Five Stages of Small Business Growth

Stages of Small Business Growth
In this section, we delve into each stage. Each stage has a snapshot/scorecard slide, which covers the following topics: overview, key questions and challenges, management style, strategic focus, organizational state, state of systems and processes, relationship between business and owner, and examples. One important thing to note is that, although the name of this framework refers to "small business," by the end of Stage IV (Take Off), companies in question are "enterprise" organizations.

Critical Success Factors
We look at the CSFs of cash, owner's ability to executive, owner's ability to delegate, and strategic planning and their importance during each stage of growth. This section also examines various management factors that are critical to success.

Additional Considerations
This section tabulates important considerations to keep in mind for preparing for and avoiding future problems. We also show the various paths to growth and exit opportunities available at each stage of growth.

Case Examples
This section includes a case study on Starbucks. In addition, we show how this framework applies to all small business categories, even the extreme examples of Franchises and Web Startups.