Who Needs a Business Advisor?
A business advisor can be a great resource for anyone looking to take their business from dream to reality. But do you really need one? That's what we're exploring this week in our blog, as well as how you can find the right advisor for your specific needs. Turns out there's more to this than just picking somebody and crossing your fingers!
If you've been kicking around ideas for your entrepreneurial venture but haven't done anything about it yet, then this post is definitely something that you should check out. We'll be covering everything from the importance of a good business advisor, how to find them, and the different types of advisors which are available out there.
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So what exactly do you need a business advisor for? Well, there are two main reasons you might want to opt for one over a solo venture. It could be that you're coming from the world of corporate management or it could be that your personal situation is such that you simply don't have the time to run both businesses effectively. In either case, your first step should be determining which type of business advisor you will need.
Business Advisors are not all created equal. There are various different types and each of these have different specializations in terms of their focus and experience. The following are some of the most common types:
Accountants
Lawyers
Management Consultants
These professionals have a great deal of experience in their respective fields and can help you develop or refine your business plan, authorize your startup capital and much more. They are also great for helping you fill out the many forms that you'll need when registering your company but it should be noted that they have certain limitations as well. As such, you might want to take a look at the other advisor types available as well when determining which route to go. Here's a brief rundown on each of those:
Social Media Marketing Advisors – These guys focus primarily on social media marketing and can help with ongoing management. Their skills don't necessarily extend to the more corporate side of things where business plans and legal documents are concerned but they can definitely help you with social media marketing.
These guys focus primarily on social media marketing and can help with ongoing management. Their skills don't necessarily extend to the more corporate side of things where business plans and legal documents are concerned but they can definitely help you with social media marketing. Business Development Advisors – These people are just like their name implies, in that he's been brought in to the fold to develop relationships with potential clients and to grow those relationships into profitable partnerships. He'll be helping you identify your customers so that you can decide on which products should be developed, how much capital is needed, etc.
These people are just like their name implies, in that he's been brought in to the fold to develop relationships with potential clients and to grow those relationships into profitable partnerships. He'll be helping you identify your customers so that you can decide on which products should be developed, how much capital is needed, etc. Marketing Advisors – The basic purpose of a marketing advisor is to brainstorm a marketing strategy based on the information that you give him or her. You'll also want them to help you determine how best to showcase your business and if it'll be most effective with ads or word of mouth marketing strategies.
The basic purpose of a marketing advisor is to brainstorm a marketing strategy based on the information that you give him or her. You'll also want them to help you determine how best to showcase your business and if it'll be most effective with ads or word of mouth marketing strategies. Management Advisors – Aside from looking at your business plan, this advisor will be helping you make sure that you have everything in place so that you can run your company effectively.
Aside from looking at your business plan, this advisor will be helping you make sure that you have everything in place so that you can run your company effectively. IT Advisors – This is what I like to call an 'all around' advisor because they can help out with a variety of different tasks when it comes to getting started. For example, they can help you with your online presence and even help you with writing your company's policies and procedures.
This is what I like to call an 'all around' advisor because they can help out with a variety of different tasks when it comes to getting started. For example, they can help you with your online presence and even help you with writing your company's policies and procedures. Outsourcing Advisors – If you really want to do things on the cheap, then having an outsourcing advisor can be a great way to accomplish this without sacrificing quality, as outsourcing isn't all about finding cheap labor. If you want to outsource tasks to save money and then still be able to control the quality of those tasks, this is the type of advisor that you'll want.
So now that you've gone over some of the different types of advisors that are available, let's talk about how you can find one. That's actually quite easy! When searching for a business advisor, follow these steps:
Set a budget – This is important because it will help keep you realistic in your expectations. You'll know if it's possible or not and what your options are as far as cost goes. Know what products or services you want to offer – This is a very important step because it will help determine who you should be hiring. For example, if you're selling cars, then your legal advisor will have a vastly different experience than an IT guy or marketing advisor. So make sure you know who you need and why! Identify your personal strengths and weaknesses – If there's anything that you're particularly bad at, then it's best to speak with someone that specializes in those particular areas. If there are areas where all of the advisors just seem average, then it might be more worthwhile to do more on your own. Research different advisors – If you know what sort of an area that you need to focus on, then it should be easy enough to come up with a list of potential advisors. When researching them, make sure to go over their bios and portfolio pages and see if they specialize in the type of advisor that you need. Ask for testimonials – You can go through the same process as above or you can even hire a private investigator to find out if any clients were dissatisfied with their services and why. This is important because while the advisor might have a lot of positive reviews, if any issues have come up previously then it's best to stay clear.
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Conclusion
Paying a business advisor is often not necessary and could wind up costing you more than you would have spent had you been able to handle the tasks on your own. There are a lot of things that you can do yourself and an example of this is writing your business plan. This definitely requires more time than someone can handle but it will pay off in the long run when it's done correctly.
That being said, if you really need help with one or more aspect of starting and running your company, then there's no reason why you shouldn't look into hiring an advisor.