You're energetic. You're focused. You start off with a fabulous idea that you are absolutely certain you can take you to places of amazing success. It's not just you who thinks that your business concept is a great one. Nearly everyone you talk to offers their support for your bold move. Some of them even envy your chutzpah. You embody the stuff dreams are made of. You are proud to call yourself an entrepreneur.

You know your business inside and out because you've had your hand in every decision and every move from the get go. Essentially you have become your business!

But wait! What happened? Suddenly, you've got more business than you can handle on your own. You'll have to bring in new people, new systems, new processes. Making that shift can be daunting if not completely debilitating.

This growth phenomenon is a very common challenge shared by entrepreneurs. We have seen this process time and time again. An entrepreneur's business starts to grow, and then he or she wakes up one morning and decides to close the business doors. Over the last decade, I have noticed that most businesses don't fail because they go bankrupt, but rather because the owners decided that the amount of effort they must put into their businesses is simply not worth it relative to the payoff they are currently receiving. When it all boils down, this credo holds true: Learn to work smarter, not harder. First, here's the typical cycle: The business grows, and the owner pulls back because he or she is faced with more decisions. More decisions mean more fear and indecision. More fear and indecision mean less dialogue because people shut down when they're afraid. Weakened dialogue means that business is becoming less visible and well known in the marketplace. The less that business and its principles are expressed, the more fear the entrepreneur feels, because he or she is sensing the downward spiral. It's a vicious circle, and suddenly people start saying "What happened to John? Is he still around, or did his business fall off the face of the earth?" If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be asking "What do I do now?" The down and dirty answer is this: You shift your thinking from being an entrepreneur to being a leader! You may have begun as an entrepreneur. To grow and thrive, however, you must become the leader of your company…and not just in word but in deed. Take responsibility for deciding what you want your business to look like, and start taking the bold steps you need to take to make things happen! Follow these five principles, and your actions will speak volumes for you.

1) Vulnerability: This may sound like a touchy feely word, but it's really quite practical. First, identify the weaker threads of your leadership and/or your company. Recognize any weak spots or sinkholes in your foundation. Second, address specifically-with your team, your Board, your coach or mentor-how you're going to work on those issues to shore them up. Be specific. Many leaders are afraid to discuss their shortcomings for fear of appearing incompetent. The truth is that vulnerability engenders trust, which engenders camaraderie, which engenders growth! People respect honesty because it creates a level playing field where they know who's in what position - what the strategy of the game is. Ironically, addressing your own vulnerability will make you less vulnerable in the marketplace because you'll inspire the loyalty of your team.

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