It’s one thing to start a business; it’s another to keep it running. Once you launch your small business, your goal is to grow and expand it over time. However, doing so is no easy feat, as there are a few management styles you must incorporate. And that is where small business management becomes necessary.
For the uninitiated, small business management entails overseeing your business’ day-to-day operations. When it comes to this, a manager plays a crucial role in ensuring business performance and productivity, employee engagement, inclusive company culture, and other business aspects.
That said, here are five types of management you must consider in running your small business:
1. Financial Management
When it comes to running a small business, the financial is the most crucial part. But while your general goal is to maintain the financial health of your business, your primary objective is to get enough profits out of it. After all, what’s the purpose of starting a business if you won’t earn money out of doing so? On top of this is the intention of growing and expanding your small business in the long run.
But as a manager, you must oversee various aspects of your business finances. You must keep track of your cash flow—the money that comes in and out of your company. This means striking a balance between your expenditures and revenues. You must also know your tax obligations and strictly comply. That’s when proper accounting and bookkeeping become extremely necessary for your small business.
2. Operations Management
This management type isn’t solely focused on your business’ finances. However, it is concerned with how you can achieve your financial goals. This means that as a manager, you must ensure consistent day-to-day operations in your small business.
To do so, you must ensure a complete workforce, enough stocks and material supplies, working tools and equipment, and consistent applications and processes. On top of these is to monitor employee performance, ensure high productivity, and focus on product quality. As much as possible, be sure to reduce downtime and/or delays in your business operations.
3. Sales and Marketing Management
Sales and marketing are an integral part of every business. They are all the more necessary for a small business looking to promote its brand and selling its products or services. In fact, marketing has now become more important than ever, as it leads to successful sales. And because of the COVID-19 crisis, digital marketing has become more relevant than before.
As a manager, you must do what it takes to promote your small business amid a global pandemic. You can work with your team of marketers and implement various online marketing tactics. These include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising, content marketing, social media marketing, and influencer marketing, among others.
4. Inventory Management
Inventory refers to the stocks (whether goods or materials) used for the sales and production in your business. It’s important to have a robust inventory management set in place for your small business. With this in place, you can ensure enough supplies in your stocks. Ultimately, you can fulfill your customers’ order requests without any delays and keep them satisfied at all times.
As a manager, you must stay on top of your inventory. You must keep track of your stocks in every stage—from the purchase down to the sales of your goods. Things to consider in the process include material acquisition, storage of stocks in the warehouse, daily production, order fulfillment, and the delivery of goods right at the customers’ doorsteps.
5. Warehouse Management
A lot of small businesses have their own warehouse or hire a third party to store their goods. That is when warehouse management becomes necessary. Keep in mind that this management type encompasses the principles and processes involved in running a business.
If you own a warehouse, you don’t only focus on the day-to-day operations of your small business. As a manager, consider things such as receiving and sorting stocks, organizing your warehouse space, scheduling labor, tracking inventory, fulfilling orders, and shipping goods. Even proper warehouse security management must not be taken for granted, as you don’t want your goods to be stolen by thieves. Along with this is to ensure product quality and stock safety from harsh elements such as moisture, mildew, molds, and even pests.
Launching and running a small business is not easy. But whether you’re a business owner or a manager, it doesn’t have to overwhelm you. All it takes is to consider the five areas of management discussed above. With all these, you’ll set your small business in the right direction and hopefully see it grow and flourish over time!
