The Five Stages of Change for Small Business Owners

Change is a tricky thing. If you are Phoenix karaoke contemplating the changes that will occur by becoming a successful small business owner, it will be helpful for you to have a bird’s eye view of where you are along the continuum.

To that end, Dr. James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente developed a Transtheoretical Model of Change in 1982 that has been applied to everything from weight loss to drug addiction with great success and acclaim. Though their model has never before been applied to those considering starting up a successful small business, it is a very relevant model that will help take the pressure off individuals thinking they should be further along than where they are, and provide a compassionate understanding of where each person is along the scale.

Prochaska and DiClemente’s Transtheoretical Model of Change identifies five stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.

This stage could really be called “the precursor-to-change” stage. This is the stage when individuals may not even be thinking about becoming small business owners. In fact, in this stage, they may not even be aware that it would be beneficial for them to make a change, though other individuals around them may be thinking that they should. This stage’s motto is: Ignorance is bliss.

In the Contemplation Stage, individuals are aware that a change is needed and they actually desire to make a change. Although they are seriously thinking about change, they have no clear plan of action because they are feeling ambivalent about change. This stage’s motto is: Just sitting on the fence waiting to see what will come along.

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