Month: April 2015

When a small business grows and the business owner does not create a management team, he or she will find themselves overloaded and stressed which as we all know can lead bosses down a very sticky road.

This stress factor may be because all the staff employed will be reporting directly to the MD and so without help they feel they are drowning in work (if this is you then try reading my “Drowning in Paper” advise sheet).

More often than not the reason for this is the fear of delegation or the unwillingness to pay managers, however no matter how good we are at managing the business as it grows we cannot do it all, a successful business needs structure and if you read chapter 1, section 2 of my book “Getting Down to Business”, it explains the need for a proper company structure.

By looking after each of the business divisions; support, sales and marketing and operations (delivery), it allows the MD owner to focus on building the business, while the managers get on with delivering the divisional outcomes.

Remember never be afraid to set up a team to help you. This is to free up your time so you can complete your own work and know that your company and employees are being managed effectively (with your supervision of course!)

Top 3 Tips:

1. The minute you feel yourself struggling, understand it’s time to build your management team.
2. Never be afraid to delegate; it will help you in the long run!
3. Meet up with your team often to ensure work is being completed in a timely and professional manner.

A business without a proper organisational structure will falter with its growth because as a business thrives it will grow to the individuals employed and their skill sets.

This is manageable when its small but the larger it gets the potential for key functions of the business to be ignored or “fall between chairs”, is exaggerated. By having a proper organisational structure it allows for a management team to be created with each manager understanding what their responsibilities are and the outcomes required from their team. It is important to make sure that when giving responsibility that authority is also given to those managers to operate successfully.

By creating the organisational structure not only does it give the opportunity of creating a management team but it gives individuals an understanding of their roles as proper job descriptions can be established for each individual.

Once you’ve assigned or appointed managers it is essential that they themselves are supported, therefore monthly management meetings should be held for:

• Support.
• Mangers to coordinate and liaise.
• Providing the opportunity to set targets and hold managers accountable in areas of their responsibility.

If you successfully achieve this you will be working ON your business instead of IN your business having transferred from having a job to running a business.

Top three tips

1. Separate your org activities into three sections: support, sales and marketing and delivery
2. Assign someone to head up each section
3. When you give someone the responsibility to manage, give them the authority as well

Of course having an organisational structure is only part of what’s needed to grow a successful business. To find out what other things you need to consider, take a look at the full list here.

The question of why you need a business coach often comes up and particularly for small businesses that feel they can’t afford one or maybe a large business that is struggling and feels its wouldn’t be good value for money.

So, let’s explore the question of why you need a business coach. Firstly most business owners are excellent at what they do and what they know, however very few have had any formal management training or experience.

I often hear other coaches try to explain the need by using a sports person as an example i.e. even the top athletes have coaches, we often hear Andy Murray changes his coach as he’s not happy and he is a very successful tennis player who of course, needs a coach.

So why would someone who knows their business or who knows what they are doing need a coach?

Well it’s simple really – an athlete can’t always see what they are doing right or wrong because it’s them doing it. So they need to video themselves and analyse and having a coach helps them with this process. In addition to the physical assistance coaches will provide a mental support, in other words ‘getting their head straight’, well that’s no different in business.

So let me explain – to be successful in business the very first thing to get straight is the attitude and approach, this means ‘getting your head straight’ so that you want to achieve, believe you can achieve and put all the necessary effort into achieving. Unless you are a highly motivated individual you will need help with this process.

Secondly and this is more mentoring than coaching, if you have not had the training or experience to cope when things aren’t going right, a coach/mentor can assist in what best action to take – a second opinion if you like.
Many of my clients say just talking through a problem with me helps them to see a solution even if I’ve said nothing or very little, its having the sounding board, someone outside the business, or a husband or wife who can provide that support or sounding board, this is crucial to success.

Summary

So why do business owners need a coach? Quite simply to help them to be better than what they already are.

Three tips on how to choose a business coach

• Ask other business owners for a recommendation.
• Find three coaches and do a job interview, you need to find someone who you can “gel” with- personality is everything!
• Speak to some of their clients and see how they have helped others.