Running a business · 10 guides
Business Consultant: problems and fixes, explained by Armando
Armando Juarez is the only business consultant member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- What happens after you hire a business consultant, from the first call to the last session From the first call to the day the team runs the new systems alone: what happens at each step of a hands-on engagement, how much of your time it takes, and when the numbers usually move. The whole sequence in briefStep one: the application and the first callStep two: a free working consultationStep three: discovery inside your business
- What a business consultant costs, and how to tell whether the fee will pay for itself An honest consultant cannot price the work before seeing inside your business. Here is what drives the fee, how to put a dollar figure on your own problem first, and how to read a guarantee. The short answer on what consulting costsWhy a serious consultant will not price the job on the first callWhat actually moves the fee up or downHourly, retainer, project or performance: the pricing models you will see
- The mistakes that stall a company between $1 million and $10 million in revenue Growing from one million to ten million is not the same business, bigger. These are the mistakes I see stall companies in that range, the order things break in, and what a growth plan that holds looks like. The short list of growth mistakesKeeping the two jobs you most need to give awayGrowing a business that is still leakingBuying volume and building overhead too early
- Shrinking margins, tight payroll, vendors calling: signs your business needs a turnaround One bad month is not a turnaround. Several quarters of shrinking margins that nobody can explain, with cash pressure starting to show, usually is. Here is how to tell, and what to do first. When it is more than a bad monthThe warning signs I look for firstRough patch or structural problem: how to tell them apartThree things to do this week, before you call anyone
- Selling or handing off your business in a few years: how early to start and what to fix The things that make a business worth more to a buyer or easier to hand to family take years to build. Here is how early to start, what to fix first and how to tell if you are making progress. Start years ahead, not monthsWhat a buyer or successor is really paying forThe 30-day testThree tracks to work on at the same time
- Questions to ask a business consultant before you sign, and answers that should worry you Most owners interview a consultant the way they would interview a vendor. These are the questions that test evidence, implementation and accountability, and the answers that should make you hesitate. Ask about evidence, method and accountabilityQuestions that show how they will diagnose your businessWhat good diagnosis sounds like when you hear itQuestions about who does the work and what they have done
- Free business advice in Dallas–Fort Worth, and how to tell when you have outgrown it Volunteer mentors, small business development centers and the advisors you already pay can take an owner a long way at no cost. Here is how to use them well, and where free help stops. Start with the free options, and use them wellSCORE: a volunteer mentor with real business experienceSmall Business Development CentersWhat a useful mentoring session sounds like
- Can you systemize your own business? What to build yourself and when to bring in help Most owners can build their first systems themselves. The hard part is not writing procedures; it is making them hold once you stop checking. Here is how to start and when to get help. Yes, you can start without anyoneWhat a system actually is, and what it is notStep one: find where the business still depends on youStep two: rank the problems, pick three, and write them with your people
- Business coach or hands-on consultant: how to tell which one your company needs Coaching and consulting solve different problems. Here is what each does well, where coaching runs out, five questions that settle the choice, and how to compare the price of each fairly. One changes the owner, the other changes the operationWhat a good business coach gives youWhere coaching runs outWhat hands-on consulting looks like from the inside
- Sales are up, the team is busy, and there is still no money: where the profit is leaking Revenue grows, hours grow, and the owner's paycheck does not. Here is where I find the leaks in established companies, what you can audit yourself this month, and what fixing it looks like. The year you did a record number and felt poorerWhy growth hides the leaks instead of exposing themAn audit you can run on your own numbers this monthWhen it is a cash-flow phase and not a leak