I remember the day I launched my first official business, M & E Painting. It was March of 2005, and I had just been fired from a mortgage banking job that I hated. I was standing in a parking lot with all my professional belongings in a banker’s box. I remember being angry and scared, then excited and optimistic. It was at this moment that I decided to jump 100% into entrepreneurship. From that best-worst day of my life, I have never looked back.

Do you remember the first days of starting your business? Those days turn into weeks, months, and then years. They are filled with a mixture of emotions such as fear and doubt, and optimism and positivity. I was excited to be on my own, to make my own decisions, create my own path, and grow my business on my terms. When you started your company, if you were anything like me, you were just happy not to be working for a jerk of a boss at a job you hated!

However, there was one little thing I did not know when I started my business that I wish I knew then. There are different levels and stages to business, and with each one comes new challenges and things you must focus on as an entrepreneur. There will also be things that will try to prevent you from advancing to the next level.

The three levels are:

GROW, SCALE, and BUILD.

This week’s blog will focus on the first level, GROW. All small business owners begin here.

GROW is an acronym for Grind, Repeat, Operate, Work. When you are in the GROW phase, you are hustling, working harder than you ever have, and neck deep in the daily operations of the business. Growth is you focused. You work harder, then smarter. You work longer hours before becoming more efficient in your operations. Your business will grow as you become better at the core concepts of your business, which are marketing, sales, delivery, and collection. You are the center focus, as well as the bottleneck of your business. You are the marketer, face of the business, salesperson, accountant, and operations person. You wear all the hats, and many times feel like you are running around with your hair on fire.

As mentioned, all entrepreneurs start here. The issue is that many stay here, and feel trapped here, never having hope for escape. The feeling at this stage is work, work, work, grind, grind, grind, go, go, go, hustle, hustle, hustle. Can I just take a vacation for a few days already?!

There is a massive problem at this stage, and here is a question to ask yourself to discover if you find yourself stuck here. Can your business run without you?

The obvious answer is, NO! Imagine stepping away from your phone for a few hours, maybe even a few days. What would happen? How fast would the wheels fall off? The double-edged sword of this stage is that due to the fact that you are working so hard with such long hours, you may have lower expenses. “I mean, why hire somebody when I can do it myself,” you say. You may be very profitable here, but the issue is you have no time freedom to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You may be missing breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the family, and may be letting precious moments with your family slip by as you spend time away from them.

So many entrepreneurs get stuck here, and feel there is no way out. They are so inundated with all the tasks they have put on themselves to work in the business, that they have no way to work on the business. They are moving too fast and are too busy to step out of their own way, ask for help, and recruit and develop a team.

Many times, the GROW level of business leaves a business owner feeling like a slave to the very business they initially created to bring them freedom.

Are you stuck here? If so, here are a few questions to ask yourself. Once you answer these questions, we can start getting to work to get you to the next level.

• How many hours are you working? What are you doing? Take out your calendar and detail out every 30 minutes of your day. Categorize your tasks into 5 categories. Marketing.  Sales. Delivery. Collection. Administrative. 
• What are you most skilled at and most passionate about out of the above things? What is your zone of passion and genius when it comes to business? If you could do only one thing in the business, what would it be?
• What do you hate most in the business? What do you stink at? What totally kills your passion and excitement in your business, even though the business requires it?
• What is your income per hour? Take your total monthly or annual profit divided by the hours worked over that time.
• Now that you have your income per hour determined, look at your calendar. How many of the tasks that you are completing are below your pay grade and can be delegated? On top of that, how many of those items are not within your zone of passion and genius? These are the things you need to delegate immediately.
• Are you a solopreneur, doing everything by yourself? Do you have team members?
• If you have team members, do they have a clearly defined role, job description, KPIs (key performance indicator) and most importantly autonomy to complete their job?
• Are you a control freak or a micromanager?

For now, I just want you to take this blog in. If you are where I was, you may have just realized you are trapped, stuck, and drowning at the GROW level of your business. If you are feeling overwhelmed, keep a few things in mind.

First, all business owners start here, and there is value in being here. Many times, you need to be here to fully understand where you excel in business and what the business needs next. One of the benefits of working through this stage is that it tests your resolve and grit as an entrepreneur. When you make it through the GROW phase and onto the next phase, you will be faced with new challenges, but you will have built the muscles you need to be steadfast in your business.

 Tune in next week when I will share the SCALE level of business, how to get there, why it is so important, and why so many entrepreneurs have trouble making it to this level.

For more free tools on how to grow your business and advance your leadership, click here.