Business Management and Entrepreneurship
Introduction
Business management or being an entrepreneur is one of the interesting jobs but also challenging. Entrepreneurs or business managers face various challenges as they manage their business. Some of the challenges can include coming up with products/services that attract customers, executing different business objectives, recruiting and retention of the right employees and also maintaining a wide range of business laws and regulations. In most cases, entrepreneurs that are most successful in managing their lines of business have a conceptual knowledge in managing business functions. Therefore, it is important for an entrepreneur or business managers to take business management courses in order to overcome the challenges associated with business and also for the business to be successful.
This paper thus aims to discuss how my college education has greatly assisted in the running of my small business. Since the year 2013, I have been running my small business going by the name Mathewson’s Tax Service. As the name suggests, in this small business, we are providing mainly tax services to customers. Nevertheless, it has not been easy managing the business and overcoming the challenges associated with it.
One of the major reasons is the fact that I had not taken courses in business management and entrepreneurship so I did not have the conceptual knowledge required for managing such business effectively. However, this has completely changed since I started learning about small business management and entrepreneurship at the college. The following is, therefore, a detail discussion of how my college education has greatly assisted me in the running of the business.
One of the major lessons that I was able to learn during the course is the importance of effective team management. During the course, I learned that if people in an organization work as a team then the company is likely to be successful than if not. According to Pahn (2003), teamwork is one of the major factors that determine the success of an organization. Additionally, the teams must be effective and their effectiveness greatly depends on the management of an organization.
One of the factors that managers need to take into consideration in order to have an effective team includes team motivation. For an organization to have an effective team, a manager has to ensure that the team is adequately motivated. Moreover, as a manager is carrying out the responsibility of motivating the team members, he or she needs to note that different people have divergent needs when it comes to motivation. Whereas some people are highly self –motivated, others require the managerial input in order to perform.
Another important factor that managers must take into account for their teams to be effective is communication. Proper communication is essential to the success of a team and a manager should ensure that there is effective communication between the team members (Pahn, 2003).
Even though Mathewson’s Tax Service Company is still a small Company, I find the idea of having teamwork being a good idea for the success of the company. We are still few in terms of the number of staff in the company but applying the idea of teamwork in the company has greatly helped me in running the company smoothly than before. My employees are feeling very motivated and they can communicate freely and this has started yielding positive results. Therefore, I believe on the idea that teamwork is an essential factor that managers should take into consideration if they want their organization to run smoothly and be successful.
The second lesson that I was able to learn is the characteristics that entrepreneurs need to have in order to be successful. Even though some of the characteristics that an entrepreneur requires to succeed are inborn, most of them are not and one has to develop them if he or she wants to be successful in business. One of the key characteristic that an entrepreneur must have is the passion for running that business (Kao, 2004). According to Kao (2004), a business founder is usually driven by the need for a deeper purpose beyond the sheer mechanics of running a business. This is true since if one has a passion for starting a business, the passion is likely to drive him or her in turning the idea into a reality. Without the passion, one is likely to lack the necessary motivation to put all the effort required to get the business off the ground.
Additionally, an entrepreneur needs to have perseverance as a characteristic. An entrepreneur must be a person who is able to handle many obstacles. A business does not take off once, and turning an idea into a reality usually takes time. Therefore, an entrepreneur must understand all these and he or she must get used to people saying no to him or her. It is the perseverance that makes entrepreneurs become successful regardless of the number of times they are disappointed by their customers.
Moreover, entrepreneurs need to be open-mindedness in order for them to be successful. An entrepreneur needs to learn how to take in the opinion of others as well. Entrepreneurship involves a learning process. Therefore, if one is not willing to learn, he or she is not likely to be successful in entrepreneurship (Kao, 2004).
Learning about the characteristics that entrepreneurs need to have for them to be successful for example having passion, perseverance and being open-mindedness has greatly helped me in the way I am managing my small business. Although I had the passion for starting it way back in the year 2013, my passion for this business has since increased. Moreover, I am more open-mindedness and I am ready to take ideas from people both outside and inside the company, provided the ideas can result in the growth and success of the company.
The third important lesson that I was able to learn in this course of small business management and entrepreneurship is the importance of marketing to small businesses. Marketing is important to all sizes of business be it small, medium or big in size. Small and medium size businesses need to carry out marketing activities in order to grow. On the other hand, big size businesses need also to carry out marketing activities in order to maintain their customers and also to continue growing.
One of the important marketing activities that an entrepreneur or business manager needs to carry out is coming up with a marketing plan. A marketing plan is simply a business document that outlines marketing tactics and strategies. It is usually based on a particular period of time and it covers various marketing–related details such as goals, costs, and action steps. A marketing plan is not a passive document but rather it needs to evolve and change as the business grows (Rao, 2006).
According to Rao (2006), marketing is as important as the product that a business provides. Without marketing, customers cannot know about the business. Hence, the business is not likely to be successful. A marketing plan for example, which forms an essential part of marketing is important to a business as it helps craft marketing messages that will generate outcomes. Besides, it provides direction and focuses for the course of the business. It also covers various elements including competitors’ description, demand for the product offered, and the strengths and weaknesses from a market perspective of the business and its competitors.
Learning about marketing in this course has also greatly helped me in managing my small company. Initially, I did not take marketing as a serious measure to grow my business. Nevertheless, since I started applying marketing strategies in my business, it has tremendously grown. Currently, Mathewson’s Tax Service has experienced an increased in the number of customers compared to the time when we did not focus more on marketing. The increment in terms of customers’ base has also translated into an increase in revenue.
The fourth important lesson that I learned is the fact that business managers and entrepreneurs have to develop at least the fundamental skills in financial management. A business manager needs to have essential skills in financial management that start with the key areas of bookkeeping and cash management. Bookkeeping function, for instance, should be done according to particular financial controls in order to ensure the principles in the process of bookkeeping.
Additionally, it is also important for entrepreneurs and business managers to learn how to come up with financial statements and how to analyze these statements to actually comprehend the financial status of the business (Bosman & Zeeman, 2000). Therefore, I was able to learn that financial management is one of the essential practices in business management and an entrepreneur has to have basic skills in it for the business to run smoothly and be successful.
Learning about basic skills financial management in this course has also greatly helped me with the managing my small business. Just like the big businesses, small businesses also require proper financial management in order for them to be successful. I have been able to apply the basic financial skills such as proper bookkeeping and cash management to managing the finances at Mathewson’s Tax Service Company and this has helped a lot in finding out the reality of the situation of the business.
Lastly, the other important point that I learned is the benefits of making customers happy. Besides the management of organizational people and finance, customers are also very vital and thus must be managed properly. Customers form the basis why a business exists. Therefore, every entrepreneur or business manager should have the tips of making the customers happy. Some of them include effective communication, taking responsibility, respecting customers, interacting with customers, building trust, being transparent and kind (Stokes & Wilson, 2006).
Additionally, learning about how to make customers happy have really helped me in my business. Although I used to try very hard to ensure that my customers were happy, my customers are now happier than before my college education. This is because I now know various ways of making the customers happy. Furthermore, this has helped me increase the number of customers and also retain them.
Conclusion
Entrepreneurship and doing business is, in fact, an interesting profession. Nevertheless, these professions can also be challenging as they entail various challenges. However, when one takes an appropriate course like small business management and entrepreneurship, he or she is likely to overcome these challenges and become successful. The lessons learned discussed here are just a few of some of the important things that I learned during the course. However, I learned so many things that their applications in my business of tax service have led to positive results.
References
Bosman, M., & Zeeman, A. (2000). Small business management and entrepreneurship. Observatory, Cape: Future Managers.
Kao, R. W. (2004). The Entrepreneurial Approach To Corporate Management. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 11(4), 4-5.
Pahn, L. (2003). Small business management & entrepreneurship. Cape Town: Maskew Miller Longman.
Rao, R. W. (2006). An Entrepreneurial Approach To Corporate Management. Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 13(4), 90-93.
Stokes, D., & Wilson, N. (2006). Small business management and entrepreneurship. London: Thomson Learning.
