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Small business owners are often self-starters who prefer to be involved in all aspects of their business, including how they choose the type of coffee maker for the breakroom and how they file their taxes.
Owners of small businesses often have difficulty delegating tasks to outside consultants or employees. However, small business owners who spend too much time on non-core activities will find consulting services helpful.
During the early years of any startup, financial constraints often force the owner to be a jack of all trades. As businesses mature and profits rise, there are more and more needs to bring in experts in different areas.
It can be tough to stay abreast of a business due to the ever-increasing complexity of technology, taxation, regulations and other legal aspects become more complicated.
Are Consultants Really Important?
There is no doubt that many companies struggle to decide whether to hire a consultant or not. Many senior executives may feel that taking such a step indicates that they are ineffective at running a company and may feel threatened by consultants’ expertise. As a business looking to succeed, a view like this is counterproductive. Consulting is often a necessary tool for advancing businesses, no matter their size, and the five reasons below illustrate why:
An Objective Perspective from an Outsider
Owners and senior management of small to mid-size companies typically invest significant time, energy, and resources into their businesses. There’s a reason why it’s so common for business owners to refer to their companies as “babies.” Hence, due to bias or simply not seeing clearly, companies are easily blind to problems that are often right in front of them. With fresh eyes, consultants can usually spot what is holding a company back relatively quickly.
In addition, the dynamics of family businesses can make it difficult for the members themselves to speak honestly and openly about problems that are dragging the company down. For instance, the company might lack a unified strategy because of a family member’s poor performance or a power struggle within the family. It will be easier for an objective and neutral consultant to discuss these issues openly without fear of reprisals.
Accomplishing Short-Term Goals
Employees perform within the scope of their job descriptions. However, it can be difficult to motivate employees to strive for short-term goals when it requires utilising other skillsets. Certain employees who typically perform specific tasks may become frustrated by performing additional duties, or simply be unqualified and inexperienced to execute the task.
By bringing in an experienced consultant and utilising the resources available to him or her, you can often save the considerable time and money that would have been spent on retraining employees, prioritising their schedules, and executing a strategy.
Leveraging New Skills
A significant part of every consultant’s job is to stay up-to-date on current business trends, methodologies, and strategies. Whenever these skills are applied, company leaders usually ask for an explanation of the methods used and how the consultant reached the conclusions.
Outside Market Knowledge
Consultants hired by a company should have familiarity with the market in which they operate. The consultant usually has experience with similar companies (even if they are competitors). Because of this, the consultant should have an excellent understanding of what other companies are doing and how they can surpass the competition. A consultant, for example, might identify that a company isn’t using popular customer communication systems that would also benefit similar companies by cutting costs.
The Luxury of Having Time to Plan
The fact remains that, on top of their host of other responsibilities, managers often struggle to find the time to develop effective plans and execution strategies. When a company is in the early stages of planning a project that might not even happen, this can often feel like a luxury it can’t afford. The lack of time impedes the traction of many potential valuable projects and ideas. However, suppose it’s a consultant’s job to weigh the options and present research and data on the different costs and benefits. In that case, managers will concentrate on their area of expertise while the consultant sets up the organisation for success.
What Roles do Business Consultants Play
Business consulting firms advise entrepreneurs on the most effective ways to grow their individual businesses and how to overcome business obstacles.
In Nigeria and other countries, business consultants assist organisations with determining the organisation’s structure and structuring business processes.
They study businesses with varying approaches analyze businesses and give professional advice and techniques to business owners to grow and stay strong. For a consultant to be effective, being passionate about their work is essential. The role of a business consultant is that of a coach, and they are therefore often called business coaches.
Consulting services are most valuable in five areas.
Accounting and Bookkeeping
Small businesses often require accounting and bookkeeping consulting services. If you are considering contracting out some or all of your bookkeeping and accounting work, you should determine:
How much is my time worth?
Do I have the ability to do the same job as a professional in this field?
When you are running a solo business or are just starting, you may have some time to handle bookkeeping and some accounting tasks.
With time, though, outsourcing a number of these duties may prove more effective as your company grows. Moreover, many business owners dislike accounting/bookkeeping, especially if they have many transactions.
A good bookkeeper can complete most of your record-keeping tasks in as little as a few hours a month, such as submitting invoices, paying bills, preparing payroll, and preparing company accounts for tax season.
The services of a good accountant go far beyond keeping you up-to-date with tax laws and filing your taxes. Others include:
- We help you navigate tax laws and provide financial advice so that your business can grow and succeed;
- Offer suggestions on how to lower your taxes, for example, whether or not you should incorporate or rent or buy commercial space;
- Offer advice on how to reduce business costs.
You may find that hiring an accountant for a few hours a year is well worth the investment.
Information Technology (IT) Services
Businesses experience rapid changes in information technology as new technologies frequently impact devices or software systems, including:
- Computer-aided design (CAD) systems
- Desktop computers
- Tax software
- Mobile devices (laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc.)
- Cloud computing services
- Accounting software
- Point-of-sale (POS) systems
- Word processing, spreadsheets, etc.
- Business websites and social media platforms
An IT consultant is a must unless your business is connected to information technology or you have IT skills to maintain hardware devices and manage software.
Read Also: 10 Successful Influencer Marketers
IT consultants can also perform other tasks besides repairing hardware and operating systems, including:
- In the event of an emergency, ensure business data is backed up
- The setting up of cloud computing services
- Installing software systems
- The provision of hardware and software training
- Providing advice on how to utilise technology to streamline your business and improve productivity.
Human Resources
Small-business personnel-related issues can be time-consuming and challenging to solve, and many do not have the funds to hire a full-time human resources (HR) employee or department.
However, firms with effective HR strategies often have a more positive working environment and higher employee morale, which boosts retention and reduces turnover costs. Due to this, more and more small businesses are outsourcing their HR functions consultants.
Consultants in human resources are well-versed in all aspects of employee relations and will be able to:
- Manage the recruitment of new employees or contract workers, including job advertisements, interviews, background checks, etc.
- Handle disciplinary matters and terminations
- Organise employee orientation and training.
- Ensure the safety and welfare of employees;
- Counsel employees;
- Ensure that employee complaints and disputes are handled appropriately to limit your legal liability;
- Comply with all state/provincial and federal requirements concerning employees, including overtime, holiday, leave, workers’, mandatory benefits, and reporting
- Provide optional benefits for employees and their families, such as health, dental, vision, and disability coverage. Often, HR firms can offer various affordable employee benefits packages through their relationships with benefits providers.
Marketing
Small business owners can provide superior products and/or services to their clients, but they are usually not proficient with marketing and cannot afford to hire full-time salespeople.
Choosing a marketing consultant who knows your industry is crucial. They should be able to offer both brand new ideas and tried-and-true marketing advice.
A marketing consultant can help your business establish and implement strategies based on:
- Your overall business goals
- The company’s role with the competition
- Your products or services
- And your target users or clients.
Furthermore, consultants can help you create and implement specialised marketing campaigns as well as guide you on how to connect with potential customers through such activities as:
- Social media campaigns (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
- Event sponsorships
- Email blitzes
- Website and/or blog promotions
- Seminars
- Radio or newspaper ads
- Flyers
- Press releases
Read Also: The Influence of Marketing on Business Development
Legal Services
The services of a good business lawyer can be very valuable when faced with situations that involve more complex legal issues or may involve liability, such as:
- Share allocations or partnership agreements that are complex
- Partner, client, shareholder, or employee lawsuits
- Government agencies can take legal action against your business for matters such as licensing, tax disputes, or non-compliance with regulations
- Purchases or leases of real estate
- The issue of intellectual property or trademarks
- Franchising agreements
- Purchasing the assets of another company, merging or selling your business.
Generally, a small business attorney is a generalist who can offer solid advice or refer you to someone who specializes in a particular area of law if needed.
How a small business can leverage consultants
Cost of Hiring Consultants
There are several ways to structure consulting fees and pricing. However, even consultants sometimes find it difficult to choose a pricing structure.
Products are easier to price than services since it is easier to track production costs. When it comes to services, however, determining the value of time, staff, or expertise is highly subjective.
Because of this, consultants employ different pricing techniques to guarantee they charge the right amount for their services. In the process, consultants take into account every factor necessary to avoid overcharging or undercharging. If not, the risk of losing clients overpricing is always present.
Results of a study conducted by Consulting Success reveal the following pricing structure used by most consultants.
- 31.37% of consultants use a project-based rate to price their projects.
- 12.55% of consultants charge daily
- 23.38% of them use hourly billing
- 15.40% use monthly retainers
- 17.30% use value-based fees
Read Also: Entrepreneurship – How To Start a Virtual Consulting Business
List of Top SME-Friendly Consultants in Nigeria
1. Experts.ng
Expertsng is a community of small business consultants. A variety of business consultants are available to render professional services to small business owners in the country.
2. Business Ontop
Business Ontop Is a business growth consulting and business management firm located in Lagos Nigeria, specialises in offering marketing consulting, business startup consulting, business coaching and business development consulting services.
3. CSR-in-Action
CSR-in-Action is a firm that is focused on three major businesses such as consulting, training and advocacy.
4. Chain Reactions Nigeria
Chain Reactions Nigeria is a business consultancy firm in Lagos that offers PR and reputation management services, strategy development, activations & events, thought leadership, public affairs & government relations.
5. Hartford Green Consulting
Hartford Green Consulting is a Lagos based business consulting firm that provides excellent services for companies, the government and organisations.
6. Horizon Techniques Concepts
Horizon Techniques Concepts is a business consultancy firm which offers a wide range of services such as project management consultancy, business setup services, project financing program and others.
7. McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm that serves leading businesses, governments, non-governmental organizations and not-for-profit organisations.
8. Phillips Consulting Limited
Phillips Consulting Limited offers services on creating and managing change in organizations by formulating and implementing customer-focused strategies.
9. WealthStream Consulting
WealthStream Consulting is one of the crisis management solution consulting firms providing services in the area of Identifying critical personnel problems and strategic solutions on the business performance in Nigeria.
10. 3T Consulting Nigeria Limited
3T Consulting Nigeria Limited is one of the Nigerian business consulting firms offering services on business development, business support, capacity building, outsourcing, fundraising, international linkages and job creation.
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