5 Stages of Growth Quiz

What are the five stages of small business growth?

Existence → Survival → Success → Take-off → Resource Maturity

What is the main goal of the Existence stage?

Get enough customers and successfully provide the product/service so the business can survive.

🧠 Think: “Can we even make this business work?”

What is the main focus of the Survival stage?

Making enough money to cover expenses and keep the business running.

🧠 Think: “Can we stay in business?”

What is the biggest difference between Existence and Survival?

Existence = getting customers and becoming a real, viable business.
Survival = the business is working, so now it needs enough cash to keep going.

What is the main decision in the Success stage?

The owner must decide whether to keep the business stable and profitable or grow it.

🧠 Think: “Stay comfortable or grow?”

What are the two types of the Success stage?

Success-Disengagement (III-D) and Success-Growth (III-G).

What happens in Success-Disengagement (III-D)?

The business is doing well, but the owner steps back and spends more time on other interests while keeping the business successful.

🧠 D = Disengage

What happens in Success-Growth (III-G)?

The owner chooses to grow the business and prepares the company and managers for that growth.

🧠 G = Growth

What is the main focus of the Take-off stage?

Growing quickly and figuring out how to pay for that growth.

🧠 Think: “We're growing FAST—can we handle it?”

What are the two biggest challenges in Take-off?

Delegation and cash.

• Delegation: The owner has to let managers take responsibility.

• Cash: Rapid growth requires a lot of money.

What is the main goal of Resource Maturity?

Manage a larger, successful business while keeping the flexibility and entrepreneurial spirit of a small business.

🧠 Think: “We're big now, but don't lose what made us successful.”

What is ossification?

When a company becomes unwilling to take risks or innovate.

🧠 Think: “We're too comfortable to change.”

What are the four factors related to the business?

Financial resources, personnel resources, systems resources, and business resources.

Easy version:

• 💰 Money

• 👥 People

• 📊 Systems

• 🏢 Business resources (customers, suppliers, technology, reputation, etc.)

What are the four factors related to the owner?

Goals, operational ability, managerial ability, and strategic ability.

Easy version:

• 🎯 What does the owner want?

• 🔨 Can they do the work?

• 👥 Can they manage/delegate?

• 🔮 Can they plan for the future?

How does the owner's role change as the business grows?

The owner goes from doing most of the work → managing and delegating to other people.

🧠 Think:

Small business: “I have to do everything.”
Growing business: “I need other people to do things and I need to manage them.”