Mom and Pop Disease - (part 2) "WHERE ARE WE GOING"

At the end of Part 1, I mentioned three approaches most Start-Ups are built on. They have various commonalities. Now, let's see what these three founder categories share with each other.

Very Common, "THE UPSIDE"

1. They have all used their creativity to accomplish their mission.
2. They have all gone the extra mile to get from point A to point B.
3. They have all successfully reached the end of level one.
4. They have all reached a "Point of No Return" without the lost of time and material investment.

Very Common, "THE DOWNSIDE"

1. They have not given any forethought to level two.
2. There is usually no business model to speak of.
3. There is usually no thought given to a one or five year plan
4. Most 'Start-Ups and small businesses are "Under Funded".

As I stated in Part 1, "NOW WHAT?"

Let me begin by saying, there are more commonalities then you would believe. I chose the ones I have had to deal with most often. In future posts I will go over these "COMMONALITIES" in detail. I wanted you to sample some of these things so as we continue it will make better sense. For now, let's go over something I believe is more important. Namely "The Domino Effect". This is caused by inherent poor planning and uneducated choices at the beginning of staged growth and almost always, if left unchecked over time, become the small business entrepreneur's undoing.

Lets say that you have the perfect situation. You love what your doing and through hard work, frugal spending and good advice, things have gone relatively smooth. Remember, the first level is mostly overcoming obstacles. That doesn't leave much time for planning the next step. This level is usually undermanned and this creates the "hands-on owner/operator" scenario. Having said that, the small business owner looses sight of the task of preparing for a growth spurt. The influx of additional business is one of the indicators that level two is at hand. In my experience, this is not fatal, but it sets the scene for emotional, panic driven decisions which are most always not the right decisions.

Things are fairly good and not a lot of time has been spent researching how to support level two with additional customer growth. Some increases are inherent, but that's not enough to make the expenditures necessary for success in level two accessible.

By now the "Domino Effect" should be becoming apparent. The toll this begins to take on the dream, mentally and physically is barely noticeable. And so it begins.This is where the absence of experience in business development also begins to raise it's head. Typically these folks have done battle without the benefit of a professional. Their business ethic and drive have gotten them through. I find, at this point, a false sense of well being. They think that to proceed the same way will get them through level two.Unfortunately this usually does not end well.

In my next post we will begin to add some things to the picture of level one and see how these things can positively or negatively affect the process.