Business Managing Consultant

So you’re considering hiring a management consultant? This guide will provide you with advice on what they are about, what to look for when hiring one, and some of the options available (with pricing).

What is a Management Consultant?

Businesses benefit greatly from the expert objective advice and support of an experienced Business Management Consultant, who can help the business ensure financial stability, identify areas for improvement and grow.

Considerations when hiring a Management Consultant

Expertise

No one person can be an expert in everything. If you are looking to solve a specific challenge, like expanding your IT systems, then a small specialist consultancy would be best. If you are looking for general business support and help growing, then a straight forward business management consultant can help, just bear in mind that they will have limitations. Many consultants will be able to refer you to specialists, usually in return for a referral commission. Also bear in mind that while business consultants are business educated, they may not have any 'real world' business management experience.

Options

The Big Four & other multinationals

The Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC) are the four largest professional services networks in the world. They are comparable in size relative to the rest of the market, and they are generally considered equal in their ability to provide a wide scope of professional services, which can be beneficial for large, generally multinational companies, with complex needs and significant resources, but these four are usually not be the best choice for small or medium sized businesses. They will tend to work on a project basis, so there will be limited flexibility, and they generally work with big companies with big budgets.

National consulting companies

These tend to offer a number of services including on-call business consultancy, though there can be monthly fees or contracts involved. Some examples are provided below:

We Grow Business charge a monthly fee of £250 and then an hourly fee of £125. The monthly fee includes one free meeting per month and is a rolling monthly contract.

Professionalisation provide ‘real world’ experienced consultants on a pay-as-you-go model of £75 per hour, with no contractual obligation or minimum spend, making them the most economical and flexible option. They offer a one-off free consultation so you can try them out with no cost or commitment.

Business advice Line charge a £450 sign-up fee, followed by £236.40 a month on a fixed 12 month contract. In return you get unlimited telephone support from business consultants. They also offer ad-hoc business advice and consulting services for £250 an hour without a contract.

Individuals

Steady Consulting and The Virtual COO are examples of individuals who provide business advice and typically charge around £100 – £150 per hour for their services.

Alternative

If your needs are simple and don’t require business advice, an alternative would be to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA).

Zellor Management are a good example of an ideal VA. They offer to work in your business like an employee. The idea of a VA is quite simply someone to provide admin support, virtually. This is suitable for businesses that need support, but not necessarily the requirement or funding to employ someone full-time or even part-time. Zellor’s hourly rate is £28, or they can work on a monthly retainer of £216, with a minimum 8 hours included (which works out at £27 / hour).