Generally, a consultant is hired to advises companies on different aspects of their business.
Consultants don’t always handle the hands-on work involved in managing a business (although they can). Rather, they guidance, advice, strategy, and planning based on their years of expertise.
There are many different types of consulting.
Consultants usually specialize in a certain field.
Their fields of specialization include marketing, HR, finance, or a number of other types of work. Although consultants can do many different things, it’s important to remember that they aren’t employees, but advisors.
For example, an HR consultant can help you design an onboarding process for new employees, but probably won’t be doing any training of staff themselves.
A marketing consultant can help you with a marketing strategy and budget, and even help with headlines and copy for ad campaigns or social posts, but likely won’t be posting the actual content on those channels or buying the placements.
A finance consultant can help you with create a 3/5/7 year financial plan or prepare your annual Cash Flow analysis, but won’t do your taxes for you (that’s what an accountant is for).
Different types of consultants offer different types of advice and services, so it’s helpful to know what you need help with before booking a consultationg. (If you have no idea where to start with your business, no worries; there are generalist consultants, too!)
Can small businesses/startups use consultants?
Oftentimes, consulting through big, traditional firms seems too intimidating for small businesses to consider. The scale of businesses that go to these firms, not to mention the price of the appointments, can be very intimidating for the average startup.
If you’re interested in improving your business, but aren’t sure where to start and don’t want to go the traditional route… stay tuned!
