What is a Managing Director?

As a business owner, you have the choice of many different job titles. And a popular choice is Managing Director.

Giving yourself the title of Managing Director will carry a lot of weight to it. People will assume certain things that come with the fancy title. 

Here, we’ll take a look at the title of Managing Director and the responsibilities that come with the position. Specifically, we’ll be talking about:

• Creating a business plan
• Managing resources
• Keeping up with the industry
• PR and Marketing
• Quality assurance
• Bookkeeping
• What it means for a small business owner

It’s a hefty title to take on. So if you’re going to claim it, you should know exactly what it means.

Generally speaking, a Managing Director (MD) is the person at the very top of the business. They run the show, and everybody else in the business reports to them. 

Compared to just “Owner” or “Founder”, it tells people you take a more active role in the running of the business; that’s the “managing” part of the title. 

In short, there are a lot of them. Especially if you’re a small business owner, your responsibilities are just about everything. But let’s break it down into the specifics, because there are a lot of things you’ll be responsible for if you decide to take on the title of Managing Director. 

You’ll have to create a long-term business plan, with specific goals and objectives. Then you’ll have to outline what you’ll have to do, day-to-day, to achieve those objectives.

As the plan unfolds, you’ll be responsible for making sure everything is going to plan. If it isn’t, you’ll be the one who has to alter the plan, or else make changes that’ll make your original plan work. 

You’ll be in charge of all the business’ resources. Resources can mean a lot of things, but the biggest ones are:

• People – you’ll decide if, and when, you should recruit staff or hire outside help on a short-term basis.
• Time – you decide how much time each project should take, making sure it’s cost effective. 
• Money – you’ll need to develop a detailed budget, and make sure it’s being followed. 
• Equipment – you’ll need to decide what equipment you need and where you’re going to get it from. This could include physical equipment like vehicles and machinery, or digital solutions like software applications. 

Properly managing your business’ resources is a delicate balancing act. Your needs will change as your business grows and you figure out the most efficient way to manage the resources you have.  

As a business owner and Managing Director, you’re expected to be an expert in your field if you’re going to succeed. 

But most industries and workplaces are constantly evolving.

You should be aware of any significant changes to your industry, both in terms of operations and regulations.

Keeping up with regulations will stop you getting into trouble with any kind of governing body Whereas keeping up with operational advancements will ensure you’re offering your customers the best possible service. 

As Managing Director, a big part of your job will be creating a positive public image for your business. You’ll have to oversee effective marketing campaigns and make sure your business is advertised in the right places. 

On a more personal level, a big part of your image will be the relationships you build. Some of the most important relationships you can build will be with:

• Your customers
• Your suppliers
• Your contract workers (like accountants)
• Your peers in the industry, including the competition
• Governmental bodies like HMRC and Companies House
• Stakeholders and investors (if you’re a limited company)

Building a good reputation takes time, but is important for the long-term success of your business. If you can create a positive public image, customers will be more likely to seek you out, and others in the industry will be more willing to work with you. 

As Managing Director, everything comes down to you. And this is most important when it comes to ensuring your business delivers a good quality product or service. 

This involves overseeing the actual business operations, making sure everything is up to your very high standards. But it also involves getting feedback from your customers, and using that feedback effectively. 

A good managing director never misses an opportunity to make things better, and that’s what quality assurance is all about. 

As managing director, you’ll be responsible for your business’ bookkeeping for tax purposes.

You may not have to physically prepare the accounts yourself, you could always hire an accountant to help. But as the one in charge, you’ll still be responsible for following financial regulations and procedures. 

After all, if anything goes wrong, it’s your business that’ll have to pay the price. 

If you’re a small business owner, and you’ve given yourself the title of Managing Director, you’ll have all the responsibilities we’ve listed above on top of everything else you’ve taken on board. 

It’s a lot of work, but is the right choice for any business owner who wants an active role in their business operations. It’s the best way to make sure your business is running exactly as you want it to, and it’s valuable experience that will be useful if you decide to expand. 

Fortunately, there are a lot of useful tools you can use to make your role as Managing director much easier. Countingup’s business current account, for example, will make the daily running of your business much easier. 

The Countingup business current account makes it easy to manage all your financial data in one simple app. 

The app comes with free built-in accounting software that automates the time-consuming aspects of bookkeeping and taxes. You’ll receive real-time insights into your cash flow, profit and loss reports, tax estimates, and the ability to create invoices in seconds. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward.

Find out more here.