Management Consulting: Not Just for Established Businesses

The following is a guest post from SharedCxO.com, a company which uses a "shared team model" to provide marketing, accounting, legal, and tech services to small and middle-sized businesses. Find more information about their CEO advisory and outsourcing services here.

Management Consulting: Not Just for Established Businesses

Although entrepreneurs in start-up mode commonly think that management consulting is utilized only by businesses that have established themselves or grown to a significant size, the truth is that early-stage companies can benefit from management consulting a great deal. While I'm clearly an evangelist for business consulting services, having seen firsthand how they can turn things around for troubled companies and help new businesses get off the ground, I don't think I'm too biased when I say that the start-up phase is one of the times when management consulting is most useful.

The purpose of management consulting is largely to offer advice. And who can really afford to turn down the advice of a seasoned professional? Certainly not entrepreneurs who are growing a business from scratch--even if they're experts in their industry. There's always value in having someone review your plans, offer second opinions on ideas and help identify areas for improvement.

So here are 10 reasons why early-stage companies especially can benefit from management consulting.

1. Management Consulting Helps You Keep up with Changes

Businesses, old and new alike, existing in an ever-changing landscape. What's relevant, timely, and appropriate one day can be tired, outdated, and inefficient the next. A good business consultant stays abreast of fluctuations, from market instability to technological improvements to changes in standards or best practices, so entrepreneurs can stay focused on their primary goal: launching successfully.

2. Management Consulting Provides Honest, Unbiased Feedback

An entrepreneur will get glowing feedback about his idea from family, friends, and even his professional networks. Before you know it, he starts thinking his concept is foolproof. But truly unbiased and actionable advice is hard to come by unless you harness management consulting to take a look at the big picture. You'll get feedback not only about the concept behind your business, but about the details of execution, organization, and other critical matters. At Shared CxO, we pride ourselves on having outsourced executives who offer completely honest advice without the personal agendas or blinders that entrepreneurs will encounter when seeking feedback from others.

3. Management Consulting Solves Problems

In my experience working with incubators and interacting with entrepreneurs daily in the busy start-up scene in San Francisco, I've seen plenty of entrepreneurs hit brick walls at critical moments in their business's development. Whether the obstacle stems from a lack of planning, a lack of research, a lack of knowledge about a particular facet of business or something else, I'm positive that management consulting can help frustrated entrepreneurs solve problems. And the more experienced an executive is, and the more diverse his background, the quicker he can untangle even the most complicated issues facing early-stage companies. That's why we've cherry-picked only the most seasoned business veterans to work with our clients.

4. Management Consultants Love Forward Momentum

Management consultants simply love to see a company grow and achieve its goals. As such, an outsourced executive providing management consulting is incredibly motivated to help entrepreneurs overcome issues and move forward with their plans. They triumph when the start-up's off the ground. And it's easy to get caught up in this excitement. It's one of the reasons I love working with early-stage companies!

5. Management Consulting Teaches Entrepreneurs Valuable Lessons

A good management consultant doesn't just drop by, solve everybody's problems, and disappear. In management consulting, an executive guides entrepreneurs through the process of finding solutions for the stumbling blocks they encounter. Entrepreneurs actually learn from the engagement, and become better equipped to handle issues in the future.

6. Management Consulting Helps Entrepreneurs Stay Focused and on Deadline

Because of the sheer amount of activities involved in starting a business, it's easy for entrepreneurs to lose focus unless guided. Management consultants can keep entrepreneurs laser-focused on the tasks at hand. Management consulting also involves prioritizing activities so that entrepreneurs have a step-by-step walkthrough for what has to happen before the big launch. I've also seen entrepreneurs lose track of time or spend too much time on one particular aspect of business, at the expense of others. Business consultants can keep things running on time.

7. Management Consulting Involves Top-to-Bottom Analysis

Quality business consultants leave no stone unturned when analyzing an early-stage business--from the initial concept to the business plan, market research, company structure and organization, and post-launch next steps, management consulting examines everything holistically. Management consultants, as experienced executives, catch overlooked aspects of starting up a company. They're a second pair of eyes and ears to watch things carefully.

8. Marketing Consulting Sets Companies up for Branding

One of the biggest challenges for start-ups is simply being discovered. Brand awareness comes with tremendous time and effort, and often financial investment. Part of management consulting is teaching you how to plan an initial marketing campaign that gives your brand a shot in the arm. You'll learn the channels that will produce the biggest ROI and how to create a scalable, practical plan so that you don't exceed budget or spend too much time on a potentially fruitless activity.

9. Trust Is Implicit in Management Consulting

I completely understand the "play your cards close to your chest" attitude that some entrepreneurs adopt from the get-go. Nothing could be worse than investing time, effort, and money in a unique business idea, only to find parts of the idea or the idea in whole stolen by someone with more resources to make it happen. But in management consulting, an outsourced executive honors privacy without question. Entrepreneurs don't have to worry about details of their business plan leaked--everything is kept strictly confidential, which is not always the case if you appeal to peers or professional networks for advice.

10. Management Consulting Dots I's and Crosses T's

With a management consultant on board, you're no longer solely responsible for everything. Management consulting involves quality assurance and identification of areas of improvement. While entrepreneurs still need to be vigilant, with an executive on their side to help make sure everything is complete, correct and ready for the next stage of growth, they can have peace of mind.

Introducing His Black Wings by Astrid Yrigollen

San Francisco-based writer Astrid Yrigollen's new young adult novel, His Black Wings, is a unique take on the classic story of Beauty and the Beast. Reviewers call her writing "original and creative" and her characters "strong, interesting, and well-developed."

The novel's main character, Claren Maidstone, has left her childhood home after the death of her parents--and her own harrowing experience of assault. The novel follows her connections to three very different men, including Etrigan Lowood, who bears the dark beauty of a set of wings which carry him out only at night. As their friendship develops, he longs for Claren's love.

Set in the future during a Victorian era revival, the novel depicts a society in which the Grand Council has brought peace to the world's inhabitants, yet malice, revenge, and lust will not be so easily destroyed. This new world of peace and beauty has hidden costs which are revealed as the book progresses.

For an intriguing romance with a steampunk twist, give His Black Wings a read. It's available on Amazon both for Kindle and in paperback. Astrid has written several other books as well, so check out her author page on Amazon for more details.

Meet Jay Shon, Photographer

Jay Shon considers himself a native of California, having lived in the state most of his life. He recently became interested in photography after first exploring it as a hobby and then discovering that it allowed him a bubbling creative outlet. He created Photo.Artful to sell his artwork depicting the region where he grew up--the Bay Area, California.

1. In setting up your website, what made you decide to emphasize the Bay Area as the unifying factor for your photos?

The Bay Area is a diverse region, a mixture of cultures and philosophies and scenery. You don't need to travel far in order to find something unique. Sometimes it's in plain sight, other times hidden and known to only a few. My goal is to share the sights and fascination of the region.

2. What are some elements that make your photos unique?

I don't have a particular style, or at least try not to. My only goal is to present subjects how I view them through my "creative eye." And I enjoy mixing in some digital elements when I think it'll enhance or transform my vision of a particular photo.

3. When you are creating abstract compositions where you use photos as a starting point and then alter or add to the image using software or other tools, what guides you in terms of how to change the image while also remaining true to your original photo?

I enhance around the purpose of the photo, and simultaneously have fun. I have a series of artwork around these two tall trees that I photographed ("Energy" and "Madness"). One displays an image of the trees exhibiting life and having fun, while the other image showcases rage. My goal with both images was to show that plants are living and dynamic creatures. I think creating abstract compositions enhances the subject of the photograph if the look and feel is right. And it can attract some extra attention as well.

4. What are the challenges and what are the benefits in being able to sell artwork through online platforms?

I think the biggest challenge is the risk of having your artwork seem devalued monetarily if sold through online platforms. But my main goal is access and online platforms certainly provide that benefit. The other benefit is that customers have different options than what I can provide alone--framing, canvas, poster, giclee print, etc.

5. When you are walking in the city, what helps you to spot great opportunities for taking photos?

Inspiration arrives in many forms. I keep my eyes and thoughts open.

Thanks, Jay!

Meet James Conner, Musician

James Conner has been writing, recording and performing music in the Bay Area for nine years. Originally from New Jersey, James moved to San Francisco in 2003 and released James Conner: For The Industry EP (iTunes, CD Baby). Featuring fast electronic music and spoken-word vocals, the first EP and the subsequent full-length record, James Conner: A Year In The Light Of My Life (2007) mixed elements of Aphex Twin, Nine Inch Nails, and David Bowie into a dark fusion of brooding angst. Now in 2012, James has returned with his second full-length record. San Francisco (Good-night In Dreamland) (iTunes, CD Baby) delivers a cohesive blend of indie rock, 1990s alternative rock, and elements of jazz. To capture the songs on San Francisco, James recorded with Nic Pope for a year at Different Fur Studios in the Mission. James has enlisted Nathan Bennet (on guitar) and Alex Aguallo (on drums) to round out a powerful trio to bring San Francisco to the stage.

Find San Francisco on Amazon as well as iTunes, and sample James' music on ReverbNation, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

1. How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before?

As a cross between Dinosaur Jr. and U2. People also compare my music to The Strokes, Interpol, and The Libertines.

2. What's your process for writing music: do you generally start with a riff, an image, a lyric...?

I usually start with the lyrics/vocals and work backwards. For me, the lyrics/vocals determine everything about a song--i.e. the tempo, the mood, and the type of song it's going to be. Since I'm the singer/lyricist and also the songwriter, everything supports the vocal.

3. How is San Francisco (Good-night In Dreamland) similar to your first album, and how is it different?

My first record, James Conner: For the Industry EP (CDBaby, iTunes) was fast, electronic music with spoken-word vocals. On San Francisco there are three tracks that are of the style of the first record. That was a deliberate attempt on my part to have a link with the style from my first record. But with San Francisco I wanted to make a "rock" record, so the majority of the songs are rock songs in the style of "indie rock" or "alternative rock." Also, on San Francisco I made more of attempt to sing although my vocals on the record aren't all-out singing.

4. How does living in San Francisco influence your work?

All of the songs on San Francisco were written since I've been living in San Francisco, and all the songs are about topics that I've been dealing with since I've been in San Francisco. I grew up in a small town in Southern New Jersey and my parents are conservative Republicans, so casual sex and infidelity were basically hidden/non-existent while I was growing up. I moved to San Francisco when I was twenty-three, and I had very little dating experience when I first arrived. It took a long time for me to adjust to the morality of San Francisco and California in general. In San Francisco, casual sex and infidelity in relationships is basically the norm. When I first moved to San Francisco, I would ask a girl out, and I would also ask if she had a boyfriend, and I would literally get a blank stare--as if the question itself was irrelevant. On the East Coast and especially in the small town I grew up in, if you asked a girl out who had a boyfriend, you would be facing a fist-fight. It's much different in San Francisco. So all the songs on San Francisco deal with sex, dating, and infidelity.

5. What online resources do you find most important in connecting listeners with your music, and what offline resources are most crucial to you?

Facebook is pretty crucial these days when you're connecting with fans and building a community for your music. It also allows you to have a more personal connection with your fans which is invaluable. Offline resources have almost entirely disappeared these days. I guess they would include local newspapers, local businesses, and word of mouth. They're all important when you're trying to build a local fan base, but they're getting more sparse every day.

Thanks, James!