Five Flaws Of Management and Business Consultancy To Avoid

Management consultants are used by businesses of all sizes and in all areas of industry and commerce. It is true that a good business consultant can be worth his or her weight in gold; developing implementable business strategies, streamlining processes and essentially steering a company towards a more profitable future.

There are, however, certain pitfalls that are essential to avoid if your company is to truly benefit from the services of  business consultants.

1. Pre-Packaged Solutions
Too many businesses settle for ‘one size fits all’ consultancy. Your firm is unique; it has its own unique problems and therefore requires unique solutions. Any consultancy firm that fails to recognise this is ultimately going to provide a substandard level of consultancy and fail to reach the best results for your firm.

Of course, any good consultancy firm will have a set of tried and tested techniques it uses but this is very different to proposing bland, non-bespoke strategies and plans for its clients.

2. Inexperience in Your Field
Small business consultancy firms typically begin targeting a niche area of industry. As they grow, however, they may begin to diversify into other areas that perhaps their consultants do not fully appreciate or understand.

For any consultancy firm to produce real, deliverable results for your company it is essential their consultants are experts in your field. Always ask for evidence of their experience before signing any consultancy contract.

3. Lack Of Sustainability
A common complaint from businesses that have hired consultants in the past is that once the contract has come to an end or a project has finished, the results that they were enjoying suddenly disappear.
Always check a business consultancy firm has a sustainability plan. The best will offer a period of audit following a consultancy project to ensure their work is sustainable.

4. Report Only Based Consultancy
Some consultancy firms offer purely only report based consultancy. This means the consultants spend a period working in a company, auditing their books and processes, before writing an extensive report on what the firm could do better. This is the end of their involvement.

For a company to get the most out of a consultancy project the consultants need to be hands on and work alongside the firm to ensure their plans and proposals are implemented. It is very rare the implementation of a proposal will go exactly to plan and the best consultants will be dynamic and able to adapt to problems as they arise.

5. Non-Relevant Consultancy
Finally, there are so many different types of consultant it is important for a company to enlist the services of one relevant to their needs.

For example, an IT consultant may well be fantastic at setting up technology infrastructure but completely out of his or her depth in terms of website development. Both tasks fall under the category of IT but require very different skill sets and it is important the company fully understands what they require from the consultant.

Do You Need a Business Consultant if You’re a Solopreneur?

If you’re thinking that only large corporations need a business consultant, think again. You might be surprised to learn that even a one man or one woman business could significantly benefit from business consulting. The reasonable cost and return on investment will probably surprise you!

Small business owners, sometimes referred to as solopreneurs, believe that they need to be able to do it all. If you run your business on your own, you’ll be wearing many hats as an entrepreneur and as a result, you’ll often be in react mode. You’ll motor through each day doing what needs to be done. But how will you plan for the future? How can you proactively plan for growth when you’re flying by the seat of your trousers? A business consultant can help you. Some entrepreneurs that like to work alone are not thrilled with the prospect of someone coming in and telling them what they’re doing wrong. But a business consultant doesn’t work like that. A skilled consultant can help in a non-obtrusive way that doesn’t take over your business --- this can enhance your business according to your own desires and long term goals. An expert adviser can do a lot for a small business owner, on the business owner’s terms.

What do business consultants do?
A business consultant can do various things for you, such as:

• Analyse your existing business infrastructure to help you make positive changes to procedures for productivity and profitability. This can help you find more time and make more money. What could be better than that?

• Marketing and advertising services. A business consultant could help you gain more exposure with your target audience and become your outsourced marketing department.

• Internet marketing services. Want to take advantage of the vast online audience that could be buying from you? A skilled consultant can help you get found online so you can make more sales.

Sure, large companies need consultants but small businesses can benefit form consulting services as well. Working one on one with someone who has accumulated business experience in many areas could help you in a vast way. A consultant will listen to your concerns, find out what’s important to you as an entrepreneur, and come up with a plan that can work for you and do it on your terms.

How do you choose a consultancy firm?

Finding the right people to help you succeed isn’t always easy. There are some red flags that should set off warning bells for you, such as:

• Companies or consultants that promise “the moon” super fast.
• Companies that you can’t find background information about.
• Companies who don’t offer guarantees.

Signs that you’ve found a solid resource include:

• Testimonials
• A background you can investigate yourself (online and perhaps locally)
• A guarantee about satisfaction
• Flexible services that suit your specific needs.

While most entrepreneurs like to keep a tight rein on their business, the possibilities, when you have someone like a skilled business consultant to help you, can result in your achievement of your goals and dreams much sooner.

How to Run Your Home Business Accounts

If you decide to set up and run your own home business then it is vital that you understand the importance of managing your accounts. This short article will provide you with some suggestions on how to make sure you are always on top of your books.

Making sure that you keep on top of your accounts is one area that you may have little experience in if you have never run a home business before. Although it is not the most exciting of topics it is one that you need to master if you are to have a successful career.

Obviously the most important area is keeping track of the amount of money that you have coming in and going out. Some will choose to use an accountant to keep their books in order; however this does depend upon the scale of your business. Others prefer to keep their own books so that they are always aware of what is going on with their finances but also because it can be expensive to use a professional.

1.Keeping your Books

Bookkeeping is essentially a way for you to keep track of your outgoings and the amount of money you have coming in so that you can decide if your home business is profitable. The idea is that you record all of this information either in a specially designated book or on a spreadsheet. Make sure that if you decide to keep yours on your computer that you either have it backed up somewhere or have paper records too. The last thing you want is your computer to die and for you to have lost all your accounts.

It is important that you keep an accurate list and that you make sure it is correct as it is one of the main ways you can tell if your business is viable. You will also know how much money you have available to you for things like marketing, networking and any materials required to run your home business.


2.Managing your Accounts

It is common for someone with their own home business to have one or more bank accounts set up primarily for work purposes. This is where managing your accounts comes into its own since it is incredibly important that you know exactly where your finances stand.

Having a filing system in place is the best way to keep track of your accounts. Within this keep all paper copies of your statements, bills and receipts so that you have them to hand. It is important to keep your books as up to date as possible so that everything tallies and you know that your accounts are all in order.

If you do find that you struggle to manage your accounts and books then you will find that there are a number of courses available that can help you.

How to Deal with Late or Non Paying Clients

Nothing is more frustrating then having to deal with a late or non paying client. Unfortunately though it can occur from time to time and is one of the risks with running a business, but how do you deal with this type of client?

1.Retain all Correspondence

When you are first discussing the project and payment it is worthwhile making sure that you keep all correspondence so that you can refer back to it if necessary. Try to keep separate folders on your computer for each client and a hard copy of any agreements in a file. It is always a good idea to get some kind of contract to avoid problems at a later date.

Depending on your line of business you may like to ask for some form of deposit up front so that you can guarantee receiving at least some of the money. Many people also state that there will be interest or late fees payable if the money is not paid in a reasonable amount of time. Often this is enough of a deterrent to prevent late payment from occurring.

2.Invoice on Time

It may sound simple but if you want to make sure that a client pays on time, make sure that you send out your invoice in a prompt manner. You simply cannot expect a client to pay on time if you are late sending the invoice.

Always make sure that your invoices are laid out well and that it is clear what the payment is for. Be sure to include details for your chosen method of payment on the invoice so there is no obvious reason for any delay. If you do find that you have had to wait some time and have still not been paid then you could issue another invoice with a reminder attached. In many cases it may be that the client has simply been too busy to pay the invoice.

3.Consider Professional Help

Unfortunately there may be times in which you are forced to seek professional help such as a business consultant for a non paying client. However make sure that you have first given the client enough time to pay and sent them several clear invoices stating that further action will be taken. Make sure that you remain professional at all times so as not to damage your reputation or business.

Why do business consultant tips include blogging for maximising your online exposure? Learn why a blog is one of (if not THE) best way to market

Business Consultant Tips – Does Your Business Have a Blog? If you could ask a business consultant for a list of what is considered to be some of the best ways to capture the attention of online audiences, most would list building a business blog near the top of that list. Many would say that blogging is one of the best ways to reach your target audience --- regardless of your business type and whether or not you exist online, in a bricks and mortar business, or both. Read on to find out why blogging is such a good idea. Blogs are dynamic. Blogs, by their very nature, incite participation, feedback, and an informal atmosphere that can be business-like and casual at the same time. Companies can communicate and people can interact with the companies. This attracts people to read blogs. They often allow people to make comments and they also allow people to subscribe to receive updates automatically. Blog marketing can be an excellent sales and communication tool. Search Engines love Blogs. When you have a business website, adding a blog to it stops the site from being static. Search engines love sites that provide regular updates and will keep visiting and therefore sending new traffic to blogs. The fastest way to lose ground in search engines is to stop making new pages for your website and a blog allows a business to create pages in the background that do not interfere with the company's branding strategy. You can't change your home page daily so why not add pages in the background that work to your advantage with search engines who will send you free traffic? Make Use of Social Tools. Business consultants agree that social media optimisation is something all businesses should be considering in the current day and age. Blogs can be well integrated with social media optimisation tools so that you can kill two birds with one stone. Companies need to take their online potential audience into consideration and by blogging you can easily do that. It is a relatively low-cost way to keep fresh content on your site that talks about your company and talks directly to customers and target customers. The blog can also serve many other purposes from a marketing perspective as well. If you want help figuring out how to maximise a blog's impact on your business, a business consultant who is specialised in internet marketing can help you figure out: how to attach a blog effectively to your business, how to optimise that blog for maximum targeted traffic and maximum search engine optimisation and they can help you figure what to blog about as well.

Do You Need a Business Consultant if You’re a Solopreneur?

If you’re thinking that only large corporations need a business consultant, think again. You might be surprised to learn that even a one man or one woman business could significantly benefit from business consulting. The reasonable cost and return on investment will probably surprise you! Small business owners, sometimes referred to as solopreneurs, believe that they need to be able to do it all. If you run your business on your own, you’ll be wearing many hats as an entrepreneur and as a result, you’ll often be in react mode. You’ll motor through each day doing what needs to be done. But how will you plan for the future? How can you proactively plan for growth when you’re flying by the seat of your trousers? A business consultant can help you. Some entrepreneurs that like to work alone are not thrilled with the prospect of someone coming in and telling them what they’re doing wrong. But a business consultant doesn’t work like that. A skilled consultant can help in a non-obtrusive way that doesn’t take over your business --- this can enhance your business according to your own desires and long term goals. An expert adviser can do a lot for a small business owner, on the business owner’s terms. What do business consultants do? A business consultant can do various things for you, such as: • Analyse your existing business infrastructure to help you make positive changes to procedures for productivity and profitability. This can help you find more time and make more money. What could be better than that? • Marketing and advertising services. A business consultant could help you gain more exposure with your target audience and become your outsourced marketing department. • Internet marketing services. Want to take advantage of the vast online audience that could be buying from you? A skilled consultant can help you get found online so you can make more sales. Sure, large companies need consultants but small businesses can benefit form consulting services as well. Working one on one with someone who has accumulated business experience in many areas could help you in a vast way. A consultant will listen to your concerns, find out what’s important to you as an entrepreneur, and come up with a plan that can work for you and do it on your terms. How do you choose a consultancy firm? Finding the right people to help you succeed isn’t always easy. There are some red flags that should set off warning bells for you, such as: • Companies or consultants that promise “the moon” super fast. • Companies that you can’t find background information about. • Companies who don’t offer guarantees. Signs that you’ve found a solid resource include: • Testimonials • A background you can investigate yourself (online and perhaps locally) • A guarantee about satisfaction • Flexible services that suit your specific needs. While most entrepreneurs like to keep a tight rein on their business, the possibilities, when you have someone like a skilled business consultant to help you, can result in your achievement of your goals and dreams much sooner.

What Can a Business Consultant do For Your Online Business?

A look at why investing in a business consultant for your online business could be a great investment in your future. Whether you're new in business or are well established but just want a fresh set of sage eyes on your business, a business consultant can help. Let's take a look at what this kind of expert can do for you and your success in online business. New Online Businesses As a new online company, the expertise of an experienced business consultant could make a vast amount of difference in how quick you become successful. Navigating through both the online world and the business world at the same time can be a bit overwhelming and an expert can help you make and then execute a workable business plan. By getting the right marketing and business advice instead of flying solo in an area you're not very familiar with, you'll be able to hit the ground running and ensure that you're operating at a profit quickly. An expert knows how to help you do what you need to do to get your online company set up and getting sales quickly. A lot of new companies struggle in their early days, especially if they're a small business or run by a single entrepreneur. It might seem like there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all you want and need to do. When you meet with a specialist who's experienced enough to know what works and what does not, you can trim a considerable amount of time and effort off your learning curve and be able to accomplish more --- with less. With the right help and advice, you as a new entrepreneur could : develop a marketing and advertising strategy, do competitive analysis to help you stand head and shoulders above your competition, ensure your website gets the right sorts of traffic and that you convert that traffic into customers, establish yourself as an expert in your industry, and more. Improving an Existing Online Company Businesses need to continually evolve in order for them to increase profitability. In fact, evolution is necessary if a company wants to survive and maintain position in their market as well because your competitors are trying to court your customers and divert potential prospects to their website instead of yours. A consultancy firm stays up to date on the latest business and marketing trends and could help you ensure that your business is able to to evolve and grow despite a constantly changing business landscape. Is the expense worthwhile? You could attempt to learn how to launch an online business on your own and avoid the expense of hiring a professional. But, that could result in a longer learning curve than is necessary. You could try to save a struggling business on your own as well. But learning through trial and error could be a costly mistake. The expense of hiring a skilled business consultant firm might be off-putting at first, but when you consider the potential return on investment over time, the fees could suddenly seem well worth the investment.