Small Business Consultant Tips - Commonwealth Watch

Below, we outline the actions leaders can take to turn around struggling firms. Before following these steps, ensure that you have a small business consultant to act as a partner throughout the turnaround process. An outside business consulting expert is crucial; she or he can offer an unbiased expert opinion that can bring new life into your business.

Step 1: Get to Know the Business

The first thing a turnaround leader or small business consultant should do is research the struggling business. A full facility tour, including meetings with all employees, managers, leaders and trusted advisors, should be conducted. The consultant needs to know the business' story - the reason for its inception as well as successes, advantages, procedures, intellectual property, core beliefs and failures. Next, the business consulting guru should put together a turnaround team within the organization.

Step 2: Meet with Creditors, Customers and Suppliers

Once internal customers are on board with the turnaround process, it's time to get the support of external customers and partners. Turnaround leaders should give these players a clear understanding of why the turnaround process is happening and what the company hopes to achieve.

Step 3: Review Barriers to Business Success

Next, the small business consultant and turnaround team should review major business obstacles. What problems are limiting performance? The business consulting expert should research each major issue. For instance, if being profitable is the main problem, the consultant should analyze profit and loss reports for every month of the last two years. While working with your small business consultant, be objective in your assessment of the data. Can you spot where the current trends started? This is also a good time to think about potential timing issues for reviving the business.

Step 4: Zoom in on the Most Pressing Problems

Next on the business consulting agent's to-do list: Figure out which problems will have the most influence on the turnaround situation. Gather feedback from employees, advisors, creditors, customers, suppliers, managers and c-suite executives on which are the most urgent issues. Brainstorm ways to resolve major obstacles. Whether you're reviewing financial processes or small business marketing strategies, look at the long term. Avoid stop-gap answers, and find solutions that will stick. Prioritize a list of solutions that can help the company overcome obstacles.

Step 5: Find Opportunities

It's not enough for the small business consultant to solve the problems in step four - he or she must also uncover previously under-appreciated strengths and opportunities. For instance, while talking to suppliers, the consultant might be able to arrange a better deal, leading to lower product prices and higher sales.

Step 6: Research the Market and Customer Base

Investigate whether the market will support your new approach. Market research techniques such as customer surveys and focus groups can help you tweak your small business marketing strategies. Reviewing the organization's current structure can help you determine if new ideas can be successfully implemented. For efficiency, select two or three opportunities and problems to start with - it's best if these objectives can be realized quickly to keep momentum going.

Finally, don't quit as soon as positive results appear. Check in with the process consistently, and meet with your small business consultant regularly to review accomplishments and tackle new challenges.

Source: http://commonwealthwatch.blogspot.com/2012/10/small-business-consultant-tips-how-to.html

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