Everyone arrives at a website that has management education information. Some help manage businesses. Some teach small business owners how to succeed. Others are communities. At first the new business owner passes these by. The day will come when all business owners stop and consider joining one of these groups. Unfortunately, if that day doesn't come, the business owner statistically reduces their chances of success.



Management education is the key to small business success. But, according to some statistics only 36 per cent of small business owners take any professional development advice, courses, or read books. This could explain why most small businesses will go under in the first five years.

Too many small businesses are poorly funded with insufficient working capital to allow stable, controllable growth. The business owner's lack of education and development leave them unable to manage their time and money effectively.

Compare this to large companies where all managers typically receive professional development training on a quarterly or yearly basis. In fact, many large corporations now run their own ?in house? Internet based schools. The correlation between education and success has been proven time and again.

Not all types of education are equal. Not all training venues are equal.

Where To Seek Advice

The net is a viable source of free information. Some good, most bad. The best rule of thumb is to follow the success rates. Find a website that offers advice. Then, check them out. Do they own a company? Are there employees? Can you find a business location? Phone the company, ask a few questions.

Do you really want to take advice from a business that has not reached a level of success where they need office space, staff, or even a business phone? The next step is to Google the guru's and company's name. You want to see hundreds of references to that company, proving that they are successful and respected by other people in the industry.

Types of Education

There are several types of business management education the small business owner needs.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT skills are needed to learn how to increase productivity, manage time, keep projects on track, and understand business law. A business manager can take this type of education free on the net, by reading books, and by hiring a life coach.

College courses will probably not afford the information needed by buying a ?get started? or ?how we succeeded? package from a proven success.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT is an art more than a science. All business owners need to take crisis management courses. The confidence that you can handle an emergency effectively and efficiently is often enough to help the business owner ride out the most traumatic down turn, or devastating situation.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT is the ability to bring together all types of people, and resources. The objective is to create a time table, and a budget, that includes contingencies for emergencies and problems. The objective is to make sure that projects are finished before their deadlines.

ACCOUNTING is vital, even if the business owner never plans to take charge of their own bookkeeping. Millions of business owners have been robbed, and even ended up in jail for tax fraud, because they could not read a general journal.

No one can create effective cash flow charts and projections without first understanding how to manage a set of books. A small business owner may use one of the bookkeeping programs that ?does it all.? However, without a basic understanding of accounting procedures the numbers mean nothing.

Learning the basics of accounting will help the business owner translate their balance sheet into a business building, success creating, management tool.

COMMUNICATION STYLES teaches business managers how to get their point across without causing problems. Most clients are lost by someone who does not understand the basic concept of ?communication styles.?

MARKETING can be the most confusing, and yet most powerful tool in a business owner's arsenal. It is the one thing that will help them know the difference between an opportunity and a scam. Without a basic understanding of the concepts of marketing, it will be almost impossible to start a business without buying a ?get started? or ?how to succeed? kit from a business management success and mentor.