The Evolution Phase
Once you have your current business running efficiently and have eliminated any unneeded functions, you can begin the process of taking your business from “here to there.”
What is your business gong to evolve into next? What is the next step or steps you want to accomplish in your business? Sit down and visualize what your phasing business will look like. Seeing everything in your mind and writing it all out on paper is the first, powerful step to bring it into reality.
• Take the phase list you already created and add to it. List out all the tasks it would take to expand your business so that it matches what you see in your mind.
• List all the steps you can think of that will assist you in creating the bridge that will take you from where your current business is to your new dream business.
Take these steps, break them down into goals, and schedule tasks on a timeline you can accomplish and achieve. If something feels like it is going to stress you out in time, energy or money, then it most likely will.
Therefore, set a pace of growth that feels doable and can seamlessly merge into your life and business while at the same time allowing for growth and stability. Many small steps are typically better than large leaps.
Keep Moving Forward
Growth and phasing can be rewarding and inspiring for you and your business. To achieve that growth, creating a new phasing business plan is an essential part of the process for those looking to expand their businesses. I have said many times to those I work with that if it is important enough to have a business plan to start a business, it is just as important to create another plan to move forward in your business.
About the Author
Amy Bradley Radford, LMT, BCTMB, has been a massage therapist and educator for more than 25 years. She is the owner of Massage Business Methods and the developer of PPS (Pain Patterns and Solutions) Seminars CE courses and an NCBTMB Approved CE Provider.
