Part I: Which phase are you in?

There are three phases of team building that almost all entrepreneurs need to go through in order to get to the multimillion dollar level. Which one are you in right now?

The Sprouting Phase

The first phase is where it all begins. You’ve started your business. You’re performing your art or mastery for several clients. You’re also at the point where you have your hands full and are handling many tasks that aren’t giving you a return on your time. In other words, scheduling appointments, answering customer service emails, or entering names into a database is not directly creating income for you. It’s absorbing a lot of your time and is also something that someone else could handle quite well and easily.

This first phase is the where it all begins. Some may never get past this point. If you feel as though you are stuck at this level then this article series will help you. I’ll be talking about some of the steps you need to take in order to break through to the next phase.

The Breaching Phase

You are in this phase when you have several team members to support you and your goals. You’re driving the ship as well as still managing a lot of the process. You’re growing and you’re growing quickly. Your business needs money to continue the growth and your company still needs a lot of your time to steer and manage. Your team members are great but you are still very much needed to keep things running smoothly.

If you’re in this phase it may feel like you’re building the ship as you sail it. Probably because you are. That’s ok and it’s what many do in order to flourish and grow in this phase. But, there will come a time when you need to start shifting how you work in order to move to the next phase. If this describes you and your business then this series of articles will help you shift your work habits in order to transition smoothly into the next phase.

The Independent Phase

You are in this phase when you have a team of people that are managing the daily operations of the company. You have regular check-ins with your team and review material before it’s sent out but you are no longer needed on the day to day operating of the business. You spend most of your time now on much more impactful items that will bring a lot more notice to you and your brand. You’re having a lot of media appearances, you’re having book launches, you’re invited to speak at industry events, you’re winning awards. You have a key person in the company who is making sure everything back on the homefront is happening as it should be and momentum is growing.

The Independent Phase is the phase that so many entrepreneurs strive for. This is nirvana for so many yet so many have trouble reaching this phase. If they do reach it they have a lot of trouble staying there because they constantly get pulled back into the daily management of the company. If this is your struggle then you will find this article series helpful.

Tune in next week when I will tell you more about moving from one phase to another and we’ll begin to work through the key steps in order to make that happen.