Turning a profit in your business
If you own or run a business then you will know how important it is to make a profit. If a company does not make a profit, then it will not be able to survive long and often this means it is either sold or closed down.
If you are struggling financially in your business, then it might be time to bring in the pros to help you see what you are doing right and wrong. Often referred to as a business consultant or financial consultant, they are great at being able to analysis your business and show you where you can make money and where you can save it.
You may have a member of staff that you already employ that would be able to do some of this for you, as often a fresh pair of eyes can see things that you may not. If you have a valued member of staff that is good with numbers then why not ask them to look over things and see what they come back with.
What does a business consultant do?
If you are a business owner you may be considering hiring a business consultant. A business consultant will analyse your company and help you improve performance and efficiency.
The consultant will normal look in depth at all aspect of the business to access cost vs profit and how effective it currently is. Some of the areas include:
Staff: they will analyse your current staff levels including pay / performance / moral / skills and any out sourcing you do. From this they will make proactive suggestions on how to improve the efficient of your staff and if possible how you could save money.
Materials: in depth look into how much you spend on supplies and if you could cut your costs without compromising on quality. They may also recommend trying to increase your payment terms with suppliers to keep the money in your bank as long as possible.
A good consultant should more than cover the costs they are charging for their advice and expertises.
IT budgets set to increase for businesses in the financial sector
Following a recent study, it has been revealed that IT budgets are set to increase to a third of financial services organisations. Companies such as banks and insurance companies have stated that they are going to dramatically increase the money they spend on their IT infrastructure to improve the service their customers receive. With the issues we saw last year with some of the big name banks having embarrassing down time caused by IT issues, this comes as no surprise. They have actually stated that this takes over cutting costs within the business model. From the study carried out, 37% of respondents said that they expect to have the budget to carry out the necessary updates within three years. Some of the software and applications that these companies are using are so out of date that they are almost counting the days or weeks before something happens. This is a much needed change that will benefit all of us when it comes to dealing with businesses within the financial sector.
Going it alone in buiness
There often comes a time when an employee decides that they want to become self employed, or it may be that they have been out of work for a little while and want to start up their own business. You may find that you need the help and guidance of a business consultant or mentor especially in the early stages of the start up. Going in to business alone can be very daunting and if you are not aware of all the legal hurdles and costs and time involved you may find that you soon get in to trouble. A business consultant can help you with all of these aspects and go through each element with you to make sure you understand what you need to do. Very often you will need to create a business plan, this is not only useful to show to potential investors and banks if you are applying for a loan but for your own reference as it can make you think about your goals and problems that you may need to overcome.
Management Consulting Training
If you have your own business you may be looking for consulting advice. You can employ and external business or financial consultant to help you in these areas. Although these professionals are normally quite costly, the advantages that they can bring to your business can be great. You do not have to employ a third party to do this for you if you have the time yourself or have an employee that you trust and is competent. There are many consultant training courses available that will give you an insight in to how you can be your own consultant.
You need to be able to take a step back from the business and analysis it from a far to see what issues you have and where you need to improve and grow. It may be that you decide only to look at a certain part of the business, marketing for example and then bring in an outside consultant to look at the financial side of things.
What is the difference between a business consultant and a business coach?
You may be wondering what type of help you need for your business and if it is a consultant or coach that you require. Below is an overview of what both has to offer and what they typically do within your business.
A business consultant will analysis your business and gives you advice on how you can improve it. They will brainstorm ideas with you and discuss marketing planes and other projects and tell you how they believe you should implement them. They are there to advise you on business matters.
A business coach will not generally advise you on changes required within the business but will spend their time coaching you, teaching you new skills and helping you with issues like time management, decision making and staff morale. Then help the client to create success by focusing on personal development.
A good business Consultant should pay for itself
Any good business of financial consultant should make changes that more than cover for their costs quite quickly when coming in to a business. The role of these types of advisors is to review your current business and make suggestions on how to improve it functionality wise and financially.
A business advisor will look at all aspects of the business and may delve in to the financial side or work very closely with the financial advisor if someone else has that role. Once they have analysed you business they will make suggestions on all parts of the business that they feel can be improved. They should tell you why they think an improvement should be made and what benefits you will receive from making those changes.
If you decided to employ a business advisor, use one that has plenty of recommendations and that you trust as you may be sharing very private information with them.
What can a Financial Consultant do for my business?
Financial consultants can offer a large range of services to businesses varying from small companies to some of the largest companies in the world. A financial consultant can really help a business which many aspects of its situation which include areas like, debt management, financial budgeting, fundraising events and promotions, and often can even assist in the role of financial advisor to the company’s employees.
Sometimes financial consultants work as part of a larger financial team, this is especially the case when working with larger companies where one advisor may not be enough for the business needs. In these situations, they often work alongside other management consultants and give professional advice on the financial aspects of strategies and goals.
Often it is also quite common to see that the financial consultant and business consultant is the same person in smaller companies as many business consultants are qualified to help in this are too.
What skills are required to become a business consultant?
A business consultant creates strategies to advance businesses and help them find new markets, marketing strategies and aid them in improving their financial situation. Business consultants must choose a specialty subject area, so that they can focus their vocation path and develop into experts that can assist a business to grow and improve.
The most successful business consultants tend to have an entrepreneurial drive to construct their own business and be their own boss. Qualities needed to be a top business consultant include: being well organised, being outgoing and not afraid to talk to others or voice your opinions, great time management skills and a problem solving nature.
A financial background or good understanding can also go along way in help a consultant become the best in their field. The job can be very rewarding not only financially but also mentally as seeing a business grow and know that you have helped to achieve that is very satisfying.
How to find a good business consultant
The key to finding a good business consultant that will help grow your business is recommendations and results. Whether you are a new start up business or an existing one wanting to improve your business model, a consultant can really help take your business to the next level.
Business consultants are there to help you look at your company in dept and see where you could improve things and save money etc. Finding a good business consultant can be daunting, but if you can find someone that has been recommended to you and can prove the results they have obtained for others then you should be on to a good thing.
Business consultants are not normally cheap but the benefit they add to your company should more than cover the costs of the consultant. For this to work you need to be in a position where you can implement some of the suggestions they make, as if you can’t then there really is not pint. It is important to remember they are there to help you and your company grow and the rewards of listening to them can be great.