3 Stages of Business Growth for Coaches, Experts, and Infopreneurs

I’ve seen many ways to describe “stages of growth” in business, but most of them seem too overwhelming or vague.

Let me share with you how I see it based on my two decades in the coach-author-speaker space and demystify what you need to focus on today.

Stage #1: BUILD

In this stage you must focus on things like:

Discovering your niche (who you serve and what problems you solve)
Clarifying your unique message (how you’re different from all the others in your niche)
Creating your online presence (a simple web site describing what you do and a social media profile)
Capturing your ideal prospects (a way to start a conversation with potential clients, either an invitation for a free session or a downloadable freebie)
Developing your core products and services (one or more offers focused on solving the biggest problems for your ideal clients)

You must have all of these in place before you can move to the next stage. And you can’t skip the next stage to get to the third stage.

Stage #2: GROW

At this stage you can start taking it to the next level by focusing on:

Creating visibility (put yourself out there through speaking, interviews, social media, and promotional partnerships)
Building an audience (get people to join your mailing list, request your freebies, and sign up for your webinars)
Positioning yourself as an authority (publish original content, express your opinion, and consistently provide real value to your audience)
Getting more clients (attract, nurture, and convert your contacts and subscribers into paying clients)

Focusing on the things above can allow you to create a very lucrative business.

But there will come a point where growing is no longer possible. And not because you’ve got all the clients you want. Or, you made all the money you can. But because growing means adding more hours and getting busier.

This is the time to shift from growing to scaling.

Stage #3: SCALE

To scale your business means taking a big leap in your revenue without increasing your workload. Here are the kind of things you want to focus on in order to scale your business (with simplicity):

Leveraging your expertise (go from 1-on-1 work to 1-to-many)
Systematizing and streamlining (finding ways to minimize the amount of work you have to do by simplifying or automating time-consuming and manual activities)
Identifying and focusing on the biggest growth areas (looking at the highest payoff projects and strategies and releasing everything else)
Shifting your business model (finding the most efficient and impactful way to market and serve your clients)

This is exactly what we’ll focus on at the Scale with Simplicity live event, so check it out – it’s coming in less than 2 months, and it’s an opportunity for you to shift into a highly scale business without burnout.

I will also say that, depending on your background, skills, and lifestyle, it may take you anywhere from 1-3 years to get through each stage. I started with a no business background but with a huge commitment to becoming a work-at-home mom, and was able to reach the second stage by my second year in business.

Scale with Simplicity LIVE (April 29 – May 1, Baltimore, Maryland)

You’re Invited to an exclusive 3-Day Live Retreat for Coaches, Authors, Speakers, Experts, and Entrepreneurs Looking to Grow Their Business Online Beyond Six Figures Without Pushing, Grinding, or Working Harder