Management 101

Maybe you’ve got a great idea and just need to bring it to fruition, or maybe you have a unbelievable talent and want to capitalize on it. You’ve got the makings of a business, but don’t know how to actually make it happen. Being an entrepreneur is not easy work, but you’re halfway there - you’ve got the concept in hand, you just need the business framework.

Creating a business is half art, half science. The art of business may come from talent, experience, and practice. It is your idea or expertise, what will make your business unique. The science, on the other hand, can be taught and learned. It is what business schools will provide you with, or what you can learn on your own.

In most MBA programs, business schools will break down business management into 6 unique facets: strategic management, marketing management, operations management, financial management, R&D management, and human resource management. These concepts are important for running a successful business, but don’t necessarily need to come from a business school, especially if it puts you in line with the tens of thousands of students that are weighed down by student loan debt. All of these concepts can be learned here where you will get an in-depth view of each area of business management, as well as additional resources, articles, tools, and blogs that will all bring you closer to your goal of successful business management.

Once you have a solid understanding of these business elements, you will be ready to take your entrepreneurship to the next level.

Strategic Management

Strategic management will guide you in the right direction as your company grows and changes. It is where you will formulate goals and milestones for your business so that you know where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years - and more importantly, how you will get there.

With strategic management, you will consider each area of your business and put together a plan that will ultimately be your roadmap to success - your business plan. This plan will outline where you want to focus your resources, how you want to market and sell your product, and most importantly, what you project your revenue, costs, and profit to be each year. As your business grows and changes so will your business plan, but as long as you regularly check back in with it, it will continue to send you in the right direction.

Financial Management

Without proper money management, it is unlikely that your business will survive for very long. This is where financial management comes in. Proper financial management will ensure that you are making profitable decisions and are able to meet all of your financial obligations.

By organizing your financial transactions and activities, you will compile statements that outline the financial health of your business - how much you are earning and spending, how much you owe, and how much your customers or vendors owe you. More importantly, your financial management will ensure that you manage your cashflow in an optimal way so that you are never in a position where you can’t meet an important financial obligation just because your money is tied up elsewhere. If you plan to work with outside investors or take on business debt, your financial management will be essential to get the business valuation you hope for.

Marketing Management

For many companies, marketing is the key that can unlock their success. It is how your customers find out about your brilliant product or unmatched service. It is how you reach new markets and acquire new customers.

Marketing management is where you will make educated decisions on the products you will offer, your pricing plan, how you will promote your product or service, and where that promotion will occur. Market research will be a huge component that will affect each and every decision you make based off of what your customers are looking for, as well as what your competitors are doing. Just as your customers will continue to change, so will your marketing plan. It will require testing, trial and error, and a keen eye for what attracts customers.

Operations Management

Operations management is critical to the long-term success of your company. It is how your business will grow to run like a well-oiled machine. Through effective operations management, you will examine every business process in your company to discover problem areas and opportunities for optimization. You will have two ultimate goals with your operations management - to ensure the quality of the product or service you are offering and to make sure your business processes are running as cost-effectively as possible. By cutting costs and improving quality, you will be able to make your customers happy while also growing your bottom line.

Human Resource (HR) Management

You’ve got your product or service, you’ve enacted every other facet of business management, and then you make the inevitable realization - you can’t do it alone. Human resource management is the last piece of the puzzle that will pull your business together. It is how you will recruit talented candidates and retain valuable employees. On top of managing varying personalities, human resource management will help you juggle the regulations and expectations that come with being an employer.

Research and Development (R&D) Management

You probably already have your product or service in hand, but that doesn’t mean it will succeed forever. R&D management will help to improve your current products and services, as well as develop new products or services down the line. In many situations, it will also help you discover more cost-efficient ways to continue offering your product, which could give you a big leg up on your competition. By consistently incorporating R&D into your everyday business practices, you will be able to adjust to your customers new needs and hopefully position yourself to fill new markets as they emerge.

Conclusion

Running a business is a lot of work but the payoff is huge. It comes with financial benefits, professional achievements, and personal fulfillment. While managing each aspect of your business is a big undertaking, you will slowly but surely amass the right resources, employees, and processes to take your business where you always dreamed it would go.