Small Business Management

This book has been written as a guide for small business managers to assist them on their road to success by managing to win. We have provided countless tips and prompts based on real life small business management experience as well a good deal of management theory. Much of the information in this book goes beyond the often stereotyped advice offered to small business managers. We have attempted to address real day-to-day issues, rather than merely extol the benefits of cash flow statements and the like. We enjoy pointing out to small business managers that even the best prepared cash flow statement will not generate one scrap of business. Consequently we have addressed myriad issues which impact on small business on virtually a daily basis. Managing a small business requires a vast amount of attention to detail. Without that attention to detail it is almost inevitable that mistakes start creeping in and slipping through the system resulting in unhappy and frustrated customers. After you make sales, generating cash flow is imperative. Sales made on extended credit terms which do not generate a cash flow for the business can be fatal. Small business management also involves a lot more than preparing a budget and cash flow statement which is what some people do after a brief meeting with an accountant. As we are all aware many small business managers do not even do as much as that: rather they open the doors and soldier on hoping that someone will come along and buy their product or service. Successful small business management involves planning, strategy and the setting of goals and targets. You need to decide where you want your business to go and then plan a course of action on how you will get there, at the same time maintaining control of your usually scarce resources. Small business management is a constantly changing and continually shifting dynamic which will involve you in many areas of business including planning and strategy, human resources, marketing and sales on a daily basis. We have devoted separate chapters in this book to Managing to Win, Planning and Strategy and to Sales & Marketing. The first chapter of this book, Manage to Win, contains a virtual A-Z of countless management tips to aid your success. It is imperative that managers set goals and targets and for both themselves, their staff and their business. These goals and targets need to be much more than just trying to make a good wage as the business drifts along, or even worse trying to survive. An excellent goal for any small business is to build a business which can be sold for considerable capital gains sometime in the future. Managing a small business of your own, or for someone else, can be exciting and stimulating. At the same time it can be fraught with untold perils and dangers. The results of success can be great, even immense, though the risk of failure is always very close at hand. For specialist readings on specific areas of small business we