163. Your Business Growth Plan 100% Depends on Your Stage of Business
Feb 13, 2026
There’s a reason certain strategies feel confusing, heavy, or premature in your business, and it’s not because you’re doing something wrong.
It’s because business growth happens in stages, and each stage requires a different kind of focus, energy, and plan.
In this episode, I want to help you slow down, zoom out, and understand where you actually are, so you can stop forcing growth and start building something that lasts.
Why One-Size-Fits-All Growth Plans Don’t Work
So many entrepreneurs are exposed to strategies meant for businesses at completely different stages than their own. You might be just getting started, while the advice you’re following is designed for someone scaling a team or expanding systems.
That mismatch creates pressure. It creates confusion.
And it often leads to starting over instead of moving forward.
When you understand that business growth is designed to happen in an order, clarity replaces chaos.
Business Grows Like a House Is Built
Think about building a house.
You wouldn’t install the roof before laying the foundation. You wouldn’t pick out cabinets before knowing the size of the space. And you wouldn’t frame the walls without a blueprint.
Your business works the same way.
Each stage builds on the one before it. When you honor that order, growth becomes intentional instead of reactive.
Stage One: Getting Started (Clarity Comes First)
This is the stage where you’re answering the big foundational questions:
What am I building?
Who am I here to serve?
Why does this business exist?
This phase is about clarity, confidence, and alignment—not rushing to monetize or copy what others are doing. The energy you build from here flows into everything that comes next.
Stage Two: Foundation & Consistency
Once clarity is in place, it’s time to create structure.
This is where you move from piecemealing ideas into a real plan, offers, rhythms, pricing, and consistent ways of showing up. You’re building something you can commit to for the long term, not just the next month.
Consistency creates trust, for you and your audience.
Stage Three: Expansion & Capacity
At this stage, your business can no longer rely solely on your personal energy.
You begin building systems, support, and data-driven decision-making. This is the shift from solopreneur to CEO, where discernment, leadership, and sustainability become essential.
Stage Four: Elevation & Legacy
This is where scaling becomes intentional.
Your systems, team, and leadership allow the business to operate beyond you, without losing alignment, integrity, or purpose. This stage is about impact, longevity, and creating something that outlives a single season.
Build for the Long Game
Business is a skill. It requires knowledge, resources, and patience.
When you build in the right order, you stop chasing short-term fixes and start creating a business that’s strong, sustainable, and deeply aligned with who you are.
That’s how real growth happens, and that’s how legacies are built.
Resources:
Sign up for “The CEO Shift” FREE webinar!
https://www.spiritualbusinessincubator.com/the-ceo-shift
Purchase my book here!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1966346050/
Get the Aligned Biz Quiz here!
https://www.spiritualbusinessincubator.com/hd-quiz
Ready to design your business around your Human Design?
Book a 1:1 Human Design for Business Reading:
www.spiritualbusinessincubator.com/hdreading
Learn more about your Human Design with the 64 Gates Library
https://www.spiritualbusinessincubator.com/hdlibrary
Get your personalized Entrepreneur by Design HD Report:
https://www.spiritualbusinessincubator.com/business-report
Interactive Human Design Chart:
https://www.spiritualbusinessincubator.com/hdchart
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamannanichols
Instagram: @iamannanichols (https://www.instagram.com/iamannanichols)
Design Your Aligned Business PDF Guide:
https://iamannanichols.ck.page/aligned_biz_guide