Your Small Business Responsibilities

Author

By Tim Rose - Owner of The People's Bookkeeper

As business owners, we have a lot of responsibilities. There are many things we must do day by day so that we can keep on growing our business. It's not easy to wear so many hats at one time as a business owner, that's why I've put together a list of responsibilities for you as the owner, and ways you can delegate many responsibilities to your employees or those who are helping you in your business.

Every business owner needs help. An important key to your success is to find the people who are experts in a specific area, so that you can focus on the most important part of your business - growth.

Here's a list of key responsibilities and ways we can overcome the challenges associated with them.

1. Planning & Strategy - One of your primary roles is being a business planner and strategist. The best way to accomplish this is through putting together a solid business plan and marketing plan. You need to do research to find out the information that relates to your industry and business. You will need to write your plan and keep on revising as you discover new information and have more to round out your business plan. You can get a lot of help with a business plan writer, online software, free templates, and many websites that have lots of information relating to your business. Government websites have lots of statistical information that can be a great resource as well.
2. Human Resources - One area of key importance is to have a proper plan when it comes to hiring your employees. You are the owner, so you set the tone for your entire business. You are the one making the decision as to whether the business can support new hires and if so, you will be the one conducting interviews. You must make sure that you don't ask any questions that are in poor taste or illegal. You will also decide policies, pay, benefits and much more. As the owner, you will also be responsible for handling employee concerns, and firing people if a situation warrants it. It can make sense for some business to hire a dedicated HR manager to handle all of this for you, if you can afford to support a position in your company. Doing this will take a lot of the responsibility off your shoulders and thus free you up to focus on other keys areas.
3. Customer Service - When starting out, you will mainly be responsible for everything related to customer service. You will handle phone calls, emails, questions, concerns, training, technical support and much more. As your business grows, hiring employees can help you greatly in this area as you delegate these responsibilities to key personnel. This will help you focus on your business growth.
4. Marketing Strategy - Marketing and sales are what will drive your business. Many forms of marketing are available including social media avenues, print advertising, networking, brochures/flyers, cold calling, catalogues, trade show booths, magazines, websites and much more. You can delegate a lot of these responsibilities to freelancers for relatively low costs.
5. Legal Responsibilities - There are many provincial and federal laws that must be adhered to by small business owners. Registering your business with the CRA, as well as setting up an HST account are important factors for you to claim business expenses. Forming your business properly and registering with your province is also a key step that can't be skipped over. Seek legal counsel for any contracts or employee disputes if such a case should arise. Make sure you get set up with business insurance as well. An insurance company can provide all the details you will need to ensure your business is covered if something goes wrong. This is one of the most important areas for you to cover, don't skip it!
6. Bookkeeping - Most of the time, small business owners will require some form of start-up capital. This will ensure growth of the business at a good pace. For many small business owners who can’t obtain financing, it doesn't have to spell the end for your business. There are angel investors, small business loans from government, grants, family, friends and many other sources you can seek for some business capital. You can also bootstrap your business and start with a small budget and wait for the bigger items until you can support them. One area you should not skip is bookkeeping and accounting. Hire yourself a great virtual bookkeeper who will keep your books in great order so that you can focus on growing your business. If you do have a large budget, you might want to consider hiring an in-house bookkeeper as well, though there are a lot more advantages to hiring a virtual bookkeeper who operates out of their own space and this can save you a lot of money if the course of a year, not to mention they will help your business grow faster.

As you can see, small business owners have a diverse range of tasks and responsibilities that are key to ensuring a successful business. As the owner, you will need to have the skill to adapt to changing responsibilities and roles. Being able to let go of one area and have someone else focus on it will allow you to grow your business in all kinds of new directions. Knowing these keys areas and being adaptable will allow your company to thrive and grow.