Why Seek a Third Party Consultant?
To many business owners, coming up with any type of strategic plan for their operation is a huge step that is frequently overlooked. Any of you who have read my prior blog entries know that I am a firm believer of planning the work and then working the plan. The main reason given for this lack of strategic planning can be described loosely as a failure to plan, but more importantly, there is a perceived lack of flexibility in developing a strategic plan. Hopeful entrepreneurs, fearful of having their ideas stolen, are notorious for keeping things close to the vest, and share bits of their latest business idea on a “need-to-know” basis.
While no one will begrudge these entrepreneurs their feelings of distrust towards the outside world, more than a few ideas have failed rather quickly due to a lack of a planned strategy. Further, most of these ideas were not given a fair chance to develop, and with the proper advice, said idea man could be enjoying a fishing boat in Baja with regularity. Many failed ventures are the result of listening to people that are not experts in their field, or in short, bad advice. Can you imagine sinking a great deal of money into an idea rounded into shape based on the ideas and opinions of family members, casual acquaintances, and friends of friends?
The single most valuable piece of advice I can give to anyone is to be smart enough to know what you do not know, and align yourself with those that do. With financing becoming increasingly difficult to secure for any venture, the first thing any lending institution wants to hear is your idea, closely followed by the written business plan. Pointing to your head and saying, “everything’s right up here” is a surefire way to end any negotiation towards securing financing. The person with the great idea is often not the right person to gain the financing, write the business plan, or see the idea become more than a reality. A viable business model usually includes input from several sources, and the chances of success increase when that input is from an expert in their field, not someone that may have a casual understanding and strong opinion.
The case for a consultant, or an expert in their field, is an easy one to make. Besides being a subject matter expert, they are not emotionally invested. Simply put, experts with no emotional ties to any business model are not being influenced or swayed by anyone or anything. Further, an expert can do the work in half the time (or less) it might take for any highly motivated person without the expertise, and the learning curve is effectively eliminated.
The next time someone scoffs at getting an outside consultant involved in a matter thought of as private or confidential, remind them that there are experts that make a living advising in such matters. Regardless of topic or industry, the best thing you can do is to remind that person to be smart enough to seek out an expert instead of trying to negotiate the school of hard knocks by themselves. Even a family member who is an attorney would support that advice.