Recognizing Growth Stages

Small-business success doesn’t just happen. Some fairly predictable but not very orderly stages characterize its evolution. Most entrepreneurs caught up in the day-to-day goings on in a business don’t recognize these stages until they’ve passed. Well, it’s time to open your eyes. The following sections describe the three stages of business evolution.

The start-up years

The start-up years are the period when survival motivates your thoughts and actions. Everything that happens within the business is dominated by you; words such as delegation, team, and consensus generally are not yet part of the business’s vocabulary. These are the hands-on years. For some owners, they’re the most enjoyable years of the business; for all owners, they’re an integral part of the learning process.