Unlocking the Secrets to Business Success

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Do you know what it will take to ensure business success? 
Do you know what stage your business is in?
Do you know what it takes to go to the next stage?

Unlocking the Secrets to Business Success

The key to increasing your chances of business success by at least 50% lies in mastering the intricate journey known as the Nehemiah Business Life Cycle. Just as we all progress through distinct life stages, businesses also have a life cycle, and each stage of the business life cycle demands a nuanced approach. Just as care for a baby differs from that given to a teenager or an elderly individual, the approach to any business must be appropriately based on the current stage of its development.

A life cycle is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the series of stages in form and functional activity through which an organism passes”. Britannica defines it as “the series of stages through which a living thing passes from the beginning of its life until its death”.

The Nehemiah Business Life Cycle Stages:

1. Discovery
   Identifying a Market Need and the Calling: To increase your success rate, ensure you are called into business with a viable idea that meets a growing market need with impact from the start.

2. Start-Up
   Turning Your Idea into Action: Actively implement the business and start generating revenue. Delaying revenue generation risks the viability of the business.

3. Breakeven
   Covering Expenses: Generate enough revenue to cover fixed and variable expenses, moving beyond proof of concept to viability.

4. Profitability
   Creating Margin: Demonstrate market acceptance by generating profit with impact, essential for business improvement, sustainability and Kingdom impact.

5. Sustainability
   Continued Profit through Systems: Avoid the profit trap by establishing the right systems and personnel for sustained long-term personal freedom.

6. Scalability
   Regional, National, and International Expansion: Consider expanding your business beyond its current scope if called and prepared.

7. Succession and Exit 

Transitioning the Business: Build the business with the end in mind, aiming for resale value and personal freedom.

These stages must be followed in order, and if a particular stage is not properly addressed, revisiting it is crucial to efficiently accelerate current success. I made the mistake of scaling the Nehemiah Entrepreneurship Community before it was sustainable, and I’ve been paying for the mistake ever since. 

Once I realized this, I went back to address it, but it cost me more time and money than if I had correctly recognized its stage within the business life cycle and approached it accordingly. As entrepreneurs, impatience often leads us to seek shortcuts – we think we’re taking the fastest route, only to discover we’ve chosen the longest path. 

My prayer for you is that God will give you the wisdom to know what stage within the Nehemiah Business Life Cycle your business is in, and the grace to develop the correct strategy for the next stage.  

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