The Season You’re In: Know Your Business Life Cycle

(inspired by Aswath Damodaran’s work on business life cycles)

The Founder’s Dopamine Loop

Founders love momentum. We crave it. That hit of energy when a new idea clicks, a campaign takes off, or a sale pings through.

But momentum changes as your business grows and that’s where so many of us get tripped up.

When my e-commerce business started to mature (after 20 years), I kept chasing the same kind of growth that worked in its early years. Every slowdown sent me scrambling to implement new campaigns, new bundles, new systems all in search of that rush of growth.

But what had once been expansive started to feel exhausting.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was out of sync with the life cycle of the business.

The Lens That Changes Everything

Finance professor Aswath Damodaran has a way of simplifying what most people overcomplicate. He describes businesses like living organisms: they’re born, they grow, mature, and eventually either decline or reinvent themselves.

Each stage brings its own rhythm, risks, and priorities.

The challenge isn’t surviving them. It’s knowing which one you’re in and acting accordingly.

You can’t run a ten-year-old business with startup energy; and you can’t run a stable one with startup tactics.

The Four Seasons of Business

Spring: Creation and Possibility

In the beginning, everything feels possible.Ideas spark fast. You’re testing, tweaking, and proving that something works.

The energy is high, and the structure is low — and that’s exactly as it should be.

I see this with coaching clients launching their first programs, or consultants finally stepping out on their own. The founder is doing everything: sales, delivery, invoicing, marketing. And the chaos feels productive because it’s all forward motion.

The Trap: chasing too many ideas at once.

A founder might build five service packages before one takes root. Or launch new offers weekly because “it could work.”

At this stage, focus feels like restriction, but it’s actually what builds traction.

Spring energy thrives on experimentation — but you still need to choose what to water.

Summer: Growth and Expansion

Things start working. The market responds. Sales increase. The business grows, and with it, the complexity.

This is the exciting season — the one we all picture when we dream of success.

But this is also where momentum can mislead us. I’ve watched service founders say yes to every opportunity — new clients, new markets, new hires — until the business becomes unrecognizable from what actually made it successful.

A product-based business owner might triple inventory or open a second location before systems are ready. A digital creator might add three new courses before optimizing the first.

The Trap: confusing busyness for growth.

Growth feels good — but not all growth is healthy. Sometimes, doubling down on what’s already working creates more real progress than spreading into new directions.

Growth doesn’t just mean “add more.” It means “lean more into what works.”

Autumn: Maturity and Optimization

Autumn arrives quietly.The business runs well. The systems are there. The brand is recognized.

It’s the season of refinement — when small improvements can make big differences.

This is where many founders start to lose touch with their stage. I did.

At my e-commerce company, sales were steady, customers were loyal, and fulfillment ran smoothly. But I kept trying to reignite early-stage energy — launching promotions, testing new channels, tweaking endlessly. What I really needed was to focus on optimizing what already worked: margins, retention, and team efficiency.

I see this same pattern in mature service firms or established product lines. The founder grows restless and starts tinkering, or worse — overhauling what doesn’t need fixing.

The Trap: mistaking stability for stagnation.

Autumn isn’t about standing still; it’s about maturing the engine you’ve already built.

When your business is solid, growth comes from depth, not speed.

Winter: Decline or Reinvention

Every business eventually reaches a point where what used to work stops working. That doesn’t mean failure — it means the next version is waiting to emerge.

Winter is the time to evaluate honestly:Is this business still aligned with me? With the market? With what people actually need?

Sometimes the answer leads to reinvention — new positioning, new focus, a smaller, smarter model. Sometimes it leads to letting go.

I’ve worked with founders who recognized that a product line had run its course, and they pivoted to consulting with incredible success. Others realized their brand had become too broad and pared back to a focused, profitable niche.

The Trap: denial.

Holding on too tightly to a model that’s past its prime drains energy, money, and motivation.

Winter isn’t an ending — it’s an invitation to evolve.

Why This Matters

When you understand the season your business is in, you stop fighting the wrong battles.

You stop expecting startup-style results from a mature business.

You stop overcomplicating systems that don’t need reinvention.You stop chasing dopamine fixes that don’t create direction.

You start leading with intention — not reaction.

Strategy gets easier when you stop expecting spring results from an autumn business.

The Charted Course: Finding Your True Season

This is exactly the kind of perspective we bring founders through The Charted Course.

We take a full-spectrum view; how your offers, marketing, and operations connect, and identify where you are in your business life cycle. Then, we align your energy, time, and strategy with the stage you’re really in.

Because progress doesn’t come from doing more.

It comes from knowing where you are, and what kind of growth actually makes sense next.

Find out if The Charted Course is right for your business →

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