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INTERIM MANAGERS FOR A START UP

Graham Price by Graham Price in Article 2020-09-15 11:12:44

Much is spoken and written about the secrets of start-ups. In the early stages start ups may have a staff of one, or at least a very small group of people covering all the bases. Phrases like “Just Do It” or the less polite “JFDI” often prevail.

As the business grow, so individual roles crystallise and working practices need to be agreed, standardised and enforced. All this burns up man hours, and you have the dilemma of whether to work on organising the business, or on getting business done.

You need more horsepower, and so consider hiring more staff. These not only increase costs but in many cases soak up even more management time. Many a CEO has said I could do it quicker and better myself than having to hire and babysit a new staff member.

There is another approach, and that is to hire an Interim Manager who is experienced, productive right away and will not be a permanent increase in headcount. Carefully chosen an Interim Manager can be a positive support to a struggling CEO, and can do a lot of the heavy lifting getting things into shape.

Filling management positions in start-ups, from those who were with you from the beginning can be challenging, and distracting. Many of these people will have joined early in their career for the experience, for the buzz rather that and a coldly calculated career move. Their inexperience will not hold them back forever, but these are not the people you need to manage at the moment. You may also lose some of your potentials as they pursue other opportunities.

New hires need to fit into the role and the company culture.

Hiring an Interim Manager who’ll be on board and ready to start working within days instead of months could solve your problem until you find the right permanent employees.

Another start up problem is running out of cash; this is an area where focussed Interim Management can really help. As sales rise , and staff levels increase the costs of production and delivery tend to increase.

Experienced Interim Managers can identify inefficiencies, and identify cash management strategies that will allow the business to grow, without running out of cash along the way.

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