Business Stages

1. Startup or business birth This part of the business stage is simultaneously the most difficult and rewarding. It starts off as a business idea and progresses into materialization of the idea. This is a journey fraught with impediments, doubts, fears and wrong advisers. It comes along with the need for business planning which is ignored or found bothersome by Kenyan micro enterprises. Yet this is the roadmap needed to guide the business, passion is not enough you require direction to get the business moving forward. The next step is financial resources a real headache for all micro and small business people. This can come from borrowing family and friends, selling unwanted items you have on OLX, Pigiame and all other online platforms to raise capital. I know this as; I was able to raise some capital to run this online business from selling shoes, clothes, printers, crashed laptops, kitchen gadgets and many more. The business name, registration, location, product buying, service creation are all determined at this stage. 2. Business Survival At this stage most micro and small business are usually struggling under immense barriers such as limited cash flow due to debtors and limited technical skill to have competitive advantage. The entrepreneur should have at this stage mastered the markets fully and undertaken relevant sector training. A casual glance at businesses reveal: consecutive mobile phone shops; many of the same money transfer shops in the same area; boutiques; fruit stalls; hawking clothes and fruits and many others. This is despite the dominoes effect that occurs when markets are highly saturated. Check out the case studies of Balloon Kenya in creating business competitive edge in Nakuru at www.balloonkenya.com 3. Business Death or Exit This stage is the crushing finale for most micro and small businesses in the first three years.This inevitable stage in Kenyan micro and small enterprises is caused by a multitude of factors such as making small profit margins and stiff competition from rivals.Yet all that is needed is a shift of focus on policy implementation to actually reach the many micro and small business people for the sector to rival big business. Sources Kilonzo, D. (2006). “Barriers affecting the growth and development of micro and small enterprises in Kenya”. Masters Dissertation. University of Northampton, United Kingdom. Available on request. The Micro and Small Enterprises Act (2012). Kenya Gazette Supplement. The Government Printer, Nairobi.