For any beginning, let’s ask ourselves the question: Is small company consulting profitable? The answer would be a resounding “Yes, ” through all corners of the world. So , why are you unable to realize success, and in the process help small consulting with your unique experience along with approaches?
You are a business consultant, not the direct employee
The most common mix-up faced by small consultants is that instead of remaining as business advisors, they end up as direct companies. They end up handling the major workload of the business procedure where they were expected only to provide advice, and the consumer ends up with a steep bill. In place of mutual satisfaction, at this point you have mutual dissatisfaction. The results are unwelcome on both edges – but they happen all too often, where in small business contacting, the consultant fails to maintain the position of a consultant.
You will find three possible outcomes in such situations – the client will pay up and remains upset with you, the client doesn’t spend your bills and you are upset with the client, or each reach an unhappy compromise.
After a few such mix-ups, you then become convinced that there is no profitability in consulting. But you understand, that’s not true. The reality is your approach needs to be transparent and desires to change case by case.
In certain cases, time-schedule, insufficient resources on part of the client, or other exigencies might call for you to provide most of the work as a direct service provider. However in such cases, the client needs to understand from the very beginning that this instant situation needs a service provider with your experience, more than it requires power of consulting. The client needs to have a clear idea of the expenses that may be chalked up if you were providing direct support, or the client is free to hire another direct company, to save the day. Even providing that little advice is enough for you to bill as a consultant, because the client was not able to recognize the situation. What you are doing is business consulting, and never creating a fallible situation.
Why small business consulting mix-ups occur with such regularity
The oldest and most traditional companies in providing consulting have traditionally modeled themselves because consultant-cum-service providers, take for example , law firms, or Accountant companies. Each of these sectors are used to clients coming to them at the final moment or when the situation is precarious for them, in addition to according to the laws of maximizing business opportunities, they have set up techniques to provide service alternatives ready at hand. In fact , in many this kind of traditional firms, service delivery starts first, and then this turns to hr consulting.
However , in the era of information technologies, the number of alternatives available even to small one tend to be hundred times more than the time when CPAs or attorneys began establishing their business models. Consequently, with the accessibility to greater choice of service providers, and ability to compare between options, the chances of client dissatisfaction multiply. This is why, in today’s consulting, it really is sufficient to point out the necessity of direct service delivery to a buyer, without embroiling yourself, or pushing your own agenda associated with direct service.
In a globalized service providing market, you may never outbid the “I’m cheaper than you can ever be” brigade, and don’t even think of that. To make small business asking profitable, stick to your guns and be a consultant primarily, plus act as direct service provider only when the client asks you, in support of when you can afford to do so at the client’s rates.