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Stuck In the Middle of the Business Lifecycle

The 1990s was the decade for starters. Most entrepreneurs got trapped into the following thought process: How can we come up with the threads of an idea that will get us funding from other people so we can start a business and exit quickly with a lot of money?

Part of the Internet fantasy was to start a business and get out by selling it to someone else who would supposedly then build it into a "real" business. You know, the kind with revenue and cash flow that Internet-era businesses were exempt from?

The job of the 1990's entrepreneur was to start--not finish. That was someone else's responsibility. This kind of talk exposes the kind of shell game we were all playing. The pyramid scheme was what the stock market taught us to play during this decade.

During this time, selling the business you haven't yet started to someone else was the popular strategy all by itself. We were building "designer" companies that were only started for one purpose: sell them quick!

In "The Monk and the Riddle," Randy Komisar narrates a parable of Lenny who wants to start Funerals.com only to make money by selling it. Things have changed in the 2000s. We have been forced to go back to the way successful business cycles have always worked.

In the Beginning

You will start off with the passions, dreams and visions of what you want this business to be. In some ways, this is one of the best parts.

There is nothing like starting a new business with fresh ideas and an exciting plan on what you want to do. It is similar to the sheer innocence and endless promise of a new baby coming into this world. You need this naivete when starting your business or you may think twice and it may never get off the ground.

David Ormesher, CEO of Chicago-based closerlook, started his company 16 years ago because he had the passion to launch a creative marketing firm. As he tells the story, Dave went across the street to Brehon's Pub with his partner and started making cold calls on pay phones.

Stuck in the Middle

You will not control this part. One day, you will just find yourself where the innocence of running your business has been shattered. You may just try to survive the daily ups and downs. You will dig and hold onto your passion, trying to learn from your mistakes and valiantly steering the business in whatever direction makes sense to you.

Entrepreneurs at this stage do very little choosing and more doing. They look around as broadly as possible at their situation and react. They do whatever comes next based on the results of their last decision.

Every decision you will make will be based on incomplete information. No matter how many "facts" you collect, there is no right answer. The only wrong decision is not to make one. If the decision turns out to be a bad one, don't kick yourself. Evaluate where you went wrong and go make another decision whether it's right or wrong.

One of the key skills at this stage is flexibility. Like a football runner, be prepared to run to your left or the right depending on where you see an opportunity to advance (for football fans, the lingo is that the "runner is going for the hole"). Listen carefully to what your clients tell you about your product through their acceptance or rejection of the parts of your business solution.

Your next step is to evolve and change to meet their needs. Jeff Shuman calls this "the rhythm of business".

In 2000, I remember listening to Alan Warms, CEO of Chicago-based Participate.com, speak articulately about building and managing communities on the Web. The company was getting ready to go public in April 2000 when the market crashed. A few years later, Alan had to "morph" his company to what his clients wanted in order to build a successful business.

He was able to evolve his company into Participate Systems, which now sells software that captures the knowledge of top sales professionals and puts it to work for the entire sales force.

At the End

Though you want to call this at your choosing, you typically won't have a choice.

This may be a profitable end of the story where you sell your business. It may be you calling it quits because the economics of the business make no sense or you have lost your drive. If you can recognize that you are at this end stage, you will have choices. Remember: winners know how and when to quit.

If you work hard and are lucky enough, you'll not only be able to start a business but you may be able to sell one, too. Jack Miller started Quill, an office supply business, in his dad's chicken store in 1956. Forty-two years later, he and his brothers, Harvey and Arnold, sold the company to Staples for $690 million.

Today, all entrepreneurs need to be prepared to go through all stages of business. This is what you're signing up for. Be prepared for at least a five to 10-year journey. The prize now goes to those who compete long enough, survive and build something that has value. Congratulate the company owners that have been in business for 10 or 20 years. They are my heroes.