Businesses are like life cycles; they all come with their difficulties. While it’s easy to revel in the highs, it’s getting through the lows that really tests the resilience of a business and its ability to keep afloat. It is during this time when companies should consider hiring a business consultant – someone who can provide an expert analysis and intuitive insight into guiding a company through rough waters.
Identifying and Embracing Change
There are several factors that can contribute to a business experiencing a slow patch. Some of these are regular occurrences that affect the industry as a whole, such as:
- Slow start/lack of publicity.
- Economic downfall/success.
- Shortage/excess of supplies.
- Rise of competitors.
- Newer, cheaper and/or more efficient alternatives.
- Changing styles and trends.
- Changes in laws and regulations.
While some of these are inevitable and comprise the natural part of social, cultural, and economic cycles, a successful business will know how to anticipate them and adapt to necessary changes. Here is where a business consultant can play a key role.
Consultants like Scott Gelbard – who has worked extensively with a number of leading organizations in finance, sustainability, and other specialties – know how to identify a business’s strengths and weaknesses and place them in the context of the current economic environment.With an unbiased approach that puts the company back in touch with its client base, current trends, and the core of what makes its brand distinct, Gelbard has optimized these skills to oversee several successful projects with the likes of GlobalLeadGen, Crunchies Food Company, MusclePharm Apparel, Terra Ferma, and Beckham Walker Equity Partners, as well as having extensive philanthropic pursuits.
Restructuring, Relearning, Redoing
The key to this success is fairly straightforward. The relationship between consultant and company is the first and foremost factor to establish. Maintaining a clear sight of the goals yet staying flexible allows for open decision-making and alternative solutions that are in accord with the company’s ethos to take place. Because a consultant is aware of the bigger picture but able to focus on specifics, projects can also be brought up to speed without distraction from other areas, and additional management skills can be implemented to improve overall efficiency, which will benefit the entire company.
There are other benefits, too. Business consultants often take on a diverse array of different roles, and each one adds to their expertise. This means that they can draw on their vast knowledge base and find innovative alternatives, as well as respond to feedback and work with clients to find the most mutually accepted solution. In short, business consultants embody exactly the kind of criteria which the ideal employee strives to put on their resume: objective, focused, versatile, knowledgeable, and creative. Where these are additional attributes for many career roles, they are mandatory for consultants and could be just the thing a business needs to get off the ground again, as well as save time and resources. After all, sometimes it’s that outside perspective accompanied by a fresh idea that makes all the difference.
