A small business could easily become a highly profitable source of income. But along the way of success are the risks for business owners and managers. Any small factor that could affect the small business could have a considerable effect as problems in a small business could easily snowball into something far more difficult to address.
For that reason, small businesses are always careful about everything. They have to look out for their cash flow, employees, technology and even the small town and city laws could easily affect them if they are not careful. But the opportunity of expansion is always there which is why people will always consider starting a small business towards success.
But starting out in a small business is challenging. The old adage that says, “no one gets them the first time” is quite true in the sense that success in business could be determined by the ability of the small business owner to make some adjustments for the better. Oftentimes, a small business has to make some changes on their business plans just to survive.
On the other hand, revamping your small business is also not a walk in the park. Your employees no matter how small they are in number could be easily affected if you do not conduct this change properly. It might even end up closing down your business for good which means everyone loses their job.
The good thing about revamping a business is that, compared to starting, you don’t have to deal with too many paper pushing and business planning alone. This time you are a leader of a small group of employees. With their assistance, you should be able to achieve changes in your small business plans faster and with better success.
Leadership by Delegation
When changing your small business, think about your employees first. They were hired for a reason – skills and dedication. They are there because they know something and have remained loyal to you despite the economic bump you are experiencing today. By staying, they are showing that they want the small business to improve and they are there to help.
Establishing change in your small business requires the assistance of everyone. As a leader, your task is to give them individual assignments. Delegation will help your employees realize their potential and for you to identify what they can really do for your small business.
Delegating tasks don’t even have to be based on certain aspects of business changes. You could even talk to the group so that you can brainstorm on the necessary changes you can do in your business. Since you don’t have that many employees, everyone can sit down and contribute an idea on how to ensure success in business.
Micro Management
An important trait a leader should have in dealing with change on a small business is the ability to micro-manage. This is the type of leadership that doesn’t only looks at the large picture of the business, but goes further to the root cause of everything. Do not hesitate to talk to your employees on what they do and what they think about their given tasks.
You are also there to guide them so that they could achieve the expected output. In a large corporation, micro management is achieved by delegation. Since you don’t have a lot of employees for now, you might as well micro manage. This is actually a practical move since your employees are there to ensure continuous operation but they are essentially YOUR ticket to success.
Worst Case Scenario
There are times that no matter what your plans are; it could still turn out bad. This is unacceptable when you are in a small business. A short slump in your business could easily close the business. A small business only has limited cash flow and other resources that a single undesirable event could affect the small business in a large scale.
To prevent the worst from coming to reality, formulate a worst case scenario plan. This plan will detail every movement you’ll make in case operations will cease to continue. You will also have to delegate some tasks so that everyone knows what to do in case something undesirable happens to the company. A small business is very fragile so every precaution has to be taken to achieve success in the chosen industry.