You are now a sole proprietor. You have taken another Flying Leap! You are on your own!

Most of us who own a small business are driven by freedom, by choice, by ownership.

As Hattie says in the opening of each episode of the show, "Small business people are optimistic — the kind of optimism that is rooted in a great idea. We can create jobs. We can create wealth. We can make the world a better place."

If you grow quickly, you may feel a need to hire some help. Once you do, you will have gone on to Step 5

1. The Basics. There is no more corporate safety net. You know how to sell to survive. And you may be discovering how quickly you can replace your old income while you enjoy the process of building your business.

If you have completed a quarter (13 weeks), have you calculated any of your critical ratios? Review our show all about money. If you are coming into these Steps here on Step 4, we recommend that you actually work through Steps 1, 2 and 3.

1. Principles: What are the fundamentals of your business? And how are you keeping these fundamentals up-to-date and relevant? Clues: Your fundamentals are your business model, business plan and valuation, financials, leveragability/sustainability model, equity/liquidity model, and an exit strategy (And to think, you've just started! )
2. Analyzing your Past: How are you nurturing your community: customers / clients/ partners / suppliers / advisors / directors/ investors / CPA / lawyer / banker? Remember, "Serve, serve, serve in order to sell, sell, sell."
3. Being In the Moment: What are you doing to manage your time, set priorities, stay on track, and keep in focus?
4. Directing Your Future: How you coming in making your first financial projections for the month? ... sales? ... cost of sales? ...G&A? And, which key critical ratios have you decided to follow? What ratios are keys in your industry?