Surviving the First 5 Years of Business: What It Really Takes to Grow and Thrive
- Snazz the Edit
- Sep 28
- 4 min read
Learn from Brooke Summer Adams as she breaks down the real struggles and milestones every small business owner faces, and how to overcome them
I’m Brooke Summer Adams. I didn’t grow up around entrepreneurs, role models, or money. I grew up on a council estate in England where the “safe” option was a steady job, a payslip, and keeping your head down. Freedom wasn’t something women like me were shown.
But I wanted it anyway.
I wanted the kind of life where no one told me how much I could earn, how many days off I was allowed, or how much of myself I had to shrink to fit into someone else’s box. So I built a business. Not because I had the perfect plan or the funding. But because I decided the alternative, staying where I was, wasn’t an option anymore.
Five years later, I run a global coaching business that helps new coaches go full-time and
create freedom for themselves. But getting here wasn’t smooth. It was scrappy, emotional, and nothing like the Instagram highlight reel.
Here’s how it really went down.
Year 1 – The “What the hell am I doing?” Stage
The first year felt like being thrown into the deep end without knowing how to swim. I was scared of showing up online, convinced people from my hometown were laughing at me, and terrified of failing in public.
I had no idea about marketing, no clue about tech, and most of my “strategy” came from Googling late at night. But I kept moving. I posted shaky videos, wrote captions that made me cringe, and said yes to things that scared me.
Key win? I proved to myself I could get paid for something other than a 9-5.
Key struggle? Self-doubt so loud it felt like a second job.
Lesson: Confidence isn’t something you wait to have. You build it in the mess.
Year 2 – The Hustle Hangover
By year two, I had tasted momentum, but I was exhausted. I thought working harder would mean faster results, so I said yes to everything and ended up burning myself out.
This was the year I realised I wasn’t just building a business, I was rebuilding my identity. Every decision, every time I pressed “post” when my hands were shaking, was a choice to back myself instead of waiting for permission.
Key win? The first time someone told me, “You’ve changed my life.” That hit harder than any number in my bank account.
Key struggle? Feeling like I was on a hamster wheel, never doing enough.
Lesson: Rest is a business strategy. If you don’t build in space to breathe, you’ll quit before it works.
Year 3 – Bold Moves
Year three was the turning point.
I stopped making decisions based on where I was, and started moving like the woman I was becoming. I stopped waiting to feel ready and chose to play in what I call the entrepreneurial Goldilocks zone - just far enough outside my comfort zone that it scared me, but close enough that I could still act.
And that’s when everything multiplied. My growth 10x’d compared to the years before because I finally understood: the present doesn’t dictate your future unless you let it.
Key win? The moment I realised the fastest way to grow is to make decisions from where you’re going, not where you are.
Key struggle? Letting go of the safety blanket of small moves.
Lesson: If it feels bold, it’s probably right.
Year 4 – New Levels, New Devils
By year four, it looked like I’d made it. Full client roster. Consistent income. Recognition. From the outside, it was shiny.
But behind the scenes? I was dealing with “can I keep it?”, which is a way scarier question than “can I do it?”
Refund requests. Team growing pains. Launches that didn’t land the way I wanted. Suddenly, the fear wasn’t about failing. It was about dropping what I’d built.
And yet, that pressure forged me into a real CEO. I learned boundaries. I learned systems. I learned that success doesn’t mean your problems vanish, it just means you get bigger ones.
Key win? Proving I could survive the wobble and come back stronger.
Key struggle? Separating my self-worth from my revenue.
Lesson: “Can I do it?” will always be more fun to answer than “can I keep it?”
Year 5 – Ease Earned
This year has been about bringing in the ease I worked so damn hard for. I stopped performing. I stopped apologising. I stopped forcing myself into business rules that never fit me in the first place. And the wild part? The more I leaned into who I actually am, the easier it all became.
Ease didn’t come because I took shortcuts. It came because I built the systems, made the scary moves, survived the storms, and then let myself enjoy what I’d created.
Key win? Waking up and realising: this is the life I once prayed for.
Key struggle? Allowing myself to celebrate it without guilt.
Lesson: Ease isn’t luck. It’s what you get when you keep showing up long enough to earn it.
What I’d Tell Anyone Starting Out and Surviving the First 5 Years of Business
Five years in, here’s what I wish someone told me at the start:
● Stop waiting for it to feel safe. It never will.
● You’ll want to quit - don’t. Cry if you need to, but then get up and keep moving.
● Not everyone will understand you. That’s the point.
● Your business won’t grow faster than you do. Work on you as much as you work on your
offers.
● Celebrate everything - your first post, your first inquiry, your first yes. Those little wins
are the bricks you’ll build your empire on.
Five years ago, I was the girl hiding online, scared to fail. Today, I’m the woman who built a business that gave her freedom, choice, and pride in who she’s become. And if you’re wondering if you can do it too? You can. The only difference between me then and me now is this: I stopped waiting for permission.
Surviving the first 5 years of business can be hard, but you know have the toolkit and guide to get through it strong and on top.