Corporate Management Skills are Crucial for All Businesses

When you have a small business or start-up, you are forced to wear a lot of hats. You tend to have a closer relationship with your employees, be involved in a variety of departments, and feel like you are never truly “off the clock”. This can all lead to your business feeling a little less corporate and a little more like family.

Whatever your feelings about the corporate world, it is essential that you bring proper corporate management to your company. Corporate management means dealing with all of the processes of leading, directing, and administrating a company. It is about more than keeping things in line: corporate management deals with bookkeeping, cash flow and risk management, and stakeholder management to name just a few things!

But just why is proper corporate management so important?

Companies and Start-Ups Can Frequently Fail

Nobody wants to think about their business failing, but the fact is that the majority of start-ups and small companies can go down within a short number of years. For example, in 2019 it was estimated that 90% of start-ups fail. 21.5% of these fail in their first year, 30% in the second year, 50% in their fifth year, and 70% in their tenth year.

The fact that so many small businesses fail even after getting through their first year may shock you. This is often due to a lack of proper corporate management that creates a fundamental lack within a company. Whether you are a start-up with only one employee or an established medium sized company with plenty of clients, corporate management is essential.

These statistics are not meant to discourage anybody from starting a business. Rather, it should demonstrate the importance of specific corporate management skills.

Some Skills are a Must

Here are some essential corporate management skills and how they can help a business flourish:

1. Cash flow management and bookkeeping. These skills involve tracking how much money is coming in and out of your business, and keeping a record of your finances. Small businesses commonly fail because of money issues, so these are skills that cannot be sacrificed.

2. Risk management. This involves identifying and avoiding risks to your business, whether that be changing market demographics or potential tax pitfalls. Risk management is an important corporate skill because it helps predict and protect your business from threats. It is critical to always have mitigation and contingency plans!

3. Project management. The process of properly leading a team and coordinating the completion of projects is a skill that you must have in order to lead a business. Without it, projects will not be completed on time or at all. Project management skills are important even if the business involves operations rather than projects!

Corporate Management is Essential For All Business Niches and Sizes

As you can see, a lack of corporate management has a big impact on the success of a company. A well-managed company will also save money by not having to pay out of pocket for issues of poor management. These skills are essential, so hiring a business consultant is much more valuable than you might think.