The Five Stages of Small-Business Growth (2024)

The Five Stages of Small-Business Growth (2)

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Categorizing the problems and growth patterns of small businesses in a systematic way that is useful to entrepreneurs seems at first glance a hopeless task. Small businesses vary widely in size and capacity for growth. They are characterized by independence of action, differing organizational structures, and varied management styles.

A version of this article appeared in the May 1983 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Read more on Entrepreneurial management or related topic Growth strategy

  • NC

    Neil C. Churchill was a professor and leader in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship, holding positions at Carnegie-Mellon, Harvard Business School, Babson, INSEAD, and the Anderson School at UCLA.

  • VL

    Virginia L. Lewis is a senior research associate of the Caruth Institute at SMU.

Read more on Entrepreneurial management or related topic Growth strategy

The Five Stages of Small-Business Growth (2024)

FAQs

The Five Stages of Small-Business Growth? ›

Every new business and start-up, big or small, goes through the five stages of business growth. These phases include existence, survival, success, take-off, and resource maturity. All stages of small business growth come with challenges that every company will have to overcome.

What are the 5 stages of small business development? ›

According to the Harvard Business Review, they are:
  • Existence.
  • Survival.
  • Success.
  • Take-off (growth)
  • Resource maturity.
Nov 4, 2021

What are the five stages of small business growth 1983? ›

Churchill and Lewis proposed five- (5) stages of small business growth: (i) “existence,” (ii) “survival,” (iii) “success,” (iv) “take-off,” and (v) “resource maturity.” Each stage, they argued, is achieved based on a combination of attributes, such as size, diversity of operation, and business complexity, and requires ...

What are the 5 stages of business life cycle quizlet? ›

Q-Chat
  • Inception/Existence.
  • Survival.
  • Success/Growth.
  • Expansion/Take-Off.
  • Resource Maturity.

What are the 5 steps of growth and development? ›

Infancy (neonate and up to one year age) Toddler ( one to five years of age) Childhood (three to eleven years old) - early childhood is from three to eight years old, and middle childhood is from nine to eleven years old. Adolescence or teenage (from 12 to 18 years old)

What are the 5 steps of business? ›

Without taking these steps, your business could be doomed to fail before you even start selling your product.
  • Step 1: Conduct market research. ...
  • Step 2: Choose the right business structure. ...
  • Step 3: Register your business. ...
  • Step 4: Set up your accounting and bookkeeping system. ...
  • Step 5: Obtain the right insurance.

What are the five stages of growth summary? ›

It is possible to identify all societies, in their economic dimensions, as lying within one of five categories: the traditional society, the preconditions for take-off, the take-off, the drive to maturity, and the age of high mass-consumption.

How the 5 stages of business change life cycle works? ›

The five main stages of the business life cycle are launch, growth, success, maturity and decline. Once you determine which phase a business is in, you can set goals to develop your career at your current place of employment or seek work elsewhere.

What is 5 stage of economic development? ›

Unlike the stages of economic growth (which were proposed in 1960 by economist Walt Rostow as five basic stages: traditional society, preconditions for take-off, take-off, drive to maturity, and age of high mass consumption), there exists no clear definition for the stages of economic development.

How many stages are in the small business life cycle? ›

Whether you are a new business owner or have run your small business for years, it is wise to familiarize yourself with the five cycles of change: startup, growth, maturity, transition and succession.

What are the stages of business cycle growth? ›

What Are the Stages of the Business Cycle? In general, the business cycle consists of four distinct phases: expansion, peak, contraction, and trough.

What is the proper sequence of the 5 phases of a business cycle? ›

Final answer: The correct sequence of the phases of a business cycle is C. Peak, contraction, trough, recovery, expansion.

What are the five 5 stage model of organization development? ›

Summary. OD is a science-backed effort focusing on improving an organization's capacity by aligning a number of process and is related to but different than Human Resources Management. Entry, Diagnosis, Feedback, Solution and Evaluation.

What are the 5 stages of development in management? ›

These stages are commonly known as: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Tuckman's model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and leadership style changes to more collaborative or shared leadership.

What is 5 stage strategy? ›

The five stages of the process are goal-setting, analysis, strategy formation, strategy implementation and strategy monitoring.

What is Stage 4 of small business growth? ›

Stage 4: Business Renewal or Decline

This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as: Not pursuing opportunities to expand during the maturity stage. Changes to the industry affecting customer demand. Competing businesses having better products or services.

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