Management & Operations

 This is the 3rd post in the series.  In my 1st post, I talked about developing ideas for your new business and then vetting your idea to see if it seems reasonable.  The 2nd post dealt with learning about the industry you will be competing in.  Feel free to go back and read the older posts if you want and, of course, if you have any questions or suggestions, you reach out to me anytime via my email address brian@brianshube.com

So the next, I think this is a good time to drill down a little further and start to understand how you will turn your idea into a business.  It is important to remember that nothing you are/will be doing is chiseled in stone.  In fact, I would be shocked if all or even most of decisions that you make early in the process actually survive unchanged by the time you are up and running.  There is no shame in going back and making changes.  In fact I strongly recommend reviewing your plan frequently.  I have been in business for over 25 years and I review and tweak my plan on a regular basis.

You need to think about how your will actually operationalize your idea.  Think about how many people you will need and what their roles will be.  If you actually know who will fill a particular role, then you should write down that individual’s qualifications (education, experience, etc.) for the position.  If you don’t have someone in mind, then this is the opportunity to write the details on the qualifications of the individual you will be looking to hire.

In my company, for example, I am primarily an operations person.  I get how things work and am very interested in process.  Having said that I am a terrible sales person.  So, I would put myself responsible for planning and operations but look to hire someone to do the sales activity.

Regardless of what business you are looking to start, you should expect to need outside help.  At a minimum, you will need both an Attorney and an Accountant to help you. 

This is also a good time to set up a Board of Advisors. This is a group of people you can count on to discuss your plans and give you some unbiased advice.  These are not friends nor family members.  Rather, they are individuals who are experienced in particular areas.  In my consulting business, my board consists of a lawyer, a finance person, a banker, an expert on food safety, and others.  The composition of the board changes from time to time as the business needs change.  These are not employees of the business and their compensation is only lunch once a month in exchange for the opportunity to tell me how stupid I am!

This is also a good time to understand process.  You will need to answer question such as:

·             How will the business run? 

·            What equipment will be needed?

·            What is the recipe / bill of materials for my product?

·            Where will I get my supplies, raw materials, etc.?

Speaking of suppliers, I recommend starting to write down the criteria you will use for selecting them.  Such things as:

·            Needed certifications

·            Quality

·            Reliability

·            Responsiveness

·            Location

·            Etc.

Once you have defined those criteria, you can then begin to search for potential suppliers and find that ones who most closely meets your needs.

 

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