Why Should You Use a Business Advisor?

“A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have” Tim Ferriss

Behind every successful athlete is a great coach, and success in business is no different. Analyse any top business around the world and you will find they have one thing in common; their success is a collaborative effort which relies on getting the best advice and guidance in key areas of their operation.

As a business owner, you will no doubt have expertise in one or possibly more roles.

However, being an organisational leader across multiple channels and functions is something quite different. The bottom line is, you cannot and should not go it alone.

Business Advisors provide Owners and Directors with information and ideas about how they could run their businesses more effectively. In short, they can give you objective analysis, fresh ideas and solutions to problems – all of which can be very valuable at all levels of a company’s life-cycle (see article on Business Life-cycle here:

https://www.clivedenhouseconsulting.co.uk/post/the-business-life-cycle-and-why-you-need-to-understand-this)

Getting a Business Advisor can add some real value to your business, including:

- Outside Perspective

- Honesty

- New Expertise

- Easing your Stress

- Fresh Ideas

- Wide Ranging Experience

- Covering Gaps in Staff and Knowledge

- Cost AND Profit Benefits

- Massively more cost effective than ‘Full Time Hires’ for similar level recruitment

- Other Industry’s Processes

“You are Educated if you are prepared to Learn”

What should you look for in a business advisor?

Once you have decided that you do have a specific need or requirement that needs to be resolved, then it is critically important that you get the right Business Advisor in for you and your company. Here are four key skills you may want to look out for to ensure you get the right support for your business:

• A Coaching Mentality – Ideally, you want someone who has previously managed/led/mentored reasonably large numbers of staff in varying locations, across different functions and who has personal experience of leading teams and businesses in bad economic times and within tough industries. This level of wide-ranging insight and leadership/coaching ability would be difficult and expensive to recruit Full-Time, but getting these skills into your business in an Advisory capacity could add real value.

• Experience – Getting someone in who has potentially had Board Director experience and therefore who has had the responsibility of a business’s well-being, governance, Finance and long-term future can only help you as you look to go through the journey they have already been on. Especially, if they have done this successfully at a profitable organisation. If you can find someone who has also touched/worked with many other companies during their career where they have seen how and why different business's operate in the way that they do; as well as seeing first hand what has worked and what hasn't - you will also be adding additional essential knowledge to your decision making ability.

• Wide Range of Business Background – Finding an Advisor who has worked in a variety of different sized companies including SMEs, Nationals and Global Multinationals will add a huge numbers of different experiences to draw from and that your business can utilize and learn from. There are obviously different methodologies and thought processes used within SMEs and Global organisations, but all can be examined and utilised - so having this 'suite' of ideas and scenarios available can only increase your options.

• Long-Term Thinking – Every business and owner should be looking Long-Term; and therefore you need an Advisor who knows how to plan and strategise for the future. They will therefore be able help you in key long-term focus areas such as Profitable Revenue Growth, Process Improvement, Company Structure and Client Retention/Development (to name but a few) for not only the here and now, but also for the coming years ahead.

Similar Values!

Perhaps the most important quality of all in a Business Advisor, is a similar value system! If you prize “integrity” over "winning at all costs," an advisor who does not agree with that mentality will be a bad fit for you. If you believe people come before profits, it is important to find an advisor who agrees with that way of thinking and helps you craft a business that helps the people within your organisation, with profits naturally following.

You want to find someone who prizes and holds dear to them, the same values and principles that you and your company have. You need to work with an Advisor who you can relate to, whom you personally get on with and who speaks your language. Throwing large amounts of money to a consultancy behemoth does not guarantee you a good ‘fit’ or a workable ‘relationship’ and I believe that is what is truly most important in your choice of an Advisor.

One Time Help

Business Advisers can be hired to help with one-time problems as and when required. If your organisation is facing a new issue and you need some expert advice, hiring a Business Adviser to help you through the problem can be cost-effective and extremely helpful. For instance, if your revenues are declining and you don’t know why and have not experienced this before, an Adviser can help you to work through the issues you may not have considered.

Ongoing Support

As previously mentioned, Business Advisers generally have years of experience in a variety of different businesses. This vast knowledge can help bring a perspective to your business that you may not otherwise have access to. As the Adviser gets to know your business, he or she may be able to anticipate problems that are on the horizon and offer solutions to pre-empt trouble in the future. Ongoing support from your Advisor could even help you take advantage of an opportunity that you may not even be aware of. It is also useful to work with someone who has a network of accredited and trusted colleagues to ensure that all business functions and requirements can be fully covered, however diverse the requirements may be.

What To Do Next ?

I hope that this has been useful for you and as always I have tried to summarise some of the key areas within this field to make it readable and relatable. If you need me to elaborate, or you require any further information or advice on any of the points then please do not hesitate to contact me on julianpatel@clivedenhouseconsulting.co.uk and I would be delighted to listen and help in any way that I can.

And please as always, stay safe and look after yourself and your business…

Julian