Got 2 Hours and a Management Challenge? Read “Managing Your Business”


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Primarily written for business owners “with infrastructure,” a business with employees and an ongoing concern, it’s actually a great resource for managers inside of a small business or mid-sized business as well.

managing your business

Do you know why your business isn’t growing?  It’s probably because you think you know how to manage it all.  But, if you find yourself thinking you have too much to do, thinking you don’t have enough time and thinking, “I should not have to deal with this,” then guess what – you are in management overwhelm.

Managing Your Business (A Crash Course for Entrepreneurs) is a short and simple step in taking control of your management dilemma.  Written by a team of entrepreneurial veterans; Scott Girard, Michael O’Keefe and Marc Price (@expertbizadvice). Between the three of them, they’ve started and run more than 17 businesses.  They got together to create an entire series of short and sweet books for business owners called A Crash Course for Entrepreneurs.

The purpose of the Crash Course series is to give entrepreneurs overviews on the most important topics that drive business success.  Other installments in the series include:

  • Starting a Business
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Business Finance Basics
  • Business Law Basics

You could say that this is similar to the One-Minute Manager series or the Dummies’ series.  If you like those kinds of books, you will certainly appreciate this one.

I would say that this falls somewhere in between these two examples as far as details are concerned.  I would say it’s a 10,000 foot view of running your business instead of a 30,000 foot view or a 30 foot view.  It’s just big enough to help you get focused without becoming overwhelming.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Managing Your Business

The book is divided up into four chapters:

Chapter 1 – Leadership Basics: Where they summarize decades of tried and true leadership strategies along with the more recent tips on managing effectively.  This includes leadership styles and basic leadership skills

Chapter 2 – Polishing Yourself Up: Don’t be offended by this section of the book, rather take an open-minded look at professional etiquette, a handy section on common writing and speaking mistakes and a great chapter on walking the line between confidence and cockiness.

Chapter 3 – Employee Management: Whether your business has full-time, part time or even virtual employees, you’ll want to take look at this section.  Other than getting customers, this is the next most popular topic for business owners.  There are some terrific tips designed to help owners find and hire great employees as well as how to deal with difficult employees.

Chapter 4 – Strategic Thinking and Acting: Of course, there has to be a section that drives you to work ON your business and not IN your business.  This section is all about how to think and how to put your ideas into action.

It’s Just the Right Amount of Information for Overwhelmed Business Owners

While this book is primarily written for business owners “with infrastructure,” a business with employees and an ongoing concern, it’s actually a great resource for managers inside of a small business or mid-sized business as well.

The authors have done a terrific job of including important, and sometimes heavy, topics without making them seem overwhelming or impossible to accomplish.

The tone of the book is straightforward without being glib or fluffy.  This is definitely a book (and a series) that deserves a place on your office bookshelf.

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Ivana Taylor Ivana Taylor is the Book Editor for Small Business Trends. She is responsible for directing the site’s book review program and manages the team of professional book reviewers. She also spearheads the annual Small Business Book Awards. Ivana publishes DIYMarketers, where she shares daily do-it-yourself marketing tips, and is co-author of "Excel for Marketing Managers."

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