How to manage a business?

© Vladimir Melnik Three office workers
© Vladimir Melnik
Money concerns
Learning how to manage money is a key point of becoming a successful business manager.

Cash flow
The way cash flow works on a small business is totally different to what you might be used as a paid employee. A small business cash flow is very dependant on the credit terms it has with their providers and the end clients.

In some industries, invoices can take up to 90 days to clear, but you will still need to pay your providers on that time or risk your business reputation.

It is important to have a cash flow plan, and refer to it frequently to make sure you know exactly when is money entering or leaving your business account.

Bad debt
It is a sad reality that managing a business also means learning to manage risk. A client that does not pay can be a severe problem for a small business that depends on that payment, and learning to protect yourself and your business from risk is vital to become a successful business manager.

Frequent small business problems
If you are the owner of a small business you will probably need to be your own boss, marketing department and HR responsible among a myriad other roles.

Dealing with employees leaving
If you take the step to employ other people, you will need to learn how to apply the relevant legal rules, such as how to manage payroll or how to deal with people who are leaving. In a small business, a person leaving can severely disrupt the company environment and general work flow. So, learning about managing change effectively can be key to overcoming this kind of issues.

Dealing with grow
As a small business, it is important to optimise your processes as much as possible to be able to accomplish the most with the minimum amount of resources. While informal arrangements are good enough when it is just about one or two people, growth might require that you implement systems and procedures to ensure high standards are adhered to.