The self-sustainability stage of the small business growth cycle is a tipping point for your company but many entrepreneurs don’t even realize it.  In a previous post titled At What Stage is Your Small Business Growth? I discussed the major goal of each stage of the business growth cycle.  The self-sustainability stage has one of two paths and it is the owner’s choice as to which path to take:

  1. Grow the business into a larger business by taking it into the rapid growth stage
  2. Disengage from the business and allow the business to sustain its current level of success.

There isn’t really a right or wrong answer here.  It all depends on the personal goals of the owner.  Notice I said PERSONAL goals, not business goals.  The owner must look deep in him/herself to determine what they want out of life and define their business plan around that.  If not, then both their personal and professional life suffers as a result.

Owners frequently seek out my advice when they are at this point – stuck between the survival and self-sustainability stages (see the previous post of the same title).  They’ve lost the passion and fire that drove them in the beginning and don’t know where to take the business next.  It’s the indecision that causes the business to stagnate creating frustration for the entrepreneur.

The indecision can come from one of two places.  First, it can come from fear.  Fear of the unknown; fear of losing control; fear of _______ (you can fill in the blank, can’t you?)

The second place the indecision comes from is lack of knowledge.  If you don’t know that there is a decision to make at the self-sustainability stage it’s kind of hard to make it.  So, do you want to step back and reap the rewards of your success or do you want to continue to challenge yourself to take your business farther than you ever thought possible?  That really is the decision!  Because whichever you decide the objective of this stage of growth are the same- preparing the company to be turned over to others to run it because one person cannot achieve the self-sustainability stage alone.

So what are the objectives of the self-sustainability stage?  Well, you’ll need to stay tuned because that is the topic of discussion in my next post.

But, before you can begin working they objectives of this stage, you need to make that critical decision – what do you want out of life and how are you going to use your business to get it.  Have you made that decision yet?  Share with us how you arrive at your decision?  And, are you sure you will be happy with your life when you achieve this goal you’ve set for yourself?

These are tough questions to answer.  We are honored that our clients ask us to help them turn their indecision into decisions that create life success for them.  If you’re struggling to figure this out contact us.  We would be honored to help you too!