Management Strategies for Business Owners

Running a small business is not easy. Take it from us...We are a boutique business law firm comprised of 6 employees at our Ottawa office. We, however, feel that being a law firm of a somewhat smaller scale allows us to specialize in our areas of expertise with strong attention to detail, and to create, establish and maintain intimate relationships with our client base. Throughout our years in business and gaining new clients more frequently, we have come to familiarize ourselves with various management strategies for business owners that have been proven very effective. Skills and strategies that are essential to manage: 1) Stay close to your customers/clients: be sure to keep in contact and touch base regularly in order to maintain a professional relationship. 2) Keep up to date with your competitors: although your company may be in a strong market position, it is important to keep an eye on the moves of your competitors and identifying their strengths and weaknesses in order to adapt to your business needs. 3) Monitor profit margins: it is important to also keep an eye on your gross profit margin for each of your products and eliminate anything that results in poor performance. 4) Work to maintain and broaden your client base: it is important to not take the risk of being solely dependent on one or two clients. Although they are important, be sure to broaden your client base as much as possible. 5) Strategic planning: be sure to properly plan the best decisions for your business. It is important not to make impulsive business decisions without prior deliberation and a constructive thought process. This will require a formal strategic plan – a document that outlines your business’ current position, goals, potential obstacles, and an appropriate action plan that will help benefit your business in the future.

Hiring the Ideal Candidate for Your Business

As a business owner, choosing the right people to represent your business is key. Professionalism and strong work ethic is something we as business lawyers look for when hiring the ideal candidate to represent our firm. Here are some qualities we find important to look for when finding the right fight for your team! When looking to hire someone to be the face of your business, there are certain qualities that set certain people apart from others. It is important to seek the top talent and the one with them most potential. Here are ten qualities that the ideal candidate should possess: 1) Resourcefulness – the ability to find, unlock and mobilize resources promptly. 2) Confidence – the positive esteem of one’s abilities and overall outlook on life. 3) Loyalty - the ability and willingness to develop a long-term relationship with a team, organization, or cause. 4) Resilience – the ability to work well under pressure and continue to after substantial setbacks. 5) Coachability – recognizing their potential to grow within your company and be able to take constructive criticism and being able to mold a beginners mind. 6) Integrity – the ability to treat others the way you wish to be treated, possessing strong moral judgement and character and a concrete set of values. 7) Versatility – the ability to bring one’s full range of skills and strengths to bear in different and new situations, including both on teams and in individual settings. 8) Creativity – the ability to offer opinions and or ideas that will seek to benefit your business. 9) Passion – the ability to be driven by the task at hand and have a genuine interest 10) Leadership – the ability to lead by example, take initiative and work well with others.

Entrepreneurs & Leadership

Working with entrepreneurs has become a real area of expertise for us business lawyers. One of the strongest qualities that we have seen time and time again with the clients we work with is leadership. As an entrepreneur, leadership is one of the most important qualities to possess. When you are running a business it is important to keep in mind that you want to set an example for your employees. In order to create a positive work environment between you and your employees, you want to ensure that you are leading by example, encouraging them to strive for the same. Being able to communicate and delegate are your best tools. It is quite obvious that people learn the best when instructions are communicated in a concise and constructive manner. As important as communication is, sometimes you should be prepared to listen as well. That way, you are more approachable and open to taking other’s opinions into consideration. Setting the example you want your employees to adopt can be accomplished by having strong values and strong work ethic. Be passionate about what you are trying to accomplish. You want to believe what you are selling. Ensure that you have a strategy for your company. Set yourself a goal of what you want your business to become and where you want it to be in the foreseeable future and do everything you can to accomplish that.

Advice for Better Business Decisions

Having been a business owner for some time now, our corporate law firm and our team have become experts in dealing with entrepreneurs and their business needs. Providing legal advice with our client’s best interest in mind is something we do on a daily basis. Here are some helpful tips we have been able to pass on to our clients that will help make better decisions that will ultimately benefit your business. As an entrepreneur, it is important to ensure that you are making profitable decision skills to create a successful business. Here are a three tips that will help you make better decisions for your successful business: - It’s important to seek advice from an outside perspective. This allows you to gain knowledge and insight in order to overcome various obstacles you, as an entrepreneur, may face. - The people associated with your business, or the team of professionals. This could be you an accountant or banker, for example, which can really help solve any challenges you or your business faces. - The employees you hire to be the face of your business. Ensuring that you are creating an approachable work environment is key. That way, it allows you to gain important feedback that you as the employer may overlook. Sometimes it is the people who work in your business daily that bring the most valuable opinions about what can be improved in order for your business to thrive in a direction you may have never anticipated.