Many small entrepreneurs became entrepreneurs because they want to be the boss, to call the shots, make the decisions.
They love the independence that small-scale entrepreneurship allows them to have. And they tend to fiercely protect this independence.
However, even the most independent and talented entrepreneurs cannot do things for themselves – at least not for long. They may be all around men but they would sometimes need specialized help that only experts and consultants can give them.
Flawless Consulting author Peter Block describes the three main areas where a consultant may be useful:
- As “a pair of hands,” a consultant can do tasks that a client organizations knows how to itslf, but does not have the staff to accomplish (e.e. organizing meetings, drafting documents, conducting interviews with clients, and other such hands-on work.
- In the expert role, a consultant provides knowledge or skills that the organization does not have i-house (e.g. doing an evaluation of a program or management function, providing an analysis of the implication of environmental trends in funding or service delivery, etc.).
- In the collaborative role, the consultant works as a partner with the organization, contributing knowledge, but leaving the rest to the client, who has the task expertise and staff to accomplish tasks once the approach is determined (e.g providing guidance on the planning process and facilitating meetings and retreats, while leaving the content debate to the client.
Before engaging a consultant, make sure you have identified the role you want them to play in the process. Here are some guidelines to do it (Barbara Davis, Grantsmanship Center)
- Clarify your broad expectations of what the consultant will do
- Decide roughly how much you want to spend
- Talk with at least two consultants and check the references they provide to you.
- Ask each consultant whom you are seriously considering to submit a written proposal summarizing the work to be performed, the time and the cost.
- Make sure you feel comfortable working with the person you select.
- Develop a clearly worded written construct, which should include the following: a list of deliverables; a projected completion date; a schedule for payment.
- Checkpoints along the way at which the client and consultant can evaluate progress and resolve any problems that may have arisen.
- A mechanism by which either party can terminate the contract before it is completed.
- Identification of the person in your organization who has the authority to agree to expenditures or approve the consultant’s work
- An understanding of who will actually do the consulting work.
