As depicted in part one, business management is about balance between your admin department, and your operations department (your service or product). Both departments are equally vital to your business survival.

More sub-departments, however, are necessary to ensure the efficient running of your business. The hard work, and even the fun, really kicks in when sub-departments are established. These sub departments, are not new concepts or theories. They fairly well understood in business, but rarely implemented, in smaller businesses. It’s just that small businesses assume that only big business needs them.

Admin sub-Departments:

1. Office Management: Office furniture, computer equipment, printers, faxing, correspondence, e-mail, incoming and outgoing mail, telephones, messaging,filing and storage, legal/contracts.

2. Human Resources: Staff requirements, hiring and firing. If the business is very small this department can fall under office management.

3. Marketing: Central files of clients, prospects, ezine publishing, e-mail lists and auto-responders. Website, Advertising on and off-line.

4. Finance: Bookkeeping, taxes, debtors, creditors, banking, cash management.

Operations sub-Departments:

1. Production: The main product or service of the company.

2. Quality Control: What is the quality of the service we render? Do we check products prior to delivery. Are clients called to verify their satisfaction?

3. Training: If staff lack core skills, mistakes are inevitably made, which could cost your business thousands. Regular courses, internal training, and even further college studies might be needed.

If these sub departments are in place, no further departments are necessary, be it a business with 1 owner and employee or a company employing 20 000 people.

Would additional staff be required, to run these departments for a very small business?

No additional staff need to be employed, the owner wears different hats, in different departments. Divide time between all departments.

As the business grows one employee can take up, a position as “Operations Manager”, overseeing the three departments under him/her. A competent secretary can become “Office Manager” , later on she/he can assume the “Admin Managers” position.

Small business owners are normally bogged down in production and finance, to the detriment of all other relevant departments. Your excellence in your product means nothing if the product is not marketed effectively (marketing department), you will be unable to market, if no proper contact or e-mail lists are maintained, (office management). And if you have a office, you market extensively, and manage your finances well, you will lack capacity without regular training for yourself or employees (training department). All departments are inter -inked, and equally important, whether you big or small. No getting away from that.

Finance can be outsourced to bookkeeping, accounting or auditing firms, but a substantial amount of work still has to be done by the owner/finance staff, in collecting cash, ensuring a steady cash flow and the paying of bills.

As the business grows, employs and train, managers are gradually placed in the respective departments. A marketing manager, financial manager, production manager etc. Until these positions are filled, the owner hold them.

Each department will have a set of goals and managers or the owner has to produce certain results and stats on a weekly basis.

Proper planning and implementation of the different departments can be effected with an organisational chart. This chart, will go up on a prominent place. People are designated according to various departments.

The important position on that organisational chart, is that of the “Chief Executive”, or Managing Director, Partner or Owner. The owner is right at the top. He/she has to take the responsibility that all tasks get executed. It is to him/her that all managers will report. In a small business we might have the odd situation that he might report to himself/herself, depending what other hat he/she wears in his organization.

I reiterate, this article is not written for a big corporation, but a small business. Without a fair or equal dedication to each department, your business, will run into major problems very soon.