By Peter Theuri
Hustle
A person that knows how to help a business turn a profit can do well as a business consultant.
In the formative stages of any business, in the case of a mishap or in
pursuit of
business growth expansion, business people often find
themselves facing the need for expert advice. The need to seek
consultants to help the businesses stabilise or make inroads in the
markets is inevitable at some stage.
A consultant is an expert in a particular field who works as an advisor
either to a company or to another individual. Business consultants are
tasked with giving advice to businesses to help them grow and overcome
both internal and external challenges.
A person that knows how to help a business turn a profit can do well as a
business consultant. People in this field are very much sought after,
especially, as business environments can be extremely tumultuous.
Here’s how you become one:
1. Identify the type of consultancy you want to set up
Ruth Wachira, founder of StopGap Consultants Kenya, has 19 years of
professional experience in Kenya and Dubai and holds an MBA in
Management Consultancy.
Wachira says that before starting a consultancy agency/firm one has to
identify the type of consultancy to venture in based on their passion,
skills, knowledge and experience.
“There are many options. One could be a strategy consultant, management
consultant, operations consultant, financial advisory consultant, human
resource consultant or IT consultant. I consult for businesses.”
Her company focuses on personal and business development of individuals, start-ups and SMEs.
“Additionally, define your target audience. The aspiring consultant should then decide what consulting style to use,” she says.
There are other factors to look at. Like how to set up office, whether
to have partners or to go it alone. Will it be a group of collective
consultants or does one prefer to be an individual consultant? What are
the pros and cons of this?
2. Take up a professional course
Follow up with professional courses on that particular field. “In
addition, take a course that will help you master how to set up a
consultancy practice,” says Wachira.
3. Decide location
Factors such as whether to set up an online consultancy firm or
establish a physical location for consultancy should be considered at
the formative stages. However, with the current coronavirus crisis
wreaking havoc and businesses going online, the former should be
considered a priority.
4. You are considered an expert. Better be one
A consultant should have inspiring ideas, skills and knowledge that will
consequently support their clients. This is because the business people
pay for the expertise that should turn around fortunes for their
businesses, and they will feel short-changed if the expertise they
encounter does not match their investment.
One easy way to gain expertise levels is by having a natural passion for the area you choose.
Every consultant should make their work a successful space where they
can express their passion, skills, knowledge, experience and talent,
thriving in a field that they love and completely enjoy being in, says
Ruth. It is the only way they can deliver, if they are really passionate
about what they do.
“Aim at transformation and elevation of your business as well as your client’s personal and business venture,” she advises.
5. You can’t be a wuss at networking
In her 19 years of working, Wachira has learnt some very crucial
lessons that has helped her shape StopGap and create an admirable client
base.
She has learnt the power of networking and understands how to derive
support from the network system. A consultant needs the clients just as
much as they need the consultant.
“Never take short-cuts in anything you do,” she says. Doing the right
thing in the right way, following procedure, always gives the best
results in the end.
One should also strive to be unique and authentic. Every consultant
should do research and genuinely develop their clients. A good
consultant should hear the clients out as much as the consultant would
want them to listen and heed to their advice. The clients are the reason
the consultancy business is.
6. Really listen to the needs of your clients
But perhaps the greatest challenge that Wachira has been trying to
solve is suit consulting to different types of businesses in the market.
“There is no one-size-fits-all solutions in business consulting. Even if
there are similar types of business, one should find that special niche
that will set one’s business apart from the rest and disrupt one’s
competition,” she says.
A business consultant, and pretty much every consultant, should never
stop learning. They should always find ways to redesign their business,
remain current and relevant, given the dynamic shifts in business
trends.
When offering advice to clients, they should listen to the business’
pains and gains, then strike a fitting solution. That to mean that they
should be practical when offering advice to their clients and make
logical decisions that impact the business positively.
Being open and honest should be a priority in a consultant’s partnership
with clients, acting in the clients’ best interest. Like in many
business relationships, honesty and integrity are crucial foundations
that determine the success of a business.
A business consultant should place a strong emphasis on thorough
understanding of their clients’ challenges and should find practical and
result-oriented solutions to achieve their goals and objectives.
hustle@standardmedia.co.ke
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