OK, so you’ve figured out that you are stuck in no-mans land.  You understand the goal and objectives to achieve the self-sustainability stage of the growth cycle and are working on it.  But, when you get there you will be faced with a critical decision – do you grow your business beyond this point or just settle into a rhythm and step away?

A while back I write a post that addressed this decision titled Is Indecision Keeping You and Your Business from Success?  It does a good job of addressing the decision and issues face by an owner at this point.  So, I won’t rehash what I write there.  But, it IS important to note that knowing this decision is coming is important.  I some ways it may change the way you build your business because the requirements of the company are different depending on the direction you take.

For example, if you plan to go into the rapid growth stage of the growth cycle, then you will need lots of capital and a solid management team to assist.  If you don’t want to miss a beat when you enter the self-sustainability stage then you need to be planning early to have access to the resources you’ll need.  This means your job as an owner changes.  You need to be seeking capital sources and assuring your management team is in place and preparing each business function to scale rapidly.  If not, then you’ll get stuck in the self-sustainability stage doing these getting your business ready for rapid growth.

On the other hand, if you want to just sit back and let the fruits of your hard work become your retirement annuity, then you need to ready your business and yourself to take a step back.  In many ways this is even harder than entering the rapid growth stage.  Why?  Because, you’ve worked for years building your business.  You become emotionally attached to it in a way that makes it hard to let go.  We see this emotional attachment many more times than not.  It is probably the single most frequent problem we encounter in small businesses and the owner’s ability to address the changes needed in themselves is the difference between life and death of the business!

So, are you ready to make the decisions necessary at the self-sustainability stage of the growth cycle?  If you’re not sure what these decisions entail I recommend that you revisit the post 4 Owner Objectives to Achieve the Self-Sustainability Stage of Business Growth.  If you need assistance in sorting out exactly where you are and what’s right step based on your situation contact us.  We would be honored to assist you in determining the best way to reach the destination that you wish to arrive.

For those of you that have arrived at your final professional destination share your journey.  It will help others see that there is more than one way to arrive at success.  I look forward to hearing your stories of success!