You are an official small business and no longer self-employed! Congratulations!

Building a team and thinking about employee benefits is a major transition for all of us.

If you are still under $1 million in revenue, let's get to work. If you have grown beyond it, you're on to Step 6: Growth. Review this section and move on!

1. The Basics. You are now the boss. Get used to it. You can be a coach; you can be a team player; you can empower people. But ultimately, everybody knows that you started this business and you have been walking through the fires. You have earned a measure of self-respect and respect from others.

Savor the moment. OK?

Now, let's get to work. The goal is to grow the business toward sustainability so you might develop an exit strategy and liquidity model that empowers you to harvest your assets that necessarily get tied up in the business.

1. Principles: What have you recently learned about basic business practices? Do have monthly or quarterly financial statements yet? Do you track any key critical ratio?

2. Analyzing your Past: What are you doing to improve your product / services? Do you have month-end or quarterly closings? Have you attempted to do a business valuation? Do you have a statement in your business plan about leveragability? ...sustainability? Have you begun working on an equity/liquidity model?

3. Being In the Moment: Have a virtual office to operate from anywhere at anytime?

4. Directing Your Future: How close are you to your quarterly / annual financial projections?