Small businesses are independently owned and operated companies that must adhere to the standards stipulated by the state law and the regulations of the Small Business Administration. These standards regulate how small businesses handle their employees, how many employees they can hire, and the maximum income the businesses can earn in a year. Managing a small business means effectively comprehending the complex nature of this type of commerce.

Small businesses are valued by local communities as important signs of financial and societal health. Restaurants, beauty boutiques, bookstores, and specialty shops are all common examples of small businesses. Managers of these businesses may also own them, but not necessarily. Sometimes small business managers enlist other staff to specifically manage certain aspects of an operation, such as finances or human resources. Managers must be extremely savvy in implementing fresh and progressive ideas to keep small businesses competitive and prosperous. As they might work with only one or two owners instead of for a large firm, small business managers are frequently able to arrange their own schedules, helping specify the business' principles and protocol, and clarifying and improving the operation's public image. 

The cut-throat nature of the business industry today has made academic and practical preparation an essential component of the successful small business manager's repertoire. At least a bachelor's degree in a relevant field is an important step. Besides clear choices like business management and marketing, managers should also study fields in the discipline that will serve their specialty; bookstore aficionados should study literature, for instance, whereas restaurant managers will want to study hospitality techniques. The salaries that compensate small business managers are not easy to ascertain, as each operation denotes a specially arranged amount of payment, and salaries can differ significantly from operation to operation.

Career Specializations

• Small Restaurant Owner or Manager: This concentration deals with small-scale restaurants, diners, and eateries, striving to establish and build on a reliable base of satisfied clients. 
• Goods-Based Shop Owner or Manager: Overseeing shops that sell goods, such as books, clothing, appliances, or special trinkets, defines this category. 
• Service-Based Shop Owner or Manager: Salons, barber shops, catering companies, event planners, and temp agencies are examples of the types of businesses indicated in this specialization.
• Finance: Small business managers can choose to tailor their expertise to such tasks as applying for loans, filing taxes, or handling insurance processes. 
• Human Resources: These small business management professionals are experts at handling employee concerns and hiring, managing, and training them. 

Back to Top

Degree Levels

• Associate Degree in a Relevant Field: 2 years to complete
• Bachelor's Degree in a Relevant Field: 4 years to complete
• Master's Degree in Business Administration: 2-3 years to complete

Back to Top

Education & Certification Requirements

In the past, many small business owners did not seek to attain further education, citing that their own business sense and experience would be enough to see them through, at least after having earned a high school diploma. The stringent and intense world of contemporary small business has reversed this thinking almost entirely. Most small business managers today have earned a minimum of an associate degree in such a field as business management, accounting, marketing, or a similar subject. Bachelor's degrees have become the academic level of choice, particularly because the four years grant time for businesspeople to lend focus on other subjects that might serve as the theme of their future operations. Those who work with art may take additional classes in art history, for example. An MBA degree is not at all required for this field, yet acquiring the knowledge and acumen that such a high-level program instills can make handling small businesses a successful cinch. 

Certification is not mandated for small business managers. However, pursuing professional approval from a group like the Association of Professional Office Management can afford managers a competitive edge over other potential staff, and also help to associate them with quality of work and trustworthiness. Licensing and permits are also required of small businesses in the United States; the Small Business Administration supports managers and owners in securing these mandates. (BLS)

Back to Top

Salary Information

Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to determine concrete salary figures for this field. Small business owners are able to involve themselves with too diverse a grouping of potential operations to make pinpointing hard payment statistics feasible. This difficulty holds especially true for managers who double as the entrepreneurs of their small business. With that said, facility service managers, who work in positions very similar to that of small business managers, are estimated to take home a yearly average salary of nearly $80,000. Small business professionals should anticipate earning a bit less than this per annum. (BLS)

Back to Top

Job Outlook

All administrative service managers are estimated to experience an increase in their employment opportunities, and these figures can apply to small business professionals and facility managers as well. Estimates gauge this increase to occur at 13 percent by the year 2018. While competition between small business and big business has always been historically fierce, there should be less opposition within the small business sphere, as the relatively low earnings possible for small companies drives the money-hungry to larger business sectors. (BLS)

Back to Top

Related Careers

E-business is a field that should attract increasing numbers of small business professionals. It centers around the processes of selling and handling products over the Internet. Enabling their operations for the Web can help small business managers increase or maximize profitability and help the business sustain their work. Entrepreneurs in small business should also consider e-business as an important component to the health of their enterprise. 

Back to Top