Ask Questions 
Share Tips 
List Your Business 
Coffee Talk with Experts 
Biz Planning | Sample Plans 
Idea 
Name 
$ 
Do It! 
Promotional Merchandise
Managing | Operations
Work @ Home 
Yoga @ Your Desk 
|
|
Answer from our Guest Expert Peter Hupalo of Hupalo Ltd.
PAGE3
Handpick a Part-time Manager
To help you reach your business and personal goals, consider hiring someone you trust on a part-time basis. That way, you could slip away a day or two away a week from the business, and have someone you've handpicked on-site making those important decisions. Perhaps your current assistant manager would do an excellent job in this part-time role?
Chew Over Your Manager's Fate Well
You say you don't trust the manager to make competent decisions, and you question his leadership ability. This could mean so many things. For example, if his behavior is in any way inappropriate to a business setting, get rid of him. Likewise, send him down the road if his decisions might be in self-interest, and not the good of the business. However, if he has the business's interest at heart and is beneficial to your bottom line, perhaps you'd want to retain him as a salesperson and seek his advice on increasing your customer base. This is your call since only you know the exact details here. Just remember, as human resource author, Harvey Mackay, says, "It's the employees you should let go, but don't, who ultimately cause you problems."
Restructuring: A Small Business Fact of Life
As you mentioned, you only kept your manager on to help you learn the business. Once you know the business, you can simply eliminate the position and assume the duties yourself in an effort to improve profitability. That was the plan from the beginning, right? That's entirely fair. If you restructure other positions down the road, that's a different issue. It's important to note that you can always restructure your operations if you find you need people fulfilling other roles. No decision in how you operate is ever final, so don't let it feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders.
Regarding your excellent assistant manager, you might want to consider that some people are very good when given direction, but aren't self-starters. They do well as long as someone is telling them what to do. Yet, I'm a fan of giving someone a chance! So, I like your plan. Restructure, as you describe. Increasing profitability is always a good goal, which helps strengthen your business, and you might find that the assistant manager does fine as the new sales manager. To help get some feedback, you might want to survey your other employees to see how they perceive the leadership of the manager(s). In fairness, sometimes the more effective manager isn't as well-liked as someone who is more easy-going, but keeping this in mind, you may find their input useful.
Lastly, I'd like to suggest a few resources for you to consider. continued
|
|
Small Business Tax Center • Idea Cafe Home • Sign Up • Biz Grant Center • CyberSchmooz •Coffee Talk with Experts • People in Biz Profiles • Starting Your Biz • Biz Planning • Running Your Biz • FREE Trade Publications • Marketing • Financing Your Biz • Human Resources • Legal & Biz Forms • Managing Your Biz • eCommerce • You and Your Biz • Gen X • Work@Home • The Fridge • De-Stress • Send an Award • Send an eGreeting • Yoga @ Your Desk • Web Guide • Idea Cafe in the News • About Idea Cafe • Advertise on Idea Cafe • Contact Us • Privacy Policy • Site Map • Small Biz News • Merchant Processing Services
Copyright 1995-2011, Idea Cafe Inc. Downloads are for personal use only, not for resale to others, and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from Idea Cafe Inc.
DISCLAIMER: We hope whatever you find on this site is helpful, but be cautioned that it may not apply to your own situation, or be totally current at any given time. Idea Cafe Inc. and all of its current and past experts, sponsors, advertisers, agents, contractors and advisors disclaim all warranties with regard to anything found anywhere on this family of websites, quoted from, or sent from Idea Cafe. and its related sites, publications and companies. We also take no responsibility for comments published by others on these pages.
TRADEMARKS: The following are Registered Trademarks or Servicemarks of DevStart, Inc.: Idea Cafe®, Online Coffee Break®, The Small Business Gathering Place®, Take out Info®, Biz Bar & Grill®, Complaint-O-Meter®, A Fun Approach to Serious Business™, CyberSchmooz™, and BizCafe™.
|
|
|
|
Meet the Idea Cafe Experts
Got biz questions of your own brewing? Go post 'em in Idea Cafe's CyberSchmooz.