INSIGHT
SIX INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES TO GROW YOUR AFFILIATE BUSINESS
Lee-Ann Johnstone of consultancy Best Odds Marketing says business owners of all sizes must make sure they take time out from the day-to-day running of their business to focus on supporting its growth, and outlines some tips on the best ways to do this.
HAVING WORKED AT SEVERAL small and large organisations during my career I’ ve learnt a lot about management styles and how they can impact your business growth. Running your own business is hard work. Being a small business owner means having to take on many roles within your organisation to ensure all the moving parts are working to the best of their ability.
Having a solid management structure in place helps drive the business forward. It’ s important to remember that success isn’ t about what you accomplish: it’ s about what you inspire others to do.
As affiliates and business entrepreneurs, it’ s easy to become so focused working in your business( driving traffic and building your websites), that you forget to work on your business to support its continued growth. This happens frequently when small business owners are expanding rapidly but struggle to keep up with their own success.
My diverse experience of managing people in various sized businesses over the past two decades has led me to believe that various management styles can be adapted to any enterprise, regardless of its stage in the business lifecycle, to support its growth.
1) Understand what working on your business really means It means everything outside of the core service your business offers; what is required to make your business run on daily basis, except for the activity or service that is your main revenue stream. From developing HR procedures and building your IT infrastructure to implementing a solid finance and administration process, these are the necessary functions of a business’ s success. However, these necessities can become an afterthought in the wake of unexpected or fast growth. Such an oversight can then lead to longerterm stability and infrastructure issues.
Working on your affiliate business means creating infrastructure and processes that your team can use to ensure stability as your organisation experiences rapid growth.
Working on your business enables you to keep your growth vision on track throughout your process of delivery. Planning the growth and structure of your business is just as important as planning the expansion of your website revenue or service lead opportunities.
Companies who understand that working on their business is just as important as working in them tend to outperform their competitors.
Whether you are a solopreneur working with several outsourced partners, or a small to medium sized operation employing part- or full-time employees, understanding the principles of management innovation and implementing them will help your business succeed and grow.
2) Accept that people ARE your business This means both the people you hire in-house and the external teams to whom you outsource critical work.‘ People buy People’ is an ethos that has guided me over the course of my career. Particularly in this industry, where people move around a lot, it’ s imperative that you surround yourself with those who represent your brand and your business in the same way you do. Cultivating a culture of pride within your extended workforce helps solidify your business’ s brand values.
“ It’ s important to remember that success isn’ t about what you accomplish: it’ s about what you inspire others to do”
Hiring good people managers is a great investment, and not just to save you time. It will also ensure your vision as business founder is communicated effectively to those who work with and for you. Managers are so much more than“ people herders”. They are also agents of change for your business and will drive the rest of your team to:
● Set goals, motivate and align your businesses output( manage)
● Control and co-ordinate group activities within the team( delivery)
● Allocate resources appropriately to meet objectives( results)
● Apply knowledge spread( learning)
● Build and nurture relationships( internally and externally)
iGB Affiliate Issue 63 JUN / JUL 2017
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