Get All Access for $5/mo

The 7 Stages of Entrepreneurship It is not easy to start your own venture.

By Naval Goel

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock

Entrepreneurship is not just about making money and creating a name for you – it is about helping the society by putting out such an idea into the work that it leaves behind an impression on everyone. It is not easy to start your own venture.

It does come with challenges. But sometimes, it is more than worth it. Here are a few things you should know if you are thinking of entering the world of entrepreneurship.

The question that arises is despite so many challenges entrepreneurs don't quit. This is because the joys of entrepreneurship surpass the challenges for them.

Stages of Entrepreneurship

Stage 1: The Birth of Your Start-Up: This is the beginning of the entrepreneurship cycle of an entrepreneur. It is filled with mixed emotions of excitement, thrill and fear all at the same time. It is time you are seeking independence in the business world and ready to create your own name in the market. You have had a million dollar idea for your startup, but you are not quite sure how to execute it at this stage. But you have a clear vision and a clear mission.

Stage 2: Surviving and Growing Your Business: This is the stage where you have successfully launched your new company, and now you are looking for strategies to survive in the industry. Some entrepreneurs look for investors who could fund their start-ups while some others chose to stay independent. Both have their pros and cons. While choosing to stay independent will give you more power and control over your start-up, it will put you in a tricky financial situation. The main aim of this stage is survival. You have to select what is best for you.

Stage 3: The Hyper Stage: When your company is seeing hyper growth suddenly, you will not be in control of the outcomes. At this stage, many start-ups go into trouble because entrepreneurs start getting over confident having seen success. They feel that there is nothing they could do wrong. Those who get cocky at this stage end up being blindsided. Some entrepreneurs start celebrating and enjoying in this stage and completely forget about their desired goals and missions. To survive this stage, you have to be stable. Your start-up has to be stable.

Stage 4: The Prime Stage: When your company has crossed the point of survival and stability that is when real success is reached. This is the more predictable growth phase. It is best to stay in his phase as long as you can. You realize that other businesses and companies can make you stronger because they themselves are strong enough. You start to explore partnerships with other companies. You form inter depended relations with other successful companies. This keeps your company in its prime and enhances your growth opportunities.

Stage 5: Aging and Early Decline: A situation might come up where one of the most significant faces of your company moves out or your partnerships with others dont work out. Someone else might have come up with a better idea in the market, and your idea might have become useless. This leads to your business and company being disrupted. At this stage, you can do one of two things: You can either restart your journey to unwind what you began, or you can disrupt your company.

Stage 6: Illness and Rapid Decline: This phase should be expected if you are too late in figuring out the early signs of decline. This happens when your team is no longer sure what they are supposed to do, or it is unable to fix the problems that come up. If you don't take action immediately, it will lead to fears, uncertainties and doubts setting in. The company is sure to fail and decline if no action is taken.

Stage 7: Death: There are times when no matter how hard we work to make a start-up work, it just fails. Sometimes you are so deep into the hole that has been created due to bankruptcy or restrained cash flow, that there is no way to dig yourself out. At times like these, the best option is to shut your business down because it is leading nowhere. Take it down before it takes you down with it.

It is better to be well informed and well researched before entering the world of entrepreneurships and start-ups. Know what you're doing and stay focused on your goals.

Naval Goel

CEO, PolicyX.com

Naval Goel is the CEO of PolicyX.com.
Starting a Business

I Left the Corporate World to Start a Chicken Coop Business — Here Are 3 Valuable Lessons I Learned Along the Way

Board meetings were traded for barnyards as a thriving new venture hatched.

Business News

Apple Reportedly Isn't Paying OpenAI to Use ChatGPT in iPhones

The next big iPhone update brings ChatGPT directly to Apple devices.

News and Trends

Trampoline and rampp.ai Raise Early-Stage Funding

Here are the Indian startups that announced early-stage funding rounds.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Branding

ChatGPT is Becoming More Human-Like. Here's How The Tool is Getting Smarter at Replicating Your Voice, Brand and Personality.

AI can be instrumental in building your brand and boosting awareness, but the right approach is critical. A custom GPT delivers tailored collateral based on your ethos, personality and unique positioning factors.

Lifestyle

Actress Nupur Sanon breaks boundaries between fashion and business with her new brand, No Boundaries

As Bollywood actress Nupur Sanon starts her new clothing brand NoBo—No Boundaries recently, in conversation with Entrepreneur India, the young artist opens up on her childhood story that inspired her to start her journey as an entrepreneur, why fashion policing on women should stop, and how she is balancing between establishing a homegrown brand and working on her next film Noorani Chehra with Nawazuddin Siddiqui.