Having the right business administrative infrastructure is a challenge for a growing business
Business administration may not be at the top of your list with sales, production, or technical and product innovation. But poor business administration can create inefficiency, issues that are expensive to fix later, and in worst cases (which are not all that rare) give rise to legal liability or ultimately lead to the failure of the business.
For many small to medium-sized organizations, achieving efficiency and success in business administration is impaired by a combination of lack of interest, heavy emphasis on cost minimization, and frequent procrastination. The small business owner may have additional challenges like just not having enough time in the day to get everything done and overcoming the “no one else can do it like I can” mentality.
A larger organization can have a “chief administrative officer” who will take the lead on making sure the administrative things get done. How they get done ~ via owners, employees, or outsourced providers ~ is a matter of judgment based on the current state of the business.
When done correctly, business administration allows a business to grow, helps to identify and mitigate risks, drives efficient and effective operations, and ultimately reduces costs. Not every company’s approach to business administration is the same, nor should it be. There’s a strategic element to defining the approach, which will be driven in part by owner and management philosophies.
But while customized planning based on the organization’s strategic plan is essential, the wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented, particularly when it comes to the processes and procedures that are the heart of business administration.
To us, business administration is “taking care of business.” It is helping make sure administrative things get done while the business makes sales, builds its products and services, runs its operations, and grows.
