Click here to get this post as a PDF and read it later!
Growing a business is no easy task. Even if you’ve had a lot of success up until now, the next step in expanding your small business might not be so crystal clear. So what can you do to secure your chances of growth? It all starts with a consultant.
A consultant is arguably one of the most expensive things that you’ll ever spend your budget on. Consultants typically don’t have a fixed price because they all charge different rates. In fact, their rates are often dependent on the income of their clients. If a consultant can increase a company’s income by even 5%, then they can be worth an incredible amount of money for a larger company.
But when is it the right time to hire a consultant? When should you consider looking for one?
It’s a difficult question to answer. Most people hire consultants only when they need to achieve something specific, but there are actually a number of different situations where hiring a consultant can offer tremendous value. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the most common situations where you’ll want to hire a consultant.
Are you prepared to take on changes?
Hiring a consultant almost always means changing up the way your business operates. Consultants are incredibly good at locating things in your business that aren’t working correctly or could be optimized. They may end up changing large processes in your business, so it’s important that you’re prepared to take on these changes if you hire a consultant. If your business has been stagnating for a long time, then change may be what you need to break out of a slump and start growing your business again. However, consultants might not always make changes to your business, especially if they feel that it’s already operating at an optimal level of productivity.
You need expertise but you’re not ready to hire a full-time employee
The cost of hiring a new employee can be incredibly expensive when you factor in their benefits, salary and other costs. If you’re looking for a solution to fill the gap, then a consultant can offer you the expertise you’re looking for without needing to take on another full-time employee. You can think of it much like outsourcing or hiring a freelancer. If there’s a specific problem or inefficiency in your business that you want to fix, then hiring a consultant is probably the best way to deal with it. You get help almost immediately, you pay them a fee that is likely much cheaper than taking on a full-time employee, and it’s far more convenient for your business.
Do you need a different viewpoint?
Consultants offer you an unbiased point of view on your business’s problems. If you feel like it’s time for you to get a second opinion on your decisions, then a consultant is the perfect role to hire for the job. Your business can usually make use of an alternate viewpoint if you’ve been stagnating for a while. Teams that work together for a long time usually fail to see flaws in their workflow or efficiencies because they’re just so accustomed to it. For a fresh viewpoint of your business, consider hiring a consultant.
You’re having trouble growing a specific kind of business
Consultants are great for improving certain types of businesses. Companies in industries such as healthcare and education typically don’t have readily-available resources that can help them grow. Instead, they’ll need to rely on consultants such as Soriant to learn more about that industry. This helps them make better decisions, it gives them inside knowledge and it also ensures that their business still adheres to strict regulations. So if you’re trying to grow a business in a niché or specialized industry, you always want to rely on consultants to help you advance your business.
You have a very specific role that you’re looking to fill
Consultants possess a huge amount of knowledge on a variety of different subjects. However, if you’re looking to fill a specific position then you may want to hire a consultant instead of a freelancer or outsourcing the job to someone. Consultants are highly specialized experts that often have very focused roles inside of a business. For instance, a consultant may be hired just to educate your staff on network security matters. If you know exactly what you want from an employee and a consultant just happens to fit that description, then why not consider hiring one?
