• The business must have a product or service for which there is a need, either actual or potential, that is not already being satisfactorily met. The procedure by which such a product or service is selected and perfected is known as product analysis or product research and is described in a later chapter on sales.
• The business manager must know where the actual or potential market for his product or service is, and how to reach the market, as well as the the probable cost of reaching it and the effectiveness of competition, if any, that he will have to meet.
• Employees must be selected, hired, trained, and supervised. The chapter on personnel describes the techniques involved.
• Finance of business must be carefully managed, planned, and administered.

In many small one man businesses, all of these may be performed by the same person, the owner. Especially is this true here one man starts a business alone and requires additional help only when the business grows beyond the limits of his own capacity to handle all the details himself. When he finds that the day is not long enough for all the work that needs to be done, then he must hire someone to help him. But the problem is more than merely hiring an assistant-he must find the right person. And after he has decided which part of the work he will turn over to someone else, he must find an assistant as good as he is for this particular work. In other words he must duplicate his own ability. Not all managers understand this problem. Very successful businessmen are not even satisfied with duplicating their ability.