Small business management involves handling all small business operations, from daily tasks to payroll and more. It’s about growing a company, making informed decisions, and hiring the best people for the job.
In our guide, we discuss what small business management is, why it matters, and how you can do it effectively. Our experts also share 12 of the best small business management tools for 2025.
Table of Contents
- What Is Small Business Management?
- What Does a Small Business Manager Do?
- The Importance of Small Business Management
- 5 Small Business Management Strategies
- 6 Core Skills of an Effective Small Business Manager
- 12 Management Tools for Small Business
- 4 Tips on How To Manage a Small Business
- Small Business Management: Takeaways
- Small Business Management FAQs
What Is Small Business Management?
Small business management is the process of overseeing and coordinating all aspects of an organization's operations. It's about ensuring your business is profitable, running smoothly, and fulfilling both you and your employees’ needs.
While some small businesses have several owners or partners who work together, most are owned and operated by a single individual. However, managing accounting, HR, small business marketing, and other tasks in your small business all on your own can quickly become overwhelming.
These roles aren't just for giant corporations with thousands of employees. Even small businesses need to stay organized to succeed. From day-to-day operations to long-term planning and everything in between, there's an endless supply of tasks — which is also why many turn to small business consulting firms for assistance.
What Does a Small Business Manager Do?
The role of a small business manager depends on your organization's needs and what makes the most sense for your organization. Small business managers are responsible for every critical aspect of daily operations.
Their specific tasks usually involve:
- Planning out the day-to-day operations of a company
- Overseeing the finances and budgeting
- Making sure that employees are working efficiently and meeting deadlines
- Leading marketing efforts to draw in new customers
- Hiring and training employees
- Negotiating contracts with vendors and advertising the company's services
- Ensuring that your company's products or services are effective, efficient, and consistent with customer requirements
The Importance of Small Business Management
When starting a business, getting caught up in the day-to-day tasks can be easy, making it difficult to see the big picture. You may feel like you need to do a million things daily and deciding which task to prioritize can be challenging when each one is important.
That's why small business management is crucial for the success and sustainability of small businesses.
Here is the list of five advantages that small business management delivers:
- Increases Overall Efficiency and Productivity of Business Operations
- Boosts Employees' Growth and Development
- Builds a Strong Brand Reputation
- Enables Stable Business Finances and Constant Cash Flow
- Mitigating Risks and Compliance
1. Increases Overall Efficiency and Productivity of Business Operations
As a small business owner, you should plan, organize, and coordinate your resources, including people, time, and finances, to ensure they are used efficiently and effectively.
Proper management of your small business operations can help you make better business decisions, hire the right people, improve your company culture, and set clear goals for your employees.
Thorough planning also lets you know what works and what doesn’t so you can adjust your strategy. This enhances the overall productivity of the business and helps achieve its goals.
2. Boosts Employees' Growth and Development
Small business management is crucial for the development of your employees — if they professionally grow, they will boost your company's growth, too.
As a small business owner, you can motivate and engage the workforce by hiring and retaining the right employees, providing suitable training and development opportunities, and fostering a positive work culture.
You can increase productivity, efficiency, and profitability by encouraging your employees to develop their soft and hard skills. Remember: A good manager not only focuses on their team but also on improving their skills to be more efficient.
3. Builds a Strong Brand Reputation
Managing a small business is critical for building a strong and positive small business reputation. These businesses can create a loyal customer base and differentiate their work from competitors by focusing on customer service, quality control, and innovation.
A strong brand reputation can lead to more significant customer engagement with your business and more referrals, which is essential for sustainable growth.
4. Enables Stable Business Finances and Constant Cash Flow
All companies should make business decisions within their budget, but this especially goes for small companies, where financial resources are often limited, and cash flow can be uncertain.
Small business management is essential when discussing business finances because it enables financial stability and growth. You can make informed decisions about investments, expenses, and revenue generation by managing cash flow, budgeting, and financial planning. These can also identify potential economic challenges so you can take proactive measures to overcome them.
Proper small business management also allows you to purchase adequate equipment and necessary software and hardware, instead of overspending on unnecessary elements. The same applies to employment and many other aspects of your work, where you may overdo it, resulting in negative financial consequences.
5. Mitigating Risks and Compliance
Small business management involves ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Small businesses can avoid legal and financial penalties by understanding and adhering to taxation and employment, health, and safety regulations. You can also implement risk management strategies to mitigate risks and safeguard your business.
By focusing on these areas, you can create sustainable and successful small companies.
5 Small Business Management Strategies
Here are five strategies that can help you manage your small business more effectively:
- Focus on Your Clients
- Streamline the Process With Tools
- Invest in Professional Development
- Don’t Multitask
- Promote Teamwork
1. Focus on Your Clients
Your clients are the core of your small business — without them, there won’t be a business to manage. While adjusting your whole business, don’t forget to pay attention to your clients.
Foster good relationships by setting aside time each day to address their concerns. Tailor your small business management to meet the client’s needs. Be honest and prioritize consistency and quality of your services.
2. Streamline the Process With Tools
In today’s digital era, you don’t have to manage the whole business by yourself. There are plenty of tools available, many of which are free or affordable for small businesses, that can simplify the whole management process.
For instance, Google Workspace can help you facilitate collaborations among different teams or team members, while Trello is useful for assigning tasks to employees. Alternatively, consider Later for specific management like social media posting.
3. Invest in Your Employees
Managing a small business is a lot to take on by yourself. Rather than shouldering the burden yourself, consider involving your employees in some parts of the management process so they can take on the job.
Additionally, by offering training and resources to your employees so your small business can run smoother, you’re indirectly helping your management processes. Equipping them with the right knowledge and skillset to deal with future challenges frees up your time to focus on other aspects of your business.
4. Don’t Multitask
Small businesses often don’t have the budget to hire multiple people, so multitasking is almost second nature. However, minimize multitasking as much as possible. Encourage yourself and your employees to focus on one or two points in the management process at a time. Delegate the work accordingly and don’t add new responsibilities until current tasks are done.
5. Promote Teamwork
To ensure effective small business management, you must learn to trust and rely on your employees. Foster teamwork by:
- Encouraging regular meetings where everyone can talk about their work without any constraints.
- Using the open-door policy where employees can share their thoughts directly with the manager.
- Using tools like Google Workplace to streamline the whole communication process.
6 Core Skills of an Effective Small Business Manager
Good management requires several skills and abilities. Make sure you're well-versed in these core skills, so you can manage your employees more effectively:
1. Communication
Communication is essential in tying these skills together. To be an effective manager, you must communicate your expectations to your employees clearly and effectively. You should also know how to listen to your employees and understand their needs so you can help them succeed, be happy, and feel fulfilled in their jobs.
2. Planning
Planning is another essential skill for managing a small business successfully. You should look at your team's workload, set priorities, and organize everything to ensure everything gets properly done on time.
3. Time Management
Every person on your team is running against the clock. You need to understand how long it takes for your employees to do specific tasks, and then prioritize everyone's work accordingly, so nothing falls through the cracks.
4. Accountability
Managing a small business is a challenging job. Sometimes, you’ll have to make difficult decisions that may be unpopular with your employees. You should stand behind your decisions, explain why you made them, and deal with any pushback appropriately.
5. Financial Management
Small business owners have limited resources at their disposal. Therefore, you need expertise in managing finances, so you don't waste money while still getting everything done within budget limits.
6. Decision-Making
Last but not least, you need to be able to make sound decisions. Good managers don’t let emotion cloud their judgment. They take a logical approach when making decisions and help their employees succeed.
12 Management Tools for Small Business
Small business management is time-consuming; keeping up with your team's work and overall organization can be challenging. Overload is the reason small businesses turn to management tools that can increase their effectiveness and productivity.
Here are 12 of the most valuable business management software and tools for small businesses:
1. Trello
Trello is an excellent way to organize projects by splitting them into different cards. You can create boards for each project, so everyone knows where they stand on their assigned tasks. Moreover, if your team works remotely, Trello will gather all your information in one place, keeping it accessible through web and mobile applications.
Another advantage is that this tool has an intuitive user interface, making it simple even if it’s your first time using a collaboration app.
2. Slack
This messaging app allows teams to share files, chat with one another in real time, or discuss upcoming events or milestones within their company culture calendar.
Slack provides many channels that allow you to stay organized and focused, with central spaces for conversations, files, and tools. You can even communicate with teams from other companies, with the same ease you do with your own.
Slack can easily integrate with other important small business tools like Google Drive and Microsoft Office.
3. FreshBooks
As a cloud accounting solution designed specifically for small business administration, FreshBooks helps simplify financial statements while providing insights into what works best in each department based on data gathered automatically.
FreshBooks tool offers professional invoicing features, ideal not only for small businesses that work with contractors and employees but also for freelancers and self-employed professionals.
The tool integrates with over 100 great apps to streamline your business, help you connect with your team and clients, and better understand your business.
4. Asana
Asana provides team collaboration features and task project management software functionality. It is flexible and accessible for all teams, enabling small companies to deliver quality work together faster.
Asana automates your workflows by placing redundant tasks on autopilot, streamlines your reports, facilitates gathering information, and manages risks and dependencies on your company goals for better collaboration.
5. SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is a survey and feedback service that lets you collect data from clients, customers, and employees, providing valuable insights and enabling data-driven decisions.
It provides many different survey types, such as customer satisfaction, market research, employee engagement, product testing, brand awareness, and many others. Surveys can be filtered by type.
Additionally, SurveyMonkey features specialized toolkits designed for specific roles and industries, such as customer service, human resources, and product management.
6. Wrike
Wrike is an all-in-one platform that streamlines all your workflows. This tool offers a complete suite of project management tools, from scheduling meetings to managing tasks and expenses.
Wrike empowers your teams to do the best work with 360° visibility, cross-departmental collaboration, and powerful automation. It provides extensive marketing, IT, and project management features that will maximize your team's performance, accelerate growth, and improve customer experience.
7. HubSpot
HubSpot CRM (customer relationship management) software offers marketing automation software for small businesses, including lead generation.
HubSpot assists businesses in organizing and managing customer relationships on a centralized and user-friendly platform. Businesses can clearly understand where they stand with each customer in the buying process by tracking leads and compiling a comprehensive database of customer activity.
It also provides necessary tools for all employees in your team — 100% free! Some of the HubSpot features you’ll love include email and prospect tracking, a meeting schedule, and their live chat support.
8. Google Workspace
Google Workspace is a comprehensive suite of cloud computing, productivity, and collaboration tools, software, and products developed by Google. It is a paid service that provides you with access to premium business tools that can help streamline your workflow.
As a collaborative productivity app, Google Workplace provides professional email, shared calendars, online document editing and storage, video meetings, and more.
9. Dropbox
Dropbox, an online file hosting service, helps you store and sync files to computers and mobile devices, making sharing photos, videos, presentations, and other files more straightforward.
Dropbox values user privacy and doesn’t use or resell your data — your files belong only to you. It keeps all your files in the same place, allowing you to store files up to 2 TB for each user, instantly sync it, and enable anyone to preview nearly 200 file types.
Third-party integration is also easy. Simply, connect your Dropbox with Zoom, Slack, Adobe, Microsoft Office, or hundreds of others to streamline your workflow.
10. Podio
Podio is a social media management software that also offers basic project management features. Whether you're working on a design project or closing a sales lead, Podio consolidates all project-related information onto a single page, making collaboration much easier.
Users can attach files, track project statuses, and leave comments in real time — all within one platform. Moreover, Podio integrates with many popular file-sharing services, customer support products, and marketing tools to connect your team's work.
11. Later
Later is a comprehensive social media management tool that lets you upload posts, create and send email campaigns, schedule tweets at the best times for engagement, and measure your results with detailed reporting. Later does it all to save time and help you grow your business.
Some of the features it provides include a content calendar for scheduling social media posts, customizable captions for all platforms, and auto-publishing across multiple profiles.
Later is compatible with Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.
12. Canva
Canva is a free graphic design app for designing anything, from banners to flyers and social media graphics. Its intuitive UI, drag-and-drop editing options, and built-in font library make Canva easy to use, even for non-designers.
Canva is a budget-friendly and invaluable tool for helping small business management cost-effectively produce graphic designs like social media images, videos, GIFs, posters, booklets, multimedia presentations, and more.
4 Tips on How To Manage a Small Business
Managing a small business isn’t easy, especially when you’re in charge of everything — from employment and compliance to marketing decisions and checking content relevance.
You can find relief from everyday work by following our small business management tips below:
1. How To Choose the Best Management Style for Small Businesses
The best management style for small businesses is a combination of leadership and coaching. It involves setting the vision and strategy while helping and guiding your team to get there.
A strong leader is also a capable coach. To achieve this, actively listen to your team, understand and empathize with their perspectives, get them on board with the business’s objectives, and support them in achieving them.
2. How To Manage Your Goals
Your business goals must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). Begin by identifying the essential things you want to accomplish in your company; these are your business priorities. For instance, your priority might be to reach $50,000 in revenue or expand into a new market area by the fourth quarter of the year.
3. How To Keep Your Team Motivated and Engaged
A motivated and engaged workforce can make all the difference between a successful business and one that fails.
It's worth putting in the time to keep your employees happy because it pays off in the long run. Here’s how to ensure your employees’ satisfaction:
- Set clear expectations of employees’ roles and responsibilities.
- Create incentives or rewards that align with company values.
- Build personal relationships with employees through one-on-one conversations.
- Keep communication lines open so everyone feels comfortable asking questions.
4. How To Manage Your Finances
The first thing you should do is understand your financial situation. This involves understanding how much money you're earning, where it's coming from, and where your expenses are going.
Once you have a clear picture of your finances and business growth prospects, set goals for yourself and your small business. Here’s how:
- Set a budget to avoid surprises when paying bills or investing in new equipment or technology.
- Track all expenses to prevent going over the budget.
- Stay within the budget by paying bills before any other expenses come due.
- Pay yourself first before paying bills or other expenses to ensure savings are available when times get tough.
- Save money for future needs to protect your business against inflation and secure returns on investment.
Small Business Management: Takeaways
Managing a small business can be a lot to take in. In the excitement and stress of starting your own company, it's easy to overlook certain tasks. It’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, but it also comes with unique challenges you wouldn’t face in a traditional 9-to-5 office job.
Small business management is all about streamlining your day-to-day tasks, so you have more time and energy for the things that matter most to you as an entrepreneur. If you don’t know where to start, small business marketing companies and top business consulting firms are your trusted allies in navigating this new venture.
Small Business Management FAQs
1. What are the types of small business management?
There are many different types of small business management. Some of the most common ones are IT, HR, marketing, financial management, and customer service.
2. What is the hardest part of managing and advertising a small business?
This depends on the business itself. The same applies to advertising a small business. Since we’re talking about companies with limited budgets, the hardest part for many when managing and promoting a small business is finding the balance between their needs and expenses. Luckily, many affordable tools are available that can help streamline your processes like Asana or Google Analytics.
3. What software is best for small business management?
It depends on what you’re looking for. Canva is great if you need to focus more on your company’s graphics, while Google Workplace provides a full management system. Asana and Trello can help you manage your team better and Later is perfect for managing your social media accounts.
