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The 7 Things You Must Do While Managing Your Business

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managing your business

Did you start your business for specific reasons such as the loss of a job or due to your desire to be independent? However, do you think you have the right personality to manage an enterprise successfully? Are you aware of the common trait found amongst successful entrepreneurs or are you frustrated and struggling along?

Anyway, just keep on reading; to discover what might be missing in your personality. Because, once you dabble into business, you have become a different animal. If you want the business to survive and meet its set objectives, it must also be in tandem with your own self-survival and inner peace.

Here are 7 things you must do while managing your business:

1. Become a student for life

Seek knowledge. Go after many sources. Get an insightful mentor, preferably older than you. I lost mine about 4 years ago. I miss him greatly. Learn about winners and even losers in life. Learn about the lowly and the mighty. Learn about the hidden and the obvious.

This new habit of learning will spark and build your inner confidence. It makes it easier to develop and arrive at your own full conviction. Why? Because, today, there is so much confusion around our world.

2. Master your emotions

You will have to be a master of your emotions. It is not easy because we are human.

But you can strive to keep away from taking knee-jerk decisions. With deliberate practice you will be rewarded.

“Your intellect may be confused, but your emotions will never lie to you.” – Roger Ebert

3. Take care of your business

Your business needs all the attention. Self-discipline and your lifestyle have a lot to do with it. Imagine you are a guest at a sumptuous dinner and you have a business appointment out of town the next morning. Your friends can choose to eat or drink anything, in any amount. But not you. Maybe a bite or a sip. An overnight rumbling stomach may prevent you from doing that job out of town.

4. Build your business network

You will need to cultivate some business relationships. That is a tough one, for people like me, who don’t make friends easily. But one must work at it, because a business moves more smoothly with a good network. It throws up many opportunities and things get done faster. Or you may get a person to do much of that on your behalf. But be ready to pay a fee.

5. Find time to recap

Create the time to reflect on your successes and mistakes about your business and personal aspirations. This routine exercise prepares you when you need to make urgent and accurate decisions. Crisis will come up. I can assure you of that.

During your quiet moment, you will also be looking for patterns, opportunities and trends around you and even across the rest of the world. Your business is greatly affected by these realities. Other successful business leaders in your industry and elsewhere are actually doing same. It is a game of survival.

“I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.” – Kobe Bryant

6. Watch your health

At the onset of a new enterprise, the health of a business owner needs all the attention.

You will be doing both the mental and the physical work. When you grow and if your finances allow it, then you can employ to help. That will reduce your workload and you will live longer. You will also be able to see your business more broadly, giving you more time to rest.

7. Watch your inner circle

You must strike a delicate balance to get the cooperation of your friends, staff and loved ones. Remember, those close to you may make or break your efforts. Not because some of them don’t love you, but they are thinking “Why have you imposed so much hardship on yourself instead of getting a paid employment?” But believe me, most won’t tell you to your face — even your adorable spouse, until you strike gold.
At your workplace study your staff, the people that do business with you and your clients.

And on rare occasions, for some very difficult clients you will have to let them go but with care. Therefore, you must reassess and renegotiate all relationships and be firm about it.

If your business dies, you may follow literarily, unless you have a reservoir of mental strength to stay alive and with your sanity intact.

Which one of these are you going to focus on today? Please leave your thoughts below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

Muyiwa Osifuye brings over 30 years of demonstrable experience in small business into his consulting outfit and his articles through www.muyiwaosifuye.com His focus is on individual small-business owners who need practical management skills and advice on work-life balance. He is the author of two books, available on Amazon "Fast Track Your Business: 18 Steps on Ideas, Marketing, Self and Employee" and “The Small Business Starter's Guide: Sharing 30 Years Experience on How to Build for Success".

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
Image Credit: Midjourney

Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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Success Advice

What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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