As a small business owner, sole trader, or contractor, you likely wear many hats, but that doesn’t mean you’re an expert in every aspect of running your business. Why not consider reaching out to a business advisor who can help you solve business problems or bridge a gap in your knowledge and skills?
It’s easy to get so caught up in your business that you lose sight of why you started it in the first place. If you find yourself unable to say why you’re in business, then maybe a consultant can help you rediscover your mission statement and uncover strategies to improve sales.
Below are the signs you may need a business consultant, so let’s see how to go about putting this to work.
- Slowed growth
- Rapid growth
- High staff turnover
- Inefficiencies
- Demotivated staff
- Unfinished projects
Bring in the Experts
The most successful small business owners know they need to prioritise their long-term and short-term planning. But not everyone feels confident in creating business plans and growth strategies from scratch on their own. If this is the case, consider bringing in an expert.
A good business consultant will take the time and has the experience to understand what your business needs. They’ll formulate an achievable plan to align your systems and processes to deliver significant, measurable results. You must be very clear on exactly what is needed for your company’s size and focus on that during your consultant interview process.
So You Need to Hire a Consultant?
Different circumstances necessitate different remedies. Ultimately, you must decide whether a consultant would be a good choice or not. There are many different types of advisors in all areas of business. Before you approach a professional business advisor, make it clear what you want from the relationship by putting together a brief that outlines:
- What you do
- What you’re trying to achieve or solve
- Any specific issues you need help with
Send your brief to a few different advisors to see what sort of responses you get.
When you first meet a potential advisor, it is a good idea to bring along your business planning and financial documents. Stay focused on your objectives but always remember your business advisor has skills and expertise you don’t. They might make suggestions you had not originally considered, so you need to be flexible and open.
Join Bartercard to Achieve Business Success
When you’re a small business owner, you must often be a jack-of-all-trades to ensure success, so the most successful companies tend to look to industry experts for the insights they need to take their business to the next level. This makes for innovative solutions capable of improving the way you do business, and one of these solutions is Bartercard.
Our B2B trade exchange is helping New Zealand businesses to grow and achieve financial success through bartering unfilled capacity through the Bartercard network. Why not reach out to us to guide you on the best steps to take for marketing, investing, and leveraging funding opportunities?
Care to learn more about increasing your market share, gaining a competitive advantage, and achieving financial success by incorporating Bartercard into the day-to-day running of your business? Check out this free resource below, with tips and insights to help you manage your business more effectively. In the span of a coffee break, you’ll learn how to keep your staff happy and grow a solid customer base with habits shared by many of the most successful business owners.
Download The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Business Owners today!
