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How do I manage a company, so everyone is fulfilled?
I am a senior at San Jose High School, I need advice about business management. I want to better my grandfathers family business and want to learn to perform better than he did.
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7 answers
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Jeff’s Answer
The best advice I can give is to learn the business inside and out. Learn from your grandfather and understand why he operates the business the way he does. Also, look at businesses that are like your grandfather's and see how they operate and/or are managed. Read business books and collaborate with your grandfather when you have ideas.
Best of luck to you!
Best of luck to you!
Updated
Harry’s Answer
Hi Abraham, A lofty goal, and a difficult answer to give.
You are a Sr. in high school with no experience to draw on. It can be done, but it takes a long time and cannot be accomplished overnight. Remember, your grandfather has the business and, according to you, needs improvement(s).
I suggest that you start by doing a lot of reading. What are the needs of any business and especially his? There are a lot of them. Some are: a short-term plan, a long-term plan, a budget for each, a marketing plan, an advertising plan, financial help, a sounding board of experienced individuals to help you out, new or replacement equipment and many more. Once you understand these, you will then need to decide where your grandfather's business needs help. You will then need to rank them as to the most important, etc.
This is a long process and you don't want to hurry any decisions. Haste makes waste. A wrong decision may set you back a long time or burn money (what you probably don't have).
Lastly, you must remember that this is your gandfather's business. Unless he has asked you for help, you must walk lightly and not get him upset. Anyone that has started a business, has great pride that must be respected.
Good luck Abraham. Slow and steady as you go - which, I know, will not be an easy thing.
Harry
You are a Sr. in high school with no experience to draw on. It can be done, but it takes a long time and cannot be accomplished overnight. Remember, your grandfather has the business and, according to you, needs improvement(s).
I suggest that you start by doing a lot of reading. What are the needs of any business and especially his? There are a lot of them. Some are: a short-term plan, a long-term plan, a budget for each, a marketing plan, an advertising plan, financial help, a sounding board of experienced individuals to help you out, new or replacement equipment and many more. Once you understand these, you will then need to decide where your grandfather's business needs help. You will then need to rank them as to the most important, etc.
This is a long process and you don't want to hurry any decisions. Haste makes waste. A wrong decision may set you back a long time or burn money (what you probably don't have).
Lastly, you must remember that this is your gandfather's business. Unless he has asked you for help, you must walk lightly and not get him upset. Anyone that has started a business, has great pride that must be respected.
Good luck Abraham. Slow and steady as you go - which, I know, will not be an easy thing.
Harry
Thank you, I've worked at the company for the last 3 summers each year learning a little more. And from the stories he's told me there have been employees who would find or make ways to sue them. Or the need to advertise through more modern ways. It's not that I need to build it up from scratch but just prepare to improve as he himself also mentioned.
Abraham
Thanks for the feedback, Abraham. It sounds like you have some direction. Also, remember that the success of a company can depend on the quality of its assets, IE: employees. If you determine what you can do to make your employees want to come to work, that makes them happy to interact with the customers. Satisfied customers make for a successful company.
Harry Clapeck
Updated
Isabel’s Answer
Hi Abraham - it's great you want to help improve the family business and support your grandfather! Setting that intention is an important first step. I'll split my answer into 2 parts:
1) business learning and vision - at a larger level, find some books, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. that can help you learn about business strategy, management theory, and successful founders. There are a ton of options out there, so I would try to narrow down based on where you want to focus. Some podcasts to start if helpful with are Adam Grant's ReThinking, How I Built This, and Startup. Even though you aren't starting a business from scratch, hearing how founders think about their business and their employees can help you shape your own mindset and start to think the same. Some big takeaways I've gotten from learning more are that happy employees are loyal employees, and that if you remember your 'why' behind what you're trying to do, it'll make it easier to stay motivated and stay focused on the impact instead of getting distracted
2) specific goals and how to achieve - it sound like some of your focuses are around employee satisfaction as well as more modern marketing. For either of these, I would break down one specific goal you want to achieve and make a plan to get there - basically crafting a business case or reasoning for what you want to achieve. e.g., for marketing changes, look into 2-3 different marketing channels (Facebook ads, Google Maps ads, etc.) and collect what it would cost to implement, what you expect the impact to be, and then pick one to do a test run (e.g., Facebook ads will cost $200 but are expected to reach 40 new customers, vs. Google Ads will cost $500 but will reach 100 new customers, etc.) and then adjust your approach from there. Break it down into a measurable impact with actionable steps and then continue building on those to achieve consistent change
Like others have said, there are a ton of different resources and steps you can take here - I encourage you to keep learning, exploring, and collaborating as you move forward. If you have any follow up questions, happy to answer further here! Good luck with your senior year!
1) business learning and vision - at a larger level, find some books, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. that can help you learn about business strategy, management theory, and successful founders. There are a ton of options out there, so I would try to narrow down based on where you want to focus. Some podcasts to start if helpful with are Adam Grant's ReThinking, How I Built This, and Startup. Even though you aren't starting a business from scratch, hearing how founders think about their business and their employees can help you shape your own mindset and start to think the same. Some big takeaways I've gotten from learning more are that happy employees are loyal employees, and that if you remember your 'why' behind what you're trying to do, it'll make it easier to stay motivated and stay focused on the impact instead of getting distracted
2) specific goals and how to achieve - it sound like some of your focuses are around employee satisfaction as well as more modern marketing. For either of these, I would break down one specific goal you want to achieve and make a plan to get there - basically crafting a business case or reasoning for what you want to achieve. e.g., for marketing changes, look into 2-3 different marketing channels (Facebook ads, Google Maps ads, etc.) and collect what it would cost to implement, what you expect the impact to be, and then pick one to do a test run (e.g., Facebook ads will cost $200 but are expected to reach 40 new customers, vs. Google Ads will cost $500 but will reach 100 new customers, etc.) and then adjust your approach from there. Break it down into a measurable impact with actionable steps and then continue building on those to achieve consistent change
Like others have said, there are a ton of different resources and steps you can take here - I encourage you to keep learning, exploring, and collaborating as you move forward. If you have any follow up questions, happy to answer further here! Good luck with your senior year!
Updated
Rebecca’s Answer
Thank you for your question.
Below are my suggestions :
1. Attend the courses related to your family business in the college
2. Attend management and finance courses
3. Work in the same industry in other companies or other countries to understand the business model and establish people network
4. Analyse the business, e.g. competition status, different between the business model of your family business vs other competitors, how to differentiate your company from others, etc.
5. Attend the industry seminar to keep your business knowledge up to date and under the future trend
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
May Almighty God bless you!
Below are my suggestions :
1. Attend the courses related to your family business in the college
2. Attend management and finance courses
3. Work in the same industry in other companies or other countries to understand the business model and establish people network
4. Analyse the business, e.g. competition status, different between the business model of your family business vs other competitors, how to differentiate your company from others, etc.
5. Attend the industry seminar to keep your business knowledge up to date and under the future trend
Hope this helps! Good Luck!
May Almighty God bless you!
Updated
Marty’s Answer
Hi, Abraham
You have lofty goals - improving a business has actions in marketing, sales, operations, human resources, finance. I suspect that you can find in-person or on -line education in each of those fields to supplement what you're discovering when you spend your summers working for the business.
For me - to stay on track I write a plan and work my plan. There are templates for writing a business plan, I'd suggest writing a plan as a good place to start. You may be surprised how helpful a good plan can be.
Good luck - Marty
You have lofty goals - improving a business has actions in marketing, sales, operations, human resources, finance. I suspect that you can find in-person or on -line education in each of those fields to supplement what you're discovering when you spend your summers working for the business.
For me - to stay on track I write a plan and work my plan. There are templates for writing a business plan, I'd suggest writing a plan as a good place to start. You may be surprised how helpful a good plan can be.
Good luck - Marty
Kristen Stancil
Business Resource Planning support, Big4 Accounting Firm
3
Answers
Updated
Kristen’s Answer
Hi Abraham - This is an amazing goal that has a high purpose behind it! There are two main things that you mentioned here:
1. to improve the business
2. create fulfillment for those working there
To improve the business, you can do detailed reviews of the company's processes to understand what may work well while identifying areas for improvement. Part of what will be impactful here is to take time to understand the current state with many perspectives because the employees will likely show provide context for you.
To create fulfillment, you can leverage the knowledge of the employees which will give you good insights and information but also will help them feel more fulfilled in their current role and any opportunities you might bring to them for improvement.
Providing a place for people to understand the vision of your family's company while also playing to the strengths of each person that has dedicated their life to working there will help the overall company tremendously.
You have such clear direction already based on your question, just don't lose the mission when the decisions become challenging!
- Kristen
1. to improve the business
2. create fulfillment for those working there
To improve the business, you can do detailed reviews of the company's processes to understand what may work well while identifying areas for improvement. Part of what will be impactful here is to take time to understand the current state with many perspectives because the employees will likely show provide context for you.
To create fulfillment, you can leverage the knowledge of the employees which will give you good insights and information but also will help them feel more fulfilled in their current role and any opportunities you might bring to them for improvement.
Providing a place for people to understand the vision of your family's company while also playing to the strengths of each person that has dedicated their life to working there will help the overall company tremendously.
You have such clear direction already based on your question, just don't lose the mission when the decisions become challenging!
- Kristen
Updated
Robert’s Answer
Hi Abraham,
Let me add a few additional comments about “so everyone is fulfilled.” I’ve found over the years that, although it’s difficult to ensure “everyone” is fulfilled, there are things you can do about improving the business in the future. First, when you introduce a new important proposal to the employees, explain the benefits of your new plan and ask them for suggestions before implementing it. You may not adopt all their ideas, but it will lessen the chance you’ll get surprised, as you said, by employees who “will find ways to sue” your company. And what worked for me many times, offer your new plan on a “trial basis” to start (folks tend to resist change). After a brief trial period, meet with them again ask how it’s going. Can it be improved or modified to bring more folks in alignment with it? A successful business is rarely one where everyone votes on every management decision. However, giving employees some input will most times result in more fulfilling results.
Best of luck!
Let me add a few additional comments about “so everyone is fulfilled.” I’ve found over the years that, although it’s difficult to ensure “everyone” is fulfilled, there are things you can do about improving the business in the future. First, when you introduce a new important proposal to the employees, explain the benefits of your new plan and ask them for suggestions before implementing it. You may not adopt all their ideas, but it will lessen the chance you’ll get surprised, as you said, by employees who “will find ways to sue” your company. And what worked for me many times, offer your new plan on a “trial basis” to start (folks tend to resist change). After a brief trial period, meet with them again ask how it’s going. Can it be improved or modified to bring more folks in alignment with it? A successful business is rarely one where everyone votes on every management decision. However, giving employees some input will most times result in more fulfilling results.
Best of luck!