Oh, Grow Up These 8 steps will take your business from awkward adolescent to full-grown adult.

In four years of running her event planning business, Hope Lawrence has reached some milestones, including hiring her first employee and taking her first vacation. But now, the Austin, Texas, entrepreneur wants to take Michelle Hope Events to the next level. "We want to grow and do more corporate-event planning," says the 33-year-old, who envisions adding two event planners to her current staff of three, consistently and profitably surpassing the $125,000 in revenue she earned in 2006, and changing her own role from event architect to business strategist to develop contacts with corporate prospects.