The 5 Stages Of Business: SET UP, START, GROW, LEAD, & COAST

There is never “one size fits all” in life or business. That’s why we separate out the stages of business here at Pursuing Private Practice.

Every stage of business is a journey! As a business owner, you’ll go through many ups and downs while moving through the stages of business. Every stage includes new information to be learned, and the chance to reflect on all the emotional highs and lows. 

We understand that business is not “just” data and working through tasks in the stages of business. Throughout these stages, we include space to process the emotional side, too. 

In today’s blog, we’ll walk you through the 5 stages of business and help you take up space in business. 

Looking for step-by-step instructions to start your private practice? Read our blog, How to Start a Private Practice: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide. 

SET UP 

In the SET UP Stage of Business, you’re ready to put a date on your calendar. Open your business within 30 days and set up a strong foundation to begin to accept clients.

There are so many emotions in this stage – you might feel on top of the work, and the next minute you might feel so fearful and scared of what’s to come. This is totally normal! 

We believe you can SET UP your business in 30 days. And we believe you have the autonomy the speed up or slow it down. 

The challenges in this stage are going to be evident, but we’re here to tell you this is very very normal and we know that you can overcome them. 

If starting a business was easy, everyone would do it.

We have a graduation checklist with 4 different areas that you’ll have to check off before moving on. 

1. Shift Your Mindset for Success: You’ll graduate after you can recognize automatic negative thoughts and challenge them with mindset shifts. 
2. Execute Important Legal Decisions: You’ll graduate when you have legally set up your business entity and have a plan for paying taxes. 
3. Define Your Ideal-ish Client: You’ll graduate when you can name your ideal-ish client and at least 3 pain point problems that your business solves. 
4. Create Your First Offer: You’ll graduate when you have set up your first offer and have a process for how a client will onboard when they purchase. 

Once you ‘graduate’, you’ll be able to accept your first client and move on to the START stage of business. 

START 

The START stage of business is where you will start to see your first few clients! 

This stage comes after SET UP, because you will need to have set up your business before you can actually accept your first official private practice client. 

The START stage is when you’ll actually start seeing clients. You’ll see at least 5 people before moving on to the next stage. You’ll be able to get your first few clients with confidence and keep them coming back. 

Before leaving this stage, you’ll have at least 5 people book an initial session with you and have them come back at least 4-5 times. This is proof that you’re helping them solve their problem. 

START is about experimenting – see what doesn’t work, see what does work, and try new things. This includes marketing, systems, boundaries, and more. 

This stage of business can feel extremely frustrating, and it can feel like you’re doing a lot of work and not getting a return on your investments. For me, I had to “fail” so many times before figuring out how to get clients to my business. 

The frustration here is that you have the confidence finally and you’re ready to see people, but you just might not be receiving the business you want because you’re new to the space. Remember, this will shift.  

For this stage, we have 4 more items you’ll have the check off before you ‘graduate’. 

1. Present Your Practice: You’ll graduate when you have announced that you’re open for business in at least 5 different ways! 
2. Network for Relationships: You’ll graduate when you have introduced your business to 10 people and formed genuine connections with at least half of them. 
3. Decide to Like Selling: You’ll graduate when you’ve had at least 10 inquiry calls and can confidently explain what you do (aim for this to be under 3 sentences!) 
4. Deliver Client Results: You’ll graduate when you’ve had 5 clients follow up and keep coming back (this means at least a few appointments!)

If you want business coaching in this stage of business, learn more about Business School and see if it’s a match for you. Business School is our business coaching program that includes education, connection, support, and accountability to help you take up space and become the business owner you were meant to be.

Once you graduate, you can move on to growing your business! 

GROW 

This stage comes after setting up your business and having a few clients coming back over and over again. 

It’s the most variable for people because it means you’re fully booked on your terms. 

This might only mean working 5 hours a week. For some people, it might mean growing to full-time. You graduate when you are fully booked on your terms. 

Similar to START, this stage is all about experimenting. You’ll be experimenting with new ways to market, and getting new systems in place, all while serving your current clients. 

You’re feeling very proud in this place, but you might be yearning for more. Maybe how to leave your current job. You’re grateful because you’re really starting to see yourself as a business owner. 

But, the challenges are there. You’re understanding more business doesn’t mean more freedom. You might start to realize you need to hire to keep this sustainable or you’re figuring out there are things you don’t like to do. 

This will prepare you for the next stage, SCALE. Here are the 4 things you’ll need to accomplish before moving on to the next stage: 

1. Make More Money: You’ll graduate when you have organized your finances, understand pricing strategy, and are making the amount of money that you desire. 
2. Streamline Your Systems: You’ll graduate when you can brainstorm, plan, execute, and evaluate a new system and know the criteria to upgrade systems. 
3. Multiply Your Marketing Results: You’ll graduate when you know what works to bring in the desired amount of leads to drive your ideal client conversion rate. 
4. Transform Your Brand: You’ll graduate when you have articulated your brand story and understand your brand position in the market. 

If you want business coaching in this stage of business, learn more about Business School and see if it’s a match for you. Business School is our business coaching program that includes education, connection, support, and accountability to help you take up space and become the business owner you were meant to be.

This stage is different for everyone – it’s about growing until you’re fully booked ON YOUR TERMS. What does that mean to you? 

LEAD 

The LEAD stage of business is about you stepping into the role of leader.

You will design a CEO role that will expand your business operations, team, and impact. 

You’ll work on acting like the leader of your company: 

• Run your business like a CEO
• Own your leadership like a CEO
• Live your life like CEO 
• Celebrate your role as a CEO 

You’ll develop a business offer that works for you and your business beyond 1:1 support. Here are some different examples of offers that extend beyond 1:1 in private practice: 

• 4-week support group for parents in your practice
• Start a supervision group
• Create a course on your method of working with clients 
• 1-hour workshop on a specific topic 
• Hire a virtual assistant to help take hours back in your week 
• Add an associate to help see clients 

You’ll graduate this stage after you complete the following 4 items: 

1. Systemize with KPIs: Successfully set up, execute, and analyze project management outcomes. 
2. Hire Your Team: Create a job description, market your new job, conduct an interview, present a job offer, and onboard a new team member. 
3. Own your leadership: Look within to process your mindset, understand your decisions, and learn how to manage your team based on your values.
4. Celebrate Your CEO Role: Celebrate the hard work that you do for your business. 

COAST 

This is a unique stage of business because you never really graduate 🙂 

This stage is really important to Pursuing Private Practice. Not a lot of people talk about coasting. 

A lot of business coaching programs talk about more and hustling, not resting and taking care of yourself. 

We think this is one of the most important stages. When you’re heading toward burnout, when you’ve had a life event, or when you just want to, you DESERVE to coast. 

What is Coasting? 

The term coasting actually came to me by accident. Someone was asking about burnout and boundaries, and I said, maybe you just need to coast. It means taking a step back so you can prioritize other important parts of your life, rest, and rejuvenate.

Sometimes in business, you need to change your business and focus on self-care. The emphasis on YOU, the business owner isn’t normal in the “typical” business world, it really is unique to our brand here at Pursuing Private Practice.

You can COAST for as long as you want (even forever in business!), but you can also end a season of COASTING and switch back to another stage. 

Our Thoughts On Coasting

Burnout is real. It’s difficult to have high energy and motivation for an extended period of time. It’s hard to care for clients and hear their stories all day, especially if a lot of clients are going through hard things. It’s challenging to grow a business, gain visibility, and organize operations. As a business owner, it’s tough to be a visionary when it seems like the market changes too fast for you to keep up.

Most importantly, it’s tough to be a human. You’re not just a business owner. You are a real person with feelings, situations that need your attention, and complexities that are going on in your life. You might be a caretaker for other humans, responsible for the finances of your family, and/or going through health challenges yourself.

All of these situations (and more!) can lead to burnout.

When we experience burnout, we often feel exhausted, demotivated, and unable to perform at our best. It can be tempting to push through and keep working at the same pace, but this only leads to further exhaustion and, ultimately, a decline in productivity. That’s why it’s so important to take a step back and allow yourself to COAST if needed. We talk about this in Business School all the time.

Coasting in business creates mixed emotions. Coasting doesn’t mean slacking off or abandoning your responsibilities altogether. It simply means recognizing your limits and adjusting your workload and expectations accordingly. By allowing yourself to coast, you give yourself the time and space you need to recover from burnout and regain your motivation. This might involve delegating some tasks to others, prioritizing your workload, or even taking some time off of work.

There are so many benefits when you coast in business. By giving yourself the chance to recharge and recover, you’ll be able to return to work with renewed energy and focus. You’ll be more productive, more creative, and better able to handle the challenges that come your way. You will also learn more about yourself as a business owner.

We don’t have a graduation “checklist” for this stage because this stage of business will always be evolving and you will never “graduate” from coasting if it’s your ultimate goal! But you can also desire to continue to grow or scale after a period of coasting. Coasting will focus on the following.

1. Enforce Your Boundaries: Your boundaries evolve as your life and business shift and change. You’ll need to communicate new boundaries. 
2. Prioritize Self-Care: Decide on your non-negotiable self-care, how to execute a self-care plan, and solutions for what gets in the way. 
3. Understand Your Personality: You’ll gain more insight into how to work with your personality and understand your innate strengths and weaknesses. 

If you want business coaching in this stage of business, learn more about Business School and see if it’s a match for you. Business School is our business coaching program that includes education, connection, support, and accountability to help you take up space and become the business owner you were meant to be.

The 5 Stages Of Business: SET UP, START, GROW, LEAD, & COAST

Remember, every stage of business is a journey and you deserve to take up space no matter what stage you’re in. 

The 5 stages of business are: 

1. SET UP
2. START
3. GROW
4. LEAD
5. COAST

These stages of business encompass the entire process of being a business owner. This blog is just a brief overview of them. Don’t feel overwhelmed when looking at them all together. Start by identifying which stage of business you’re currently in, and work from there!

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Want to work with me to build your private practice?

Business School is a comprehensive 6-month program designed to guide you through every stage of building a private practice: getting set up, seeing your first clients, growing until you’re fully booked, hiring a team, expanding your offers—and even learning how to coast when needed. Inside, you’ll follow a step-by-step curriculum with the flexibility to choose the path that fits your current stage of business and life. You’ll get access to advanced toolkits, templates, and systems for business topics like marketing and finances, but also for counseling skills and client support. Beyond the curriculum, you’re supported by personalized 1:1 coaching, weekly office hours, and monthly themes that address the real challenges of private practice. The program keeps you moving forward with built-in accountability that builds resilience and confidence so you feel like a legit business owner. Learn more and apply!