The Entrepreneur's Way
A part of the growth pattern for successful small businesses is knowing how to hire, retain, and develop employees. Getting this wrong will mean slower growth, lower profitability, and a higher risk of failure. Moreover, building your employee base for an entrepreneurial business is wildly different than what goes on in a large, established business.
Obviously, the talent, dedication, and diversity of any company’s workforce is a critical component of the business’s success or failure. For a small, growing business, however, it is even more critical as a function of that smaller size. If you are responsible for hundreds of employees and one of them is problematic, it is highly unlikely to bring that company down, or even negatively impact it in any meaningful way. But if you only have five or ten employees, one mistake in hiring, training, or managing can result in a catastrophic failure. In the excitement of creating and beginning to manage a small business, a focus on hiring and managing people may not be what most commands an entrepreneur’s attention.
Experience shows, however, if you don’t pay adequate attention to the people in your company, you will end up paying for it by having to spend much more time fixing the problems that are created by this negligence. People still matter. People are still the currency of success. As an entrepreneur, it is crucial that you make sure every one of your employees knows how important they are. And make sure that every employee gets the training and support they need to maximize that value.
SHRM—the Society for Human Resources Management—is a premier resource for expertise in the field. SHRM is active at the national, state, and local levels. In an article available on the SHRM website, Olivia Gebreamiak addresses some of the challenges arising from trends like lower workforce participation rates, generational changes, and the rise of AI. Writing on “leading with intentionality,” the article declares flatly, “The traditional command-and-control model of leadership is no longer effective in today’s workplace.”
In the article, JoAnne Bass, founder of the Bass Group, says, “You’ve got to be deliberate—whether it’s with your teams, your priorities, or your purpose. When we model that as leaders, we set the tone for success.”
You can learn more about SHRM and its resources at https://www.shrm.org.
Stay Connected
If you are thinking about starting a new business or expanding an existing one, our BAS coaches can help you make sane, value-drive decisions going forward. Because of long-term funding from The Rapides Foundation, we never charge for our services. Contact Gary Perkins (below) for more information. Follow us on Facebook for real-time updates and exciting news. Learn more about Louisiana Central at www.louisiana-central.com . For more on BAS, go to https://www.louisiana-central.com/bas. You can also email Gary Perkins at gperkins@louisiana-central.com.
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