Business Advisory
Business advisors help business owners address the unique challenges facing them and take
advantage of new growth opportunities to accomplish their short and long-term goals. The essence
of business advisory services is to provide timely and useful information that leads to real and
lasting solutions and help your business rise to the challenges of a complex global economy,
leveraging opportunities that increase profitability and the overall value of your business.
Consultants are innovators, troubleshooters and problem solvers ready to help you achieve
success.
Hiring a consultant can help businesses improve performance and make necessary changes to achieve
success. Business consultants help companies overcome challenges, increase revenue or grow. It's
important to ensure business consultants have experience and previous success with companies
like yours. Business consultants may charge by the project, the hour, or daily or monthly
retainers.
Running a small or midsize business is challenging simply from the sheer number of tasks it takes
to succeed. From accounting to human resources to technical support, it's almost impossible for
business owners to do it all themselves. But, thanks to the ease of hiring consultants today,
they don't have to figure everything out on their own. Here's what a business consultant is and
how one can help your business thrive.
What is a business consultant?
A business consultant is an individual with a wide array of skills through education and previous
experience, assisting business owners with their endeavors. In addition, business consultants
provide management consulting to help organizations improve their performance and efficiency.
These professionals analyze businesses and create solutions while also helping companies meet
their goals. Business owners should consider hiring business consultants when they need help or
perspective on their chosen path or a catalyst for change in their companies.
What does a consultant do?
There are several reasons business owners should consider hiring consultants. Consultants offer a
wide range of services, including the following:
- Providing expertise in a specific market
- Identifying problems
- Supplementing existing staff
- Initiating change
- Providing objectivity
- Teaching and training employees
- Creating a new business
- Influencing other people, such as lobbyists
The first step for any business consultant is the discovery phase, where the goal is to learn the
client's business. A good business consultant takes the time to learn as much as possible about
the business from the owner and employees. This can include touring the facility, meeting with
the board of directors and employees, analyzing the finances and reading all company materials.
During this process, the business consultant will uncover the details of a company's mission and
what operations are in place.
Once the business consultant has developed an in-depth understanding of the company, they enter
the evaluation phase, where the goal is to identify where change is needed. This phase includes
identifying the company's strengths and weaknesses, as well as current and foreseeable problems.
These issues can include problems that ownership and management have already identified, as well
as new problems the business consultant discovers as a result of their objectivity. A business
consultant should also identify opportunities to grow the business, increase profits and boost
efficiency.
In addition to identifying these problems and opportunities, a business consultant should develop
solutions to problems and plans for capitalizing on opportunities. Perhaps a company has a
particularly strong sales department but a weak marketing department. This is an opportunity for
the company to increase marketing resources and capitalize on the sales staff. During this
phase, it's important for the consultant and the company's employees to maintain open, clear
communications.
Types of business consultants
Strategy and management
These business consultants can bring industry expertise to your business to help you scale,
acquire new opportunities and drive revenue. Consultants with a focus in strategy and management
can help your business by:
- Expanding into new markets or increasing awareness in your current market.
- Reorganizing your business model to create a cost-effective strategy.
- Increasing your business's capabilities.
- Acquiring a new business venture.
- Merging with another business or changing your business's structure.
- Standing in as middle management during a transition period.
Operations
Business consultants with an operations specialization can help business owners improve the
quality of their day-to-day processes. These business consultants take inventory of your current
business model and figure out the best way to produce the same high-quality results at a
fraction of the cost and time. Other ways these consultants help is through quality control and
understanding how to tweak and optimize your production for better results.
Financial
A financial consultant can show you the wider scope of the financial health of your business.
They mainly assist in investment decisions and helping business owners find the best way to
handle their assets and debts. Financial consultants can also provide even further
specializations, including financial planning where they advise clients on their taxes, daily
expenses and retirement plans.
Human resources
There are a number of HR consultant firms and independent contractors that can assist business
owners in their HR needs. These consultants can take over the day-to-day HR tasks such as
recruiting and retaining new employees, managing payroll, administrative tasks and performance
management.
Marketing
Marketing consultants help businesses to identify their strengths as a brand and expand upon them
to create brand awareness and exposure. Whether your business needs a new logo or a social media
strategy, a marketing consultant can be an asset in expanding your business' reach.
