Let's start off by getting crystal clear on something. Your business has to work for you.

Now, I'm sure many owners reading this are driven by passion and the desire to help others or make some improvement in the world (which is important, by the way), but that's not the only thing you need from your business.

For example, you can't make the world a better place or improve people's lives through your business long-term if it's not making any money. That's called a charity... and even charities have to raise money.

You can't continue running your business long-term if it's not paying you. And if it's not paying you well, you're going to have to find money from elsewhere, which means you can't give your business your full attention.

So you have to be clear on not just what your business needs to do for others (the customers, team, and taxman) but what it does for you also. I hope we're agreed on that because if you're ever feeling flat in your business, it's because it's no longer fulfilling your needs.

So what do business owners want from their businesses?

Over the years, I've identified four key things business owners want, and they fall neatly into the four Fs (please feel free to suggest more if you think I'm missing something).

Fulfilment
Finances
Fun
Freedom

You might resonate with some of them more than others, but I'm confident that you will nod your head at at least one of them.

Now here's where it gets really interesting and where I believe you're going to have some A-ha moments.

Business owners go through different but predictable mental stages while owning businesses, and at each stage, what you want/need from the four Fs changes.

Fail to recognize this or adapt to the stages, and you start to experience dropping motivation until, eventually, you feel trapped in and dislike your business.

So let's briefly go over those four stages and how your needs change at each.

All small business owners go through, or should I say try to go through, the following four stages with their businesses.

1 - Startup
2 - Success to Slog
3 - Systems
4 - Sale or Scale

The common challenge, as you can see from the image, is owners getting stuck in the slog phase.

The problem is that they usually don't recognize this is what is happening, so they stay stuck, feeling increasingly demotivated.

What you're about to read will mean you don't ever get stuck here unknowingly, and if you know of anyone that is stuck here, please be sure to share this article with them and get them unstuck.

1 - Startup

Typically lasts between 8-18 months.

In this stage, you're excited by your new idea and happy to not be working for anyone else.

You're willing to work a hell of a lot without expecting much in return.

This is because you're finding satisfaction from Fulfilment and Freedom.

Finances and maybe Fun don't matter to you too much at this stage.

2 - Success to Slog

This stage should last from around 2-6 years, depending on different factors.

In this stage, you have a steady base of clients, and you're growing a small team.

Everything is reliant on you, but (while in the success part of this phase) you enjoy that. You like the team and clients looking up to you; you like leading the ship.

Initially, in this stage, you're finding satisfaction from Fulfilment, Finances, and possibly Fun.

But at some point, the novelty of you working crazy hours and being involved in every decision starts to wear off. This is very natural. This is the business maturing and starting to require less visionary creativity and more systemized efficiency.

This is you starting to crave more Freedom.

The way to move out of this funk and into more Freedom is by moving into a stage you're probably not very passionate about—Systems.

3 - Systems

If done well, this stage should last about 2 years.

Systems are a win/win at a certain stage of business because they free the owner up, empower the leadership team, and make a more consistent service or product experience available to a wider audience.

Systems don't just give an owner more time; they enable you to step away from the tasks you really don't enjoy... like weekly meetings, dashboards, and holding people accountable to tasks... urgh.

Of course, the challenge is that most business owners are visionary and ideas-driven, so they dislike and avoid systems.

That's why we offer the Fractional Integrators Service. It enables owners and their teams to implement the systems their business needs without the owner having to do the legwork.

Generally speaking, in the systems phase, owners crave Freedom and Finances from their businesses.

You've worked hard and sacrificed a lot to get it to where it is. You could have stayed in a job and had a much easier life, so it's natural that now you—and your family—want to see a decent financial return to justify those sacrifices.

Systems give you both of those.

They free you from the business by empowering your leadership team.

They increase the performance and efficiency of the business, meaning there is more money.

And most importantly, they turn your business into a sellable, valuable asset. It's selling your business that ultimately justifies the work you've put in.

4 - Sale or Scale

Working through the systems phase will naturally deliver you to the sale or scale phase. In the sale or scale phase, the way you find satisfaction is through all of the Fs—Freedom, Fulfilment, Finances, and Fun.

Obviously, you get finance from the sale.

Your business is systemized, so there's plenty of time for fun.

You've created a business that will live beyond you and continue to employ people for years to come, so you have a huge sense of fulfilment.

And of course, when it's sold, you have freedom (to probably go and do it all over again).

A word of caution: The mistake I see so many business owners make is staying stuck in the slog phase for years, avoiding systems, and then one day trying to bypass the systems phase and jump straight to sale.

Every year in the UK, around 300,000 businesses close. That's not being sold—they simply close down.

And 80% of all UK businesses that get listed for sale never sell.

If you want to sell your business eventually (and you should because it's a win/win for everyone), you've got to start thinking about it now.

If you're feeling a bit flat or things are stagnant, it's not that you or your business is broken... it's just that you've maxed out the first two stages and you need to move to systems.

If implementing systems feels overwhelming to you, then jump on a call with my team via the button below.

We'll help you get clarity and understand exactly what you need to do to take your business to the next level and get your mojo back (even if you don't want to work with us!).

I've also explained these concepts in more detail in the video below.

So go take action, fellow business owner—you've got this.

Thanks,
Mike
The Fractional Integrators - Co-Founder