Archive for October 2011
October 14, 2011 | 
Author
A core business management skill that a manager or executive must learn is the ability to create a working environment that is conducive to effective teamwork. A successful manager is well aware of their own weaknesses and that they cannot do everything. They understand that they have to leverage their time and other peoples time and skill to get the job done. To be able to leverage peoples time and skills effectively requires a manager that can bring people together and work towards a specific goal.
Successful managers have the ability and skill to empower staff to maximise their potential in being productive and to excel at their job. This is achieved by ensuring that team members buy in to the project that needs to be accomplished. An effective manager will define an objective that each team member will accept and agree on. They will ensure that each member has a specific role and that each member fully understands that role and what is expected of them. They will keep each team member motivated by keeping them fully informed of their progress and milestones achieved.
One habit of an effective manager is to devise a to-do list or plan of action for the department or team under their control. Within this to-do list is the tasks that needs to be accomplished and their priority level and time schedules detailing when each task needs to be accomplished. An effective manager will ensure that each team member adopts the same approach to planning their own work.
The team should be fully informed of what the task entails and when each one needs to be accomplished. The responsibility of each specific task should be allocated to one team member only. Agree with them on what needs to be done and the deadlines to get the job done. Each team members to-do list should clearly outline who is responsible for which task and when.
Posted in business management | 
Tags: Effective Teamwork, Team Member, Working Environment | 
No Comments »
A key business management skill that any business manager or executive should have is the ability to solve problems. The ability to solve problems is a prerequisite of effective decision making which really is to find solutions to problems or overcome obstacles.
In order to come up with the best solution to solving a problem a manager must find the route or source of the problem. When solving a problem relating to business there are 5 areas where the problem could originate from. These 5 areas include the following:
• Business Environment
• Human Resources
• Machinery and technology
• Method
• Materials
When you have uncovered a problem you need to ask a set of questions when you are assessing the problem in order to find the best solution. For example, if there is a problem within human resources regarding a lack of staff or training then, possible solutions could be bringing in extra part time staff to complete a project.
When solving a problem after you have identified it, it is important that you analyse it thoroughly to find out what is its cause. It is important that you look at all the possible causes before acting on one. You find that if you make a decision to act on the first cause you may find that there is another cause that you may have missed. A good example would be the problem where there is a downturn in sales in a certain market that the company is selling to.
After analysing the problem a possible cause of a downturn in sales could be attributed to a lack of adequate sales training. However, under further analysis it could be found that the market being sold to is not a buyer’s market. That is why it is important to keep searching for the possible cause to ensure the real one is found and dealt with.
Posted in business management | Tags: Business Manager, Management Skill, Prerequisite | No Comments »
I get frequently asked about what are the most common things people forget to take into account when they are considering opening a small business.
It is scary, isn’t it? Don’t be afraid. Go through this checklist and you’ll be fine.
1. What means of income will your small business employ? Will you do affiliate marketing on the internet, offline sales in your community, both or have you got something else in mind? Who else is doing it?
2. How good a demand is there for your small business ideas? If it is poor, can a market be found or created that would need this product or service in large enough quantities to make a good profit?
3. Whether there is a great deal of demand or not, how good is your competition? A lot of activity does not necessarily mean the market is “saturated”. Many markets are filled with garbage. A good, honest site that over delivers can quickly rise to the top and make a killing.
4. You will need to advertise if you are opening a small business. If you are going on the internet, you can’t just hang a sign over your door. Will you use mainly SEO’d articles, Pay Per Click (risky if you are a newbie), PPL (also tough on a newbie’s wallet), organic traffic or something else to promote your new enterprise?
5. How will you collect money safely from your customers and protect yourself at the same time from all the predators on the web?
6. Whatever your decisions are, are they based on some get rich quick scheme? If they are, rethink ALL your decisions. There is no get rich quick on the internet, but there is plenty of get rich after some slow, diligent work:-)
7. Last, but not least: What is your passion? The internet allows you to start a website on what you love. You don’t have to worry about the local market like a traditional bricks and mortar business.
Can you see how these simple items can start your business off on a foundation of concrete and steel? Take your time with your small business ideas, do plenty of reading, do a lot of searches and surfing. See how the top 10 sites on any search you do are doing it.
If they are in the top 10, they have what you want. That’s how they got there. You can’t buy Google or other search engine ranking.
“If you don’t own your life, what’s the point?”
- Nori Evoy (Very Successful Web Business Person)
Posted in small business | Tags: Newbie, Opening A Small Business, Small Business Ideas | No Comments »