Top 10 Business Advisor Skills Your Company Can Benefit From

Gaining experience is not a solo adventure; learning from the best is a shortcut many people underuse. There are over 800 thousand management consultants in the US alone. While large enterprises can leverage the services of titans like Deloitte, McKinsey, KPMG, Accenture, Bain & Company, SMEs operate with different budgets compared to the average size of a US government contract exceeding $4.5M. At any stage of your journey, you face strategic obstacles with multiple ways out. Gauging the right path forward is an expensive exercise that could easily turn into a powerhouse working with the right business advisor. Some of… Continue Reading

11 Questions to Ask a Business Consultant

There are several reasons why large corporations, small businesses, or even a solopreneur would hire a business consultant.  Hiring a business consultant can be very expensive, but highly rewarding. Consultants provide invaluable services that include the following:  Providing expert advisory, mentoring and assistance in a specific market Assessing risks and identifying problems Providing leadership or support to existing staff Planning on new initiatives Providing objectivity in decision-making Training employees Refining the organizational model Developing a feasible business plan Networking with potential clients and influencers It’s easy to find a business consultant. There are more than 600,000 management consultants in the… Continue Reading

15 Types of Small Business Advisors

Management consulting is a $329-billion industry and it continues to grow with small and medium-sized businesses increasingly seeking diverse expertise to navigate the challenges of scaling in the ever-evolving business landscape. But while the Fortune 500s can afford to splurge tens of millions of dollars for contracts assigned to Deloitte, KPMG, Accenture and the other market leaders, SMEs still need strategic guidance and support in the face of a business advisor. If you want to address the most pressing business challenges in 2024, here's a list of the most relevant types of business advisors to consult in times of need.… Continue Reading

How Much Does a Business Consultant Cost: Consulting Fees and Pricing Structure

Consulting fees and pricing can be structured in several ways. But like most businesses offering services, the number one challenge is pricing their offers. Having closed my first consulting contract back in 2008 before launching several 7-figure businesses (along my business advisory), I've consulted over 400 clients and worked with 50+ consultants across the portfolio of companies I manage with my agency and within my investment companies. Pricing products is easier than pricing services because, with products, you can easily trace the production costs. However, with services, determining the value of what constitutes your services — time, staff, expertise  —… Continue Reading

The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Consultant for Business Growth

Consultants “can” be instrumental to a business. But since consultancy is broadly irregulated, everyone can update their LinkedIn headline and start a consulting career out of nowhere. There are lots of people who try to offer consulting without really knowing what they consult on. Navigating through the consulting landscape is extremely challenging without a reliable reference or enough budget for a top industry peer and hiring a random person on the Internet to help your business is just as reliable as hiring a freelancer or finding a plumber through Yellow Pages. The Importance of Business Consulting Business consulting is so… Continue Reading

Dealing With Clients: Vendors vs. Consultants

Always being compliant with everything that a prospect or a client says is not the best practice to build a sustainable business.  This is one of the most important lessons I've learned over a decade of running a business and separately running a consultancy—advising small and medium enterprises. Regardless of the fact that clients often want to hear what they're asking for, they're not necessarily in the right position to give the best piece of advice. I had a sales meeting a couple of weeks ago with a former client we used to work with back in the day. He… Continue Reading