Due to their role in the economy, SMEs have increasingly been in the spotlight in recent decades. Their percentage amongst all the operating enterprises is more than 99,9%, SMEs produce more than half of the GDP, meanwhile almost 73% of the employees work in this sector. Family businesses cover the biggest part of these types of enterprises both in Europe and in Hungary. They might be more efficient than other small enterprises, however, they are to face some hindering factors which affect their competitiveness. Funding and operating an enterprise constitute of several stages, from preparation and establishment to the operation and the possible future. In our publication we present the main steps of the entrepreneurial process (preparation, starting, operation stages) by the example of a Hungarian family business, SoReCa Ltd., which is acting in the catering industry. The paper describes the entrepreneurial process of the company from the idea generating stage until present, when the company at the prime stage according to the lifecycle model of Adizes, and it is focusing on the creative and innovative strategic directions. The paper concludes that the examined company is on the right way, where planning, strategic thinking and creativity is well-balanced by the managers.