How the Right Management Consultant Can Increase the Likelihood of Your Startup Success (Part I)
Part 1: Why should I use a management consultant for a business that doesn’t exist yet?
For those brave souls that dare take the risks necessary to take a concept from a mere fledgling idea to a tangible enterprise of any size, you’ve likely been solicited by various professional service providers: lawyers, accountants, public relations consultants, social media consultants, etc. Typically, your novice entrepreneur can see a tangible use for each one of the aforementioned functions (e.g. unless you are starting an accounting firm, clearly there would be a need for external expertise that allowed you to account for the company’s money). One function that may not be as clearly obvious is the need for a good management consultant.
“What in the world would I need a management consultant for?”, you might ask.
“Aren’t they for large corporations? Aren’t they super expensive?”, you ask.
As opposed to listing a series of reasons that you may or may not take at face value (for obvious reasons), I will pose a series of questions that any serious startup executive or executive team should consider prior to launching their venture. If you find yourself answering “yes” to most of the subsequent questions, you would likely find a great deal of benefit from a relationship with a good, seasoned and dedicated management consultant. Each of the following questions represents a significant risk or hurdle to the success of your business.
Questions:
- Does your concept have an established market in which it intends to enter?
- Is your concept establishing a new market?
- Is there competition in the market that you intend to enter?
- Will your concept need financing?
- If you need financing, do you need guidance presenting your concept to potential investors or lenders?
- Is there financial risk associated with launching your concept?
- Do you need finance expertise in developing your business plan and pro formas?
- Do you need help developing your business plan, business model or marketing analysis?
- Would you like to test your product or concept prior to going to market?
- Is time to market critical to the success of your product or concept?
Again, if you find yourself answering “yes” to many of the applicable questions above, you may be in need of a good, competent management consultant. Since this is the first in a series of blogs, I won’t go into great detail on each question and how a good management consultant can help in each specific instance. Rather, I will expound upon the tools, skills, and benefits that the right management consultants can bring to a startup concept… but in the next blog…
Part II is already published! Take a look: Now that I know I need help, how the heck does a management consultant solve my issues?