All of us ask, "Should I finally take some real income or push even more money back into the company?" Your business finally has solid-growth. That makes for a very special small business.

A very sincere, "Congratulations." You are approaching, or you have made it beyond $1 million in annual revenue; you have broken a special barrier. It seems to be a benchmark. Often it marks the difference between those who are creating jobs for others and those who do not want employees.

For those of you who are building a long-term business, the next benchmark seems to be get over $4M mark consistently, and then move on to the $10M mark. Our benchmark is sustainability and leveragability. We also call it, Staying Power.

If you have had consistent growth for over five years and your projections are for five more years of consistent growth, you will have moved on to Step 7: Sustainability.

1. The Basics. You are hiring managers and you are sharing some of your executive roles with others.

1. Your basics. What knowledge management systems are you implementing?

2. Your past. Have you added an extranet and intranet to give your customers and employees mobile access to the company's information? Are all your employees learning to read the month-end or quarterly closings? Are they tracking key critical ratios in their areas? Is there a five-year business plan?

3. Your present. Is there consensus regarding a possible equity/liquity model?

4. Your future. How close are you to your quarterly financial projections? Which key critical ratios do you follow most closely? Have you begun formalizing some ideas about an exit strategy?