Business consultants are creative problem solvers who specialize in a variety of areas to help small businesses run more efficiently. They provide comprehensive services to support companies by taking advantage of strategies related to people, processes, information, and technology. With strong customer involvement throughout the process, there are plenty of opportunities to identify learning needs and suggest or help design ways to learn about work planning methods, workgroup assignments, goal-setting processes, etc. It is important to note that managers may not like the idea of being “taught to manage”, so it is wise not to cite this as an explicit objective.
A small business consultant can help plan strategic messages or launches, collect and understand analytics or reports so that the company can make intelligent business decisions based on data, and develop appropriate projections for forecasting. In addition, they can provide attitude surveys, cost studies, feasibility studies, market surveys or analysis of the competitive structure of an industry or company. It is essential for consultants to respond skillfully to the client's implicit needs and demonstrate methods when carrying out the consulting process itself. In successful relationships, there is no rigid distinction between functions; formal recommendations should contain no surprises if the client helps develop them and the consultant is concerned about their implementation.
Wise consultants learn that “resistance often indicates particularly important and otherwise unreachable sources of information”. Discover what business culture looks like for organizations with great business agility and how leaders can position more successful transformations by creating a culture of agility. This is where you dive into one of the most uncomfortable but essential elements for getting your small business consulting business off the ground.
