Tag: management

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Outside and inside forces that can bring small businesses to their knees

Traditional Fish 'n' Chips
Traditional Fish ‘n’ Chips (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A tire manufacture that was once a household name recently complained that imports from China were helping to destroy its business. It was looking for help to rescue its business from financial difficulties. One doesn’t really know all the forces that are affecting this business but it’s circumstances does make one think what has management been doing to avoid the crisis?

Small and medium-size businesses can be impacted by outside and inside forces. By external factors, I mean the competition, customers and markets. It could also be legislation. Interior factors would include management, processes and controls as well as costs, cash flow and product quality. Continue reading “Outside and inside forces that can bring small businesses to their knees”

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How well are you motivating employees in your small business?

CBPENCILSKETCH LIGHT BULB webI had a nightmare the other night. An old boss had crept into my dream world. The sight of his face almost 25 years later still filled me with revulsion.

This “boss” was a first-time manager, inexperienced, lacking empathy and possessing an ego as tall as the building within which we worked at the time. He had called me out for something I had done wrong, some mistake I’ve made, but did it in such a way to make me feel inadequate and that I didn’t matter.

I’ve forgiven him long ago but the mere mental image of him stirs up old memories of someone who lacked skills and experience in dealing with people. He tried to make up for it later with a lunch between the two of us but it never made up for his bad behaviour. Continue reading “How well are you motivating employees in your small business?”

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Is your management style repelling employees from your business?

World Youth Day 2008 Concert (#458)
World Youth Day Concert (#458) (Photo credit: Christopher Chan)

In this economy when the pressure is on and you as the business owner expect your employees to perform, you may overreach and repel employees from staying in your business.

It takes a lot of thought to bring new employees into your business in the first place. You need to find out about their knowledge, skills, attitudes and attributes that fit with the core competencies of your entrepreneurial venture. All this time and money is wasted if you don’t treat your employees well. Continue reading “Is your management style repelling employees from your business?”