When you decide to start a business, you want it to be as successful as possible. You have to be willing to pour everything you have into it.
That means you may have to give it your finances or time. Many people will find that they aren’t willing to go all-in with these types of things though, and that unwillingness could prevent them from becoming a great company.
No matter where you are in your business, whether it has been running for years or you are just starting out, you should constantly be trying to manage it better. Here are some ways to run your company to the best of your abilities.
1. Planning
The plans you have for your company will help give it direction. If you don’t have a plan, then where will you go?
No matter what stage your business is at, goals are important. Many people suggest breaking it down into layers, by having both short-term and long-term goals.
You may want to reach a certain milestone in the next quarter or fiscal year. This is something that can be a daily topic for your employees. A long-term goal is something that will be reached further down the line, possibly even taking years to reach.
2. Servicing
Your customers are going to be a large part of your business. Happy customers are one of the keys to being successful.
Your employees are just as important as the product or service you sell, so make sure that as you are managing, you are taking into consideration both the customer and the employee.
You as a leader probably won’t be able to talk to every person who buys something from your company. Your workers are an extension of you and represent you, so if they are happy that will reflect back on you as well as the company.
3. Balancing
You want to be able to balance everything that needs to be done. There is a fine line that you will be juggling, especially when you are busy.
It is wise to focus on the things you can control and be in the moment, instead of worrying about what could happen in the future. If you aren’t doing this, you won’t be able to manage effectively.
As you are working on a problem or project, finish that one and then move on. Multi-tasking is okay for some things, but too much of it can get you into trouble.
4. Organizing your company
Organizing your business should be a priority no matter the size of your business. If you can’t control small portions or departments of a company, then you won’t be able to control a large portion and be successful.
A good way of keeping track of your daily and weekly tasks is by having a calendar. You can also use something like runbooks to help you organize your notes and activities of every day.
5. Recording
Record keeping is vital for your business. Many businesses get into trouble when they don’t take it seriously. This can lead to problems not alone inside your company, but state-wise or nationally as well.
All companies are subject to taxes by the government. Make sure your accounting department is constantly keeping things up to date, as well as self-auditing.
6. Competing
Your success at owning a business will stem from how well you sell a product or service compared to your competitors. A good manager understands what competitors are doing and sees how well they do.
If you notice that you are being outperformed, change the way you do things. Although actual sales may be out of your control, you can at least keep track of how things are going in the industry. Maintaining knowledge in all aspects of your sales will help you for years to come.
7. Communicating
Your communication skills are one of your biggest tools as a manager. You want to be able to have people understand what you need them to accomplish.
Most people want to be successful at their job, but you have to help them get there. Both verbal and non-verbal communication is vital in helping them do this. Sometimes the environment or feelings that radiate from you can have an effect on your workers.
Try to be positive no matter the situation. You also should be aware of how you are communicating with your customers and not just your employees. Giving them mixed feelings about the company and how you are running it could cause you to lose followers.
8. Advising
You will only be as good of a manager as the ones you surround yourself with. You want to have a circle of friends and advisors that are diverse and will help you with your strengths and weaknesses.
As you mature as a manager, you will understand what you struggle with and where you need to shift your focus. A great manager is not made in one day but over years of hard work and experience. It also comes from listening to those who have walked in your shoes before.
9. Evolving
There may be times in your career that you have to do things you don’t want to do. Evolving as a manager is a trait of the greats. Things will not always stay the same.
Rules, regulations, and policies will be ever-changing, and it is your job to be able to adapt to them with ease. If you are not able to, how can you expect your departments to?
This can be a struggle for some because they are set in their ways or are unsure of the new way of doing things. There are times as a manager where you will have to make those decisions and move forward so you are not failing your business.
10. Expanding your company
As you are managing, you should have plans of expanding your business. Companies do not grow overnight, but by being consistent over time.
Having goals of expansion are great to have. It helps you and the community by having more space, buildings, and employees. The larger you grow, the more opportunities you will have at reaching more customers and being more efficient.
11. Developing
Great managers will replicate themselves in their employees. It is important to build the skills of your people within the company.
Your successes will be easier handled when you can trust workers to do as good of a job as you. It may take more time and energy to develop someone, but the return on the investment will be well worth it.
You can measure your success as a developer by how many people you have trained to be able to take your job.
12. Devoting
You have to be dedicated to all that you do as a manager. You want to be able to give everything you have each and every day.
When you take things seriously, you are able to maintain a proper perspective on your business. You’ll see more ways to help others or have new ideas. You’ll find methods that will help cut costs or be more efficient. Wasted time and money is a great way to see your company fail.
13. Evaluating
Conducting regularly scheduled evaluations is a good way to stay on top of how well your business is doing at that very moment. From top to bottom, your company should be self-audited at least once a year.
You can be able to see your faults and failures more easily when you do this. Your ability to fix them will be better if you catch the problem earlier, rather than later.
14. Deciding
Your decisions can be one of the hardest parts of your job as you are managing. No one wants to be wrong, yet you need to be firm in what you decide.
A lot of times, experiences can help get you through a problem or situation. If you are new to something, don’t be afraid of failure or making a bad move. If you are wrong, learn from it and determine not to make the same mistake twice.
Many managers will let fear dictate how they decide to make a move or what changes they’ll make when it comes to the everyday operation of a company.
15. Financing your company
The finances of your business should be a serious part of what you are looking at on a daily basis. It is important to understand the expenses, cost ratios, manufacturing, and selling rates of your products.
Keep in mind that every time period is different but look to see what the overall trend line of what you are doing is. You may have outliers, but you can still make good decisions by having a good projection of the future.
16. Leading
A great manager understands when he needs to lead. There may be times you can delegate jobs or duties to others, but some moments require leadership right away.
Sometimes it may be how you react that helps you make that tough move, or it may be the direction change of your business that can make your profits skyrocket. Whatever the moment, make sure you’re the one leading the way.
There are so many things that can be attributed to the successes of a manager. These are just a few of the ways that the best leaders in the world run and manage their companies, causing them to be giants in their industries.
Paisley Hansen is a mother of three and a small business owner. She spends her time caring for her children and taking her business to the next level. When she’s not busy working or taking care of her kids, you can find her at the gym or curl up with a good book.
