You’ve had the idea; you’ve launched the business and you have the enthusiasm and energy of a toddler in a new playground. You’re full of ideas and can see what a huge success your business venture can be – until its not. Soon enough, your ‘business baby’ starts to feel hard and you start having feelings of doubt.

So, you’ve had a eureka moment and you’ve decided to start a new business. But how on earth do you even start to do this? What are the things you need to do to ensure it goes the distance? With 10% of businesses not lasting more than 12 months (and 70% failing between years two to five), it’s important not to jump in feet first.

In Michael E-Gerber’s book ‘The E-Myth’, he discusses the three key stages of a business and looks at the different roles a business owner has in fulfilling the journey to success.

In my first blog post, I questioned the importance of why you are doing what you are doing and I explained that what you, your staff, and your customers will buy into has to be authentically linked back to your why.

Why? A compelling question but, at the same time, one with so many unwanted negative connotations.