Profitable operation of a small business is large undertaking that requires more skill, ability, and knowledge than 1 person unaided can possess. Big business has subdivided and specialized management as well as other functions but still independent be deprived of these benefits? In recent years outside aids have been made available to him, but here the major requirements are a recognition of need, knowledge of the availability of outside staff aids and willingness to use it.

Clarification of Terms and Concepts

Many specialists in big business have line rather than staff authority, but specialists in the same line functions who are not member of the firm ma be utilized as outside staff. The sales manager of a large corporation is a line executive, a specialist in his function, but when sales consultants are employed they normally serve in a staff. A small firm may have a man outside agencies to further the success of this function. The latter are specialists in a line function but serve in a staff or professional advisory capacity. Only in some dire emergency would the typical independent grant full, or line authority.

Importance of Outside Aids

Lack of managerial ability and lack of sufficient time to perform all of the activities of management have been proven beyond any reasonable doubt to be outstanding weakness in almost all small business failures. Adequate planning and preparation greatly lessens these weaknesses but cannot for long remove them entirely as long as the enterprise remains small. Although the well prepared manager has a big initial advantage over the typical beginner, conditions change so rapidly that unless he keeps abreast of developments even a good start is soon lost. Until a business becomes large enough to employ its own management specialists and staff experts it must make use of outside staff or eventually lose out in the competitive struggle.

Scope of  the Outside Staff

Outside staff assistance can obtained by the average independent in every area or function where similar assistance is furnished to execute of our largest corporations. Some types of assistance are more appropriate than others for the small enterprise, such as a simple but sound procedure for selecting employees instead of an extensive battery of scientific personnel tests that must be administered and interpreted by experts. Some are too expensive in one form but available in other suitable but less expensive forms. Some render individualized services for a substantial fee where as others furnish basic data of a general nature with special applications to be made by the management of each firm, a detailed market analysis of a particular company’s product and its competitive position compared to basic statistics and trends affecting that class of products.

There are some bases that be used to classify outside staff services :

1. Price-fee per assignment, subscription, nonprofit cost only.
2. Type of agency-governmental, suppliers, equipment manufactures, lawyers, accountants, property, university research bureaus, business clinics, schools, employee honesty, etc.
3. Management function-production, marketing, finance, pricing, public relations, personnel, reports.
4. Purpose or objective-aid to all businesses, aid to self improvement, goodwill sale, consumer movement goals.