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.