Business consultant

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RB Business Consultancy

Our standard pricing is £60 per hour, but we are happy to quote on either a daily rate, retention rate or a fixed rate for a specific project - for example a Business Plan, financial review, feasibility study or similar dedicated brief.

Due to COVID19 restrictions we would look to establish your specific requirements in a free telephone consultation and agree a bespoke process moving forward that would include contact via Zoom meetings, telephone calls and email exchanges to achieve your objectives in the timescale required. Once restrictions are lifted we can consider face to meetings if required.

My degree has been obtained in the University of Life. I left school with 9 O-levels and 4 A-levels and went to work for a brewery! An eventful life has followed which has given me invaluable experience and insight into the requirements of the SME sector. From a financial perspective I am CeMAP qualified; I also have a Yellow Pages CIM accredited marketing qualification and over 35 years experience running and advising all types of businesses from recycling companies to mobile hairdressers, rock bands to solicitors and estate agents, psychotherapists to florists and many many more in between. The principles of business are the same irrespective of your chosen market sector. Sure, there are different nuances that have to be taken into account, but the principles remain the same whether you are looking to become a self-employed courier or establish a Limited Company to produce and distribute widgets.

After training as a Financial Adviser, and amassing a number of clients from different backgrounds, I found myself being asked by some of those clients to help them navigate the recession of the early 1990s as they had seen I had successfully established a couple of businesses of my own. One success led to another referral and another success led to another referral and before I knew it I was a full time Business Adviser!

I have worked with too many different types of business to be able to mention them all - from recycling companies to mobile hairdressers, rock bands to solicitors and estate agents, psychotherapists to florists and many many more in between.

One of my most recent enjoyable and satisfying projects was to assist a newly formed business to acquire and refurbish premises from which to trade as a Psychotherapy practice. I helped with the sourcing of the premises, formulated a Business Plan, liaised with accountants to produce cash flow forecasts and projected accounts, obtained bridging finance so that the building could be acquired and refurbished and then arranged the refinancing for the property once the work was completed. My involvement started in 2019 and we completed the project in October 2020 despite the pandemic! I am now actively involved in looking to help the company to expand.

Make sure you have a clear vision as to what you want from the consultant you hire and be prepared to pay a realistic fee for the services you require. Give careful thought and consideration to how much that service is worth to you and the benefits that the consultant can bring to your business. There is an old saying that 'people buy people'. If you are not comfortable buying into the person and proposition put before you then walk away.

This depends on the project and the stage it is at. If it is no more than an idea, then look into it further before engaging a consultant. If you feel confident then conduct your own research and SWOT analysis, feasibility studies and formulate your own Business Plan and cash flow forecasts before engaging a consultant. It will be your business, so you need to do the groundwork for it. If your business has been running for a while and there are particular issues that you need help with - such as expansion, diversification, troubleshooting, cost analysis, profitability - then the same rules still apply. Make sure you have a clear vision as to what you want to achieve, do as much of the groundwork as you can before calling in the consultant and then be prepared to work with the consultant to achieve your desired outcome. This can sometimes mean taking unpopular decisions such as making staff redundant, changing working hours and/or practices. It can equally involve making important and exciting choices regarding hiring the right person for a new sales role or administrative position perhaps. Being successful is all about making the right decisions at the right time. Sometimes the timing is more by luck than judgement and you have to accept that you may fail occasionally. The successful people are the ones who picks themselves up, dust themselves down and move on to the next challenge, always learning from their mistakes. We all make mistakes but the successful people never make the same mistake twice.