In the current financial climate, it seems that businesses are falling into three groups when they describe how they are faring during the decline, and what their current issues or problems are:
- Some businesses are doing badly– they describe how they are being relentlessly damaged by the government, economic conditions, market, suppliers, customers, bank etc. These businesses are not confident that they can survive.
- Some businesses are simply doing just fine– it is not dazzling, and it is a struggle sometimes, but they are coping with the present situation and looking at how to expand their business to take benefit of the expansion when it comes.
- Some businesses are doing really well– With all of the dire news in the media, these business owners perform almost like they should not be doing as well as they are, but seeing as their business is doing so well, they now require taking their business to the subsequent level.
All of the businesses above have one thing in familiar, even if they will not admit it. They require help. More significantly they need advice and help from people who are not working in the business. Business development plans, business survival plans, and taking a business onto the next stage of revenue all benefit from input by an external business advisor who can see the business with clean eyes, without the baggage of working at the coalface or being involved right from the beginning.
There is no denying that business advisors like Brian P Carr, be they known as consultants, non-executive directors or professional service providers usually get a bad press, some of which is absolutely deserved. People often read about unsuccessfully managed consultancy projects that cost far more that was initially visualized and do not deliver what was guaranteed.
For the most part, business advisors like Brian P Carr do their extreme to provide the best service they can to their customers and add as much value as achievable. There are good and bad advisors in the same way that there are good and bad businesses. As in any business relationship, the key is to get things right from the beginning, which means careful selection, proper planning and managed expectations on all sides.
Not all business advisors like Brian P Carr are expensive
Business advisors do not need to be costly. For instance, business link is a good foundation of free basic guidance. Nevertheless, even they will still consign you to their supplier matching system for more dedicated in depth advice. Also, like all businesses presently, advisors have to be inventive, and there are some good deals around presently.
There is an inclination for business owners to consider they know it all, or can do it all, which is habitually based on cash and cost considerations. Nevertheless, too many businesses are being held back by not getting the correct advice at the right time. With identified deliverables and a clear written agreement, an external advisor could be a very meaningful investment, even in these uneasy times.