For a small business owner that has a growing business one
of the greatest challenges that you will have to face is
how to find experienced management. Every business large
and small faces the difficult task of finding competent
managers but large enterprises generally have a much larger
pool of qualified candidates to choose from. They'll have
newly minted MBA's beating down their doors every
graduation. People with years of experience looking for a
change of scenery. They're biggest problem is not finding
people that can do the job, it's choosing the best of the
pack.
But your business on the other hand will probably be the
exact opposite. I mean really how many people go to school
to learn how to run a convenience store, a dry cleaner, a
landscaper, or a copy store. Plus the countless thousands
of other small business types that exist. Of course the
problem is that those small businesses can become fairly
large in their own right. And it's then that you're going
to need some sort of qualified help or you might find
yourself overwhelmed.
So what can you do? Well the obvious answer would be an out
of this world benefits package that you could use to
attract an MBA or two. But we know that's probably not
realistic. So lets start with where you find potential
managers to begin with. Of course you'll do the usual and
run some employment ads in the classifieds, or maybe you
have a help wanted sign in the window. But come on we're
looking for someone that can help manage your business as
it grows not just another employee. One way to go is using
an online service such as Monster.com. But this approach is
not going to be right for all businesses. How many people
that are experienced in running a dry cleaning store
actually use such a service?
So instead of hoping they'll find you maybe you should go
hunting for them. So how do we hunt for an experienced
candidate? For starters check with your competition. I'm
not saying call up the owners and ask them but maybe you
can pay a visit to some of your competitors. For example
say you own a restaurant but haven't been able to find a
good shift manager. Well go down to your local mall and
visit the food court. Watch the different fast food joints
during the lunch rush.
It's usually obvious which stores are better run than
others. Which ones are really busy but still manage to keep
their customers happy. Which ones have employees that like
their jobs and are good at them. Attributes that are the
product of good managment. And most likely the direct
result of the shift or store manager. Once you've
identified who that person is that is keeping that store
humming look for an opportunity to strike up a
conversation. Try to find out if they're truly happy in
their job or feel maybe their efforts are underappreciated.
You'll find that people that are really good at their jobs
know it and many feel like they're not being recognized for
it. This can provide you an opportunity. After having
talked to them explain your own situation and ask if they'd
be okay with you observing them further in their work. But
remember if they say they're okay with it keep in mind they
then might go to the effort of trying to impress you.
Instead of doing their job in their normal manner.
Of course you don't need to settle on finding just one
candidate. The mall itself is a wonderful place for this
kind of approach. Assuming you can find businesses that are
similiar to yours there. You should be able to spot some
very good candidates for your business. Once you do you can
go about the business of setting up some interviews with
them.
What you need to remember is that no matter how forlorn the
industry you're in may be there are experienced well
qualified candidates available to you. You just might have
to hunt them down instead of waiting for them to come to
you.
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Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who
has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His
years of experience in small business cover a variety of
topics. If you are looking for more information on this
subject and others related to starting and running a small
business you can visit his website at
http://www.SmallBusinessDelivered.com
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