Various storefronts along Main St., Woodland CA

Working Class Independence

house Christine L Golden Mar 30, 2025 Category: Opinion

What if everyone knew the basics of how to run a local, independent business?

  • They could say goodbye to bosses and companies who don’t care about them and their family's well-being.
  • They would be a better employee, know better how to advance in their career, if they did want to work for a company.
  • They would be contributing to their local community.
  • They would have a fallback if corporate America or the government failed them–which is especially pertinant right now.
  • They can say no to customers who are rude to them.

Of course, these are not usually what motivates people to start and stick with all the things it takes to create and run a small, local business. Perhaps they have a special talent to share, or can provide something the community needs. They want more flexibility to be with or care for their family.

What's your motivating vision or desire?

For community businesses, it's not usually about "making millions no matter what". One of my past clients said this to me. It's always been a favorite quote.

We're here to make a living, not a killing.
~ a former client

So, what are the basics of business management?

The basics of self-employment means learning enough about the various aspects of business management that you can do it yourself or know how to evaluate a specialist for hire.

Even a lemonade stand needs to consider some form of each of these.

Don't Panic! You can automate or delegate portions of each of these. You just need to figure out how to monitor the output so issues don't go too long.

Legal & Liability

Business structure and name, government filings, insurance, zoning, licenses and permits

Financial

The cost of construction and supplies, bookkeeping, accounting and taxes, making a business plan for a loan

Staffing

Job descriptions and agreements, safety, schedules, personality issues, vetting and hiring contractors

Marketing & Sales

Getting the word out, business development, building a reputation, addressing complaints, domain name, website and content creation

Property
Product/Service

Rent or loan, maintenance, security, storage, delivery, supply issues, working with vendors, inventory

Analysis and Improvement

Focusing on what's most important and profitable, having measurable indicators, set up systems for efficiency, professional development

Milestones: Which one of these can you automate or delegate next?

The more you can automate or entrust the processes involved in any of these components, the sooner you can focus on the part you like the best, gain that flexibility or work-life balance you wanted and feel the pride of contributing to your community.

We can help with two of them Marketing & Sales and Analysis & Improvement.

Let's meet over coffee and talk about what's next for your business growth or efficiency.

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