If you’re running a business with somewhere between one and ten people, you already know the feeling: everything is urgent, everyone wears multiple hats, and “process” often feels like a luxury you can’t afford yet.

You’re not doing it wrong. You’re simply in the Start-Up Stage of Organizational ReWilding—the first of seven predictable stages every growing company moves through.

In Stage 1, leaders are ideally spending 40 percent of their time and energy wearing the Visionary Face, 10 percent wearing the Manager Face, and 50 percent wearing the Specialist Face. Stage 1 is almost equal parts providing the vision for the company and executing on that vision.

A Stage 1 company’s Gates of Focus are Profit first, People second, then Process third. Business leaders embracing these Gates of Focus should be constantly thinking about how decisions will impact the company’s profitability. Their energy should be focused on activities that generate revenue and increase profits.

In Stage 1, the ideal Builder-Protector Ratio is 4:1, which means there is four times the amount of confidence as there is caution in the organization. The other way to understand the 4:1 Builder-Protector Ratio is that 80% of the team are Builders, while 20% are Protectors. An organization with a 4:1 Builder-Protector Ratio exhibits a very high level of confidence.

A Stage 1 leader guides their team with a strong vision, focuses on people’s potential, and takes charge to lead the organization through chaos. This ideal blend results in an organization that has a picture of where it is headed, is comprised of high functioning, engaged team members, and pushes through chaos with decisive decision making. 

A Stage 1 business has between 1-10 employees. One of the top five challenges businesses of this size face is destabilization stemming from chaos. As a business owner, you don’t want your employees to be overly stressed or unsure how to go about doing their work. Nor do you want the burden of unclear processes slowing everyone down.

Understanding the stages of business growth, and how companies progress through these stages, is essential for any entrepreneur hoping to thrive in the chaotic beginnings of starting a company.