When Should I Hire a Consultant? | Up and to the Right | Episode 048

The Up and to the Right | Small Business | Practical, Actionable, Sustainable Improvements

Full Show Notes: https://b50p.info/uattr048

When Should I Hire a Consultant?
Hiring a consultant is bringing an ‘outsider’ into your business and can be an intensely personal experience.

What’s in this episode for you?!

When should you hire a consultant?
We’ll talk about hiring consultants in small businesses and my own 2020 adventure in bringing help into my own business.
There are 3 consultants every business owner should have… what are they?
You’ll find highlights below. Watch the livestream recording or listen to the podcast version on your favorite podcatcher for all the details!

When Should I Hire a Consultant?
What is a Consultant?
In order to understand when it’s time to bring in a consultant let’s talk, first about what a consultant is.

This may seem basic but it’s important to be clear about it.

A consultant is someone from outside your company that brings needed expertise or resources that will benefit your business.

Most often we think of engineering services, marketing or business management ‘consultants’ with varying degrees of trepidation or even loathing.

The trepidation and loathing is a product of consultants who don’t take their craft and customers seriously. I’m sorry if you had that experience.

For what it’s worth… to me small business is as serious as the 50% of the economy that it represents (which means I take it seriously).

When Should I Hire a Consultant?
I have found two criteria that make this very simple.

When you find yourself needing to accomplish something that you’re not objectively qualified for.
If you don’t like doing it but it still needs to get done.
How Do I Know What to Hire a Consultant for?
Break down what needs to be done, what skills are needed to achieve those goals, and then match those to your own skillset.

Get referrals from colleagues who have experience with a consultant in an area you need who got results similar to what you’re looking for.

Get to know the experts you're considering. You’ll get a lot more benefit from someone you enjoy working with.

Let's roll up our sleeves and get to work!