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When you first started your business you had to do everything. Answer phones, write invoices, pay bills, make sales calls, meet vendors, and so on. You were a one man show and knew how to do it all. You knew your business inside and out and could answer just about any question.
Now your business is starting to grow though and you're finding that you just can't do it all. So you've gone ahead with your next big step. You've hired your first employees. And they've begun to take some of the workload off your shoulders. You can finally take a deep breath and relax a little bit.
Well not exactly. You see when you hired that first employee, say it was an office assistant, well you gave up that title and took on a new one, manager! And as a manager you now have to teach that job and the way you want it done to that new employee. Well let’s go ahead and say you've already done exactly that. Now we get to the point of what not being left in the dark truly means.
I've always believed in knowing how to do the jobs of the people that work for me. Even when I had over twenty employees I still needed to know how to do the jobs of each and every one of them. Why? Well the simple answer is in case they don't show up for work one day. But it really goes deeper than that. Your business will need people in key positions as it grows. And as your business grows their positions will become more important.
What if you use sales reps in your business? Early on in my business I had one sales rep. We split the sales duties with me handling some of our oldest clients and he handled landing new clients and developing those relationships. We had some large chain businesses and of course I new what locations of each chain we dealt with but he new the General Managers in charge of those locations.
But a key element in his job description was to pursue new clients and eventually he stopped doing that preferring to only visit his existing clients.
We eventually came to a head on this issue and I had to let him go. But this left a void and I had to step into his job to keep those clients and rebuild those relationships that he had developed.
Another great example is an office assistant position. This person over time becomes your right hand person. They get to know a lot of company critical information and may be a person you confide in. But what do you do if suddenly they leave for whatever reason. Do you know your office well enough to find the things you need that in the past you've always just had to ask for? Even if you hire a replacement they're not going to know any better where things are than you. What if they left on bad terms? Will you know if they took something with them that they shouldn't have?
On the more extreme end for myself were the couple of occasions that I had to fill in for my own General Manager. He was in charge of completing all our various projects and assigning work to our crews. I always handled the sales and office areas of management. He got the work done. But because I new his job I was able to fill in with a minimum of disruption. Can you do that? So even as your business grows and you start to enjoy the fruits of your success remember that you could be just one short mishap away from losing a key employee. Just because you don't have to do the job doesn't mean you shouldn't remember how too.
Cash Miller is the Editor of SmallBusinessDelivered.com and hosts his own blog at www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com/cash-millers-blog.
Now your business is starting to grow though and you're finding that you just can't do it all. So you've gone ahead with your next big step. You've hired your first employees. And they've begun to take some of the workload off your shoulders. You can finally take a deep breath and relax a little bit.
Well not exactly. You see when you hired that first employee, say it was an office assistant, well you gave up that title and took on a new one, manager! And as a manager you now have to teach that job and the way you want it done to that new employee. Well let’s go ahead and say you've already done exactly that. Now we get to the point of what not being left in the dark truly means.
I've always believed in knowing how to do the jobs of the people that work for me. Even when I had over twenty employees I still needed to know how to do the jobs of each and every one of them. Why? Well the simple answer is in case they don't show up for work one day. But it really goes deeper than that. Your business will need people in key positions as it grows. And as your business grows their positions will become more important.
What if you use sales reps in your business? Early on in my business I had one sales rep. We split the sales duties with me handling some of our oldest clients and he handled landing new clients and developing those relationships. We had some large chain businesses and of course I new what locations of each chain we dealt with but he new the General Managers in charge of those locations.
But a key element in his job description was to pursue new clients and eventually he stopped doing that preferring to only visit his existing clients.
We eventually came to a head on this issue and I had to let him go. But this left a void and I had to step into his job to keep those clients and rebuild those relationships that he had developed.
Another great example is an office assistant position. This person over time becomes your right hand person. They get to know a lot of company critical information and may be a person you confide in. But what do you do if suddenly they leave for whatever reason. Do you know your office well enough to find the things you need that in the past you've always just had to ask for? Even if you hire a replacement they're not going to know any better where things are than you. What if they left on bad terms? Will you know if they took something with them that they shouldn't have?
On the more extreme end for myself were the couple of occasions that I had to fill in for my own General Manager. He was in charge of completing all our various projects and assigning work to our crews. I always handled the sales and office areas of management. He got the work done. But because I new his job I was able to fill in with a minimum of disruption. Can you do that? So even as your business grows and you start to enjoy the fruits of your success remember that you could be just one short mishap away from losing a key employee. Just because you don't have to do the job doesn't mean you shouldn't remember how too.
Cash Miller is the Editor of SmallBusinessDelivered.com and hosts his own blog at www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com/cash-millers-blog.
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Don't Be Left in the Dark!
Even though your business is growing and you've hired your first employees you still need to know their jobs.
By: Cash Miller
Even though your business is growing and you've hired your first employees you still need to know their jobs.
By: Cash Miller
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Find the Pieces to Your Business Puzzle Right Here
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Successful Project Management Is Critical!
As your business grows so too will the projects that you will take on. Your customers will push to the limit your ability to complete a project successfully. And more and more each of these jobs will have to be managed individually by trusted project managers.
Take Time For Your Business Education
Learning is an ongoing process and so is your education in business. Taking the time to improve your knowledge and education in business is important if you want to continue to push your business forward. Not doing so could be holding you back.
You Gotta Love The Game!
It was about ten years ago, a few months after I'd first begun my career in small business that my father said to me that small business is the greatest game there is! To this day I still believe that to be true. And just like a ballplayer loving the game he plays. You gotta love the game of small business to want to play it too. I'm glad to once again have found my love for the game!
Your Suppliers Are Your Partners
Every business has some sort of vendor or supplier that they buy from. All businesses either purchase raw materials, finished products or services of some sort. Taking the time to develop a solid relationship with your suppliers can benefit you both. Because the time may come when your company is in need of something and that vendor that you took the time to develop a strong relationship with will come through for you.
As your business grows so too will the projects that you will take on. Your customers will push to the limit your ability to complete a project successfully. And more and more each of these jobs will have to be managed individually by trusted project managers.
Take Time For Your Business Education
Learning is an ongoing process and so is your education in business. Taking the time to improve your knowledge and education in business is important if you want to continue to push your business forward. Not doing so could be holding you back.
You Gotta Love The Game!
It was about ten years ago, a few months after I'd first begun my career in small business that my father said to me that small business is the greatest game there is! To this day I still believe that to be true. And just like a ballplayer loving the game he plays. You gotta love the game of small business to want to play it too. I'm glad to once again have found my love for the game!
Your Suppliers Are Your Partners
Every business has some sort of vendor or supplier that they buy from. All businesses either purchase raw materials, finished products or services of some sort. Taking the time to develop a solid relationship with your suppliers can benefit you both. Because the time may come when your company is in need of something and that vendor that you took the time to develop a strong relationship with will come through for you.