Business owners need to know the most important things in order to run their business successfully. Therefore, each department is integral towards creating an effective company.
No matter what size your business is, you should be thinking about the further development of your business and how it can grow. For growth, you need structure. You also need stability to make sure that what you build stays there for years after you’ve gone.
That’s Why Every Small Business Owner Needs These Five Departments:
- Information Technology
Every small business owner needs to invest in an IT department for stability purposes. One of the first goals should be to implement a secure system to keep your information safe but also allow you and clients access when needed. You will need this – even if only one person works there so far because it’s difficult for people to trust their personal information with just anyone.
Not everyone can afford help with security, but some basic things like anti-virus software and firewalls might not cost much at all. You’ll also want someone who can troubleshoot issues that come up on computers or networks, as well as hardwire connections into the building (if applicable). Learn here what is a managed service provider. They will fix any problems before they start becoming widespread and expensive.
- Accounting
You will also need to hire an accountant or two (it helps to hire one with an MBA if you can, they are usually the most reliable). It’s important that every business has its books balanced properly, so there is no chance of fraud, and someone needs to be on top of taxes as well.
The accountant should also be able to file all paperwork for your company, give advice on how much money you’ll need in reserve, so taxes don’t throw things out of whack, and create reports for tax time.
They should also prepare financial statements at any point during the year if asked. But, again, someone who can speak the language of finance without making it too confusing is ideal here – people who only know the basics aren’t going to be able to give you the proper advice.
Accounting professionals handle everything from payroll and billing to invoicing and financial reports. In some cases, they may also help with tax preparation and planning. Online accounting software is useful to use to keep track of everything.
- Marketing
You’ll need a marketing team for word-of-mouth advertising on social media, search engine optimization (SEO), email campaigns, etc. Again, you want a good mix of different things here – too much social media will result in not enough profit, but too little will make it difficult to get new business or retain existing clients.
SEO is a good place to start; many people use Google instead of looking through phone books anymore (if they even do that anymore), so it can make things easier if your business is reputable. In addition, if you can show up on the first page of searches with relevant terms, people will be more likely to contact you instead of someone else.
Marketing also helps in brand recognition – while no two businesses are exactly alike, it’s good if your company stands out while still being easily recognizable. Finally, you’ll have to use email campaigns or social media ads to spread the word about your services and what makes you different enough from the competition so that people go directly to you when they’re ready to take action.
- Human Resources
If you’re hiring employees at any point, you need a human resources team in place before then. This includes everything from interviewing potential staff members to answering questions about benefits packages and hours, all the way through taxes and payroll. It’s also good to have an employee manual for people to reference to know what’s expected of them, how many shifts are available in a week/month, etc.
You need someone who is particularly patient – small business owners aren’t always the most approachable people when it comes to staffing needs, but there is no reason to be mean or off-putting when asking for help. They should also be able to sit down with you and discuss what your company can offer that others cannot (such as flexible hours or more holidays).
An online HR software that handles everything from benefits to payroll through one system can make things easier on human resources teams.
- Operations
Similarly, every business needs someone who can handle the operations side of things. They should be able to coordinate everything from deliveries, maintenance and cleaning.
You must have someone who can do just about anything when it comes to running your company – even if you’re not an expert in every field yourself. In addition, this person needs to be able to keep things moving smoothly, so nothing ever gets too out of hand or causes problems further down the line.
