Key insights
- Gather a supportive network of trusted advisors and strategic partners who understand where you want to go with your business and can help you secure a stable and sustainable future.
- Understanding the ebbs and flows of your business and how to effectively use capital can enhance your return on investment.
- Learn how to establish a rock-solid internal control environment and strengthen business acumen to support ethical and efficient operations.
Who do you need on your team to help get you to the next level?
In today’s business landscape, the path to unlocking an organization’s growth potential frequently involves strategic outsourcing. Access to robust and effective resources and services is essential for businesses at various developmental stages.
Learn how professional outsourcing services can help facilitate value, build a comprehensive support system to address your organization’s needs, and foster opportunities for growth.
Learning the four stages of business development
The journey of business development unfolds through various stages, each requiring distinct strategies and a deep understanding of your organization’s lifecycle — from startup to renewal.
Throughout this progression, having a supportive network of trusted advisors and strategic partners can help you meet the challenges and opportunities of each stage and secure a stable and sustainable future.
Establish
The "establish" phase concentrates on foundational needs, emphasizing the importance of creating a sound financial structure. During this phase, you may want to prioritize setting up your organization’s financial house to create a solid platform for future growth.
Consider creating a comprehensive ecosystem of advocates who understand and align with your organization’s goals and bring a diverse range of skills and perspectives to the table. This supportive network can become a foundation for informed decision-making and strategic planning, particularly when it comes to understanding your organization’s financials and operations.
Expand
In the "expand" stage, your focus may shift to leveraging growth opportunities and reinforcing internal structure. Strategies include leveraging data and automation, enhancing bank and stakeholder reporting, and understanding value drivers. Assistance with hiring talent becomes increasingly vital, as does evaluating risks and controls.
This stage is pivotal for businesses to understand their market position and prepare for scaling operations.
Pinpoint your market position
The pursuit of business growth and success often involves engaging a professional services firm to perform a thorough business opportunity assessment to provide a clear and detailed picture of your organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
The process entails a comprehensive understanding of the cyclical nature of your business and its overall situation. Analysis offers many benefits, like:
- Building a strategic planning foundation
- Identifying areas for improvement and better use of resources
- Anticipating future business opportunities
- Providing a basis for assessing progress
Strengthen
The "strengthen" phase is when businesses can think about being proactive — securing their achievements and solidifying their market position.
This stage is about safeguarding assets, securing infrastructure, and preparing for potential mergers or acquisitions. It’s a period of introspection and refinement, where you can align your organization’s internal environment with your external success.
Focus on creating a fortified structure that can withstand the pressures of expansion and the scrutiny of public markets. This involves accurately documenting and presenting historical financial performance, as these records will be critical in negotiations and value assessments.
Revenue figures don’t always correlate with a business’s operational maturity, making it imperative for internal operations to be as impressive as external success indicators.
Transition
Whether you’re thinking about turning over your business through sale or by succession, you’ll likely need to prepare for your exit by conducting a thorough analysis of financials, operations, and market position.
Transition could involve everything from negotiating terms and structuring the transaction to preparing employees and customers for leadership change. It can be a deeply emotional time, as you balance providing for you and your family with the seamless transition of your business.
An experienced team of advisors can help you identify potential successors, develop a succession plan, and train your successor with the support they need to succeed in their new role and continue your legacy.
How we can help
Businesses are encouraged to invest in professional support and advisory services to free up their time and focus on growth-driving activities, such as improving product offerings and market presence.
At CLA, our people come to work every day with a clear-cut purpose: to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities. We’re experienced in delivering integrated wealth advisory, digital, outsourcing, audit, tax, and consulting services to help you succeed professionally and personally.
Contact us
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