Resources are essential because it allows businesses to achieve their target objectives. Having a clear picture of your business resources makes planning and management much more efficient and transparent.

The four main types of small business resources are:

1. Financial Resources
2. Material Resources
3. Human Resources
4. Intellectual Resources

In this article, learn about the four types of small business resources. We'll give you a brief overview of how you can manage these resources to scale your business.

What is a business resource?

Simply put, business resources are an organization's inputs' or 'assets' used to produce an outcome, whether it's a product or service.

Assets can either be tangible or intangible. Tangible assets include finances, human assets, equipment, real estate, tools, and machinery. Intangible assets include technology, patents, partnerships, databases, software, skills, culture, and expertise.

Businesses need to build strategies to manage and balance available resources to achieve an objective.

Business resources are considered valuable if they ensure a better customer experience than competitors. Availability, depreciation, and appropriability also make resources more valuable for a business.

Why are business resources important?

Businesses, of course, need assets and resources to produce an output. Business resources are considered the "basic building blocks" of a company. Having a clear picture of your business resources will give you an overview of all the processes that make up your operations. This will help you optimize planning and management strategies to build your brands.

What is the difference between a Small and Large Business?

Compared to large businesses, a small business is privately-owned, a sole proprietorship, or a partnership. Generally, small businesses have fewer human resources, fewer financial assets, and less annual revenue.

To give you a better idea, these are the key differences between small vs. large businesses:

• Structure: Large businesses have a more rigid hierarchical structure and job profiles. Meanwhile, small businesses have a more flexible environment that allows employees to engage in decision-making.
• Salary: Larger companies often offer higher salaries. However, some small employers try to balance the discrepancy by providing substantive benefits.
• Employees: Micro-enterprises have fewer than ten employees, while small enterprises have between 10 to 50 employees. Large companies have at least 250 employees.
• Culture: Compared to small businesses, large businesses tend to be more conservative when it comes to risk-taking. Meanwhile, large companies also tend to have a standardized and regulated employee culture. Small businesses often have a diverse workforce that encourages change and growth.

What are the four main types of business resources?

Financial Resources

Financial assets are used by businesses to buy raw materials and pay salaries; financial resources are the funding a company uses to spend.

Types of funding include cash and bank assets, venture capital, shares, checks, promissory notes, and checks that can be converted into cash.

Effective financial resource management is critical to achieving a business' target objectives. In case of a shortage of financial business resources, business operations are halted.

Sources of financial assets include:

• Equity shares or share capital
• Preference shares
• Trade credit
• Debenture
• Retained earnings
• Working capital loans
• Bill discounting
• Venture funding
• Factoring services
• Lease finance

Material Resources

Material business resources are physical or tangible assets used to produce an output or improve performance.

Material assets are constantly subject to change and innovation as technology progresses. 

Important material assets include:

• Raw materials 
• Machinery
• Technological tools and equipment
• Real estate
• Furniture and supplies
• Manufactured product

Human Resources

Employees and their skills are critical assets to an organization. Humans are the foundation of a successful business, regardless of company size. Because of this, human resource management is considered one of the most critical sectors in a business.

Human resources in businesses are responsible for recruiting, screening, and training job applicants to help the organization achieve its goals. Human resource management also deals with company culture, knowledge, skills, and expertise.

Aside from maximizing employee productivity through training and development, the HR department is critical for employee well-being by administering employee benefits and compensation.

Intellectual Resources

Intellectual resources are intangible assets that can't be seen or touched. Unlike material resources, intellectual resources appreciate with use. These resources are developed through learning and coaching.

Intangible assets include copyrights, partnerships, patents, brands, intellectual properties, customer knowledge, product reputation, customer service reputation, brand reputation, and technologies that make business operations easier and more streamlined. Tech software and customer databases are among the most highly sought out intellectual resources.

Scale up your business with a logistics partner

Whether you run a small or large business, shipping and logistics services are critical to growing a business. 

The supply chain is a network of companies that produce and distribute goods. Supply chains involve all four types of business resources that need careful management for streamlined operations.

Logistics involves warehousing and transportation, but many small businesses don't have enough resources to improve logistics operations. Thankfully, there are companies that offer logistics resources to small businesses at an affordable price. Now, the only problem is how to find the best logistics partners for your business.

Researching freight services and logistics partners can be complicated. Aside from contacting each company, you also need to engage in tough negotiation battles before comparing prices. Goship.com is different

GoShip.com for logistics resources

Small to medium-sized business owners should use an online freight shipping marketplace to find affordable and reliable truckload and less-than-truckload freight shipping services. GoShip.com is a self-service platform that makes it easy to find and work with domestic freight carriers. There's no need to talk with a freight broker and negotiate prices.

All you have to do is enter your shipping information for a free, instant quote. GoShip.com also offers easy booking and reliable customer support for small businesses.