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While large companies have been severely affected by the recent global recession, smaller businesses have managed to survive by keeping operations lean and applying different marketing strategies including Internet marketing.

This trend is believed to be a major contributing factor for the recovery of some economies as micro, small and medium enterprises account for over 90% of businesses worldwide and are an important source of employment. In fact, anyone who wishes to beat the economic recession with little or hardly any capital can ride on the online marketing trend by starting a consulting business.

Business plan

Preparation is still an essential step when starting a consulting business even if it is going to be home-based. Your plan should include getting all your equipment, resources, contacts and online marketing tools. Most newcomers are unable to create a business plan because they only have a vague idea about the business.

Nowadays, many Internet marketers share their knowledge through information products, seminars, webinars and study courses which help beginners jumpstart their businesses. Others share their secret formulas for success through systems that you can easily replicate in your own business. You may need to brush up on the basics of Internet marketing and some special techniques by studying a course or system prepared by a successful Internet marketer.

Marketing strategy

Not all small businesses will need your services. You need to figure out who your real clients are or you may be wasting your time and energy on the wrong market. In fact, Internet marketing experts say that you’ll get better results if you narrow down your market and focus all your marketing efforts on them. Developing a marketing strategy can be time-consuming and costly due to mistakes that you can avoid if you learn effective strategies from proven Internet marketing experts.

Financial strategy

Cash flow is the lifeblood of every enterprise including your consulting business. While most start-up businesses experience cash outflow rather than an inflow at the beginning, your consulting business has the ability to generate income almost immediately if you follow fast cash techniques of Internet marketing experts. Learn also how to set the right price for your services and how to get paid on a recurring monthly basis from consulting experts.

The effects of the economic recession may have been unfortunate for many but it can be a catalyst for change as small and medium enterprises are discovering new ways of conducting business on the Internet, an encouraging trend for starting a consulting business.

As a small business consultant for the last 10 years this is usually my client’s opening question. How can a consultant run my business better than me?

I write this article in the hope that one of my potential clients will read it before our sit down or for someone who may be sitting on the fence wondering is a consultant worth the money or not.

First to begin, the majority of my clients are professionals (i.e. Doctors, Lawyers, CPA, etc.) each and every one of these individuals are intelligent, well read and have made a tremendous commitment to their professional careers.

More often than not, our meeting begins with the question “Mr. Jackson how can you run my business better than me”? My answer “I can’t” it is at this point there is usually a long silence followed by “so why are we having this meeting”. Simple, if you wanted someone to run your business you would be looking for an office manager and not a consultant.

In an effort to bring my point home, we need to define what a business is or at least my definition of a business. A business is an enterprise that works with or without you and generates revenue.

Now for most of my clients when we first meet they have a practice not a business in all actuality I usually refer to this as a very well-paying job that they call a business. They are usually working long hours; have a difficult time scheduling a vacation and in the event they become ill the practice suffers. Most importantly it is not an asset that can be sold or duplicated. Therefore my definition is correct Mr. Prospect what you have here is a well-paying job.

Don’t agree?.. If you owned a McDonald’s, Subway, Quick Check etc. would you have to show up every day to make your money? The key question, could you sell it and make a profit?

Please allow me to continue before you politely or (not so politely) invite me to the door. Using a medical practitioner as my example

” Doctor, you have spent many years honing your craft and your education I am very certain that you’re a very good doctor. “

As you may have already learned, there is a lot more to running a business then diagnosing, prescribing, or operating on your clients, In that area I would not be able to hold a candle to your skill sets but in business you need an entirely different set of skills, such as marketing, technical expertise, advertisement, Hippa compliance, accounts payable, accounts receivables, client retention and that’s to name a few, it is in this area that I have perfected and honed my skills.

Mr. Doctor a business is much like a car, there are many parts that work independently but come together to form the whole, when you think of a business think of it in the same way. To show my point, let’s begin with the simple system of clients. How do you generate new client? Who sees your clients? How do you follow up with your clients? Do your clients generate referrals for your business?

In that one sentence there are four different systems at work and if you don’t have them in place your car (business) just won’t run right. And that is only one set of systems, let’s include bookkeeping, billing, marketing, computer technology and web design. I hope at this point you are starting to see the value of a consultant, a consultant keeps you focused on what you do well and what you don’t the consultants can become your guide. We can’t and don’t ever run your business for you.

In conclusion why use a consultant? The same reason I would go see a doctor, medicine is not my field of expertise.

Darrin Jackson

Jaxxon Consulting

If you live in a highly competitive preschool or kindergarten admissions market like New York City, L.A., San Francisco or Washington, D.C., you may be thinking of hiring a consultant to help you through the process. Admissions consultants offer an insider perspective, are loyal only to you, know what schools are looking for, can help you judge fit and serve as a knowledgeable sounding board. As you evaluate educational advisors, here are some things to ask:

* Do you share the same beliefs? Talk to the consultant on the phone and see if you share the same philosophy and approach to education. Does she make you feel comfortable? Is she someone you can easily communicate with and trust? Shop around a bit. You are likely to “click” with one advisor over the others you meet. Trust your instinct on this.

* Does she have experience relevant to the needs of your child? Does she normally work with kindergarten or nursery school admissions or is most of her clientele aiming for higher grades. If you are interested in exploring public gifted programs and private schools, does she have experience placing kids in both types of schools?

* How well does she know the schools? How often does she visit the schools in the community? Does she know the directors of admission personally? What can she tell you about the schools you are most interested in that you don’t already know?

* Does she want to meet your child? For nursery school admissions, it may not be necessary that she meet your child. At that level, what you want is most important. At the kindergarten level, she must spend time with you and your child to determine fit. Find out how much time she plans to spend with you both and how she will assess your child to make appropriate recommendations.

* What do you get for what you pay? Before you decide on an advisor, talk to a few. What is the going rate in your community? If the advisor offers packages, what services do you receive with each package? Are you able to call the consultant as often as you wish or or calls and e-mails limited? Do they help you through every step of the process or just some. Do they offer hourly rate options where you can access their expertise on an as-needed basis? Make sure you are comfortable with the services you receive for the money you pay.

* Is she accredited? Admissions consultants do not necessarily need to be accredited. Often, a former admissions director will become a consultant and you can trust that she knows what she is doing. On the other hand, there are professional associations that give accreditation to advisors who have met their criteria. To be designated a CEP (Certified Educational Planner), the consultant must pass an exam, have a master’s degree or an equivalent, have practiced for a certain number of years, visit a certain number of schools, and take continuing education classes.

* What do other mothers say? Check the advisor’s web site. Does it include comments from satisfied customers? Will the advisor give you the name and number of past customers to call for a recommendation? Even though this is a private matter, most consultants will have arranged for references. If she hasn’t, I’d probably steer clear. You can visit parenting websites such as http://www.Urbanbaby.com/ and ask other mothers and fathers if they have had experience with this advisor and if so, what they thought.

* Does she talk about “fit” versus getting into A-List Schools? There are consultants out there who prey on the fears and insecurities of parents, pointing out how impossible the odds are and how unlikely it is that you could get a good result without help. If you get this vibe from a consultant, run the other way. If an advisor makes guarantees that she will get your child into a particular school or says she always gets families their first choice, be very suspicious. If she talks about finding the right “fit” for you and your child versus getting her into an A-list school, you are probably in good hands.

IT network consultants help companies resolve IT problems that threaten: business productivity, relationships with clients, and ultimately the bottom line. However, not all consultants are created equally. Some of them offer excellent advice, while others propose mediocre solutions for the sake of making a sale. If a company needs the assistance of a provider of managed IT services, below are tips that will assist in hiring the right candidate.

Know Why Assistance is Needed

One mistake that businesses make when they experience an IT problem is not diagnosing the problem before they hire someone to fix it. Without knowing the diagnosis, a company could potentially hire someone who does not specialize in solving their particular problem. Companies who hire an expert without knowing what he or she should accomplish often end up over compensating the person, as the person is paid to diagnose a problem that the company’s IT department could diagnose instead. Whenever possible, a business should know what type of problem it faces before it hires outside help.

Hire a Candidate Who is Client Focused

When a company interviews IT network consultants, its representatives should spend more time talking than the consultants do. After all, consultants must thoroughly understand the company’s business situation to propose the right solution. Candidates will do their fair share of talking to describe their credentials and specialties, and answer questions, but businesses should avoid hiring a provider of managed IT services that dominates the conversation at the initial meeting. Otherwise, the provider may end up implementing a solution that only partially addresses the problem.

Hire a Full-Time Consultant

Many part-time consultants parlay the expertise they learn from their full-time job into consulting opportunities. Although part-timers often charge less than their full-time counterparts, they have two potential drawbacks: their regular job may take precedence over consulting jobs, and having a full-time job may detract from their motivation to be a true IT expert – a person whose livelihood depends on identifying topnotch IT solutions.

Avoid Candidates Who Seem Like They Could Sell Anything

Some businesses believe that an uncaring consultant is one who insists on selling a certain solution, but sometimes the opposite is true. A reputable consultant expert often refuses to sell a solution that would not solve the client’s problem, while a person who is merely motivated to make a sale may agree to sell almost any solution. If a candidate reacts to resistance of one solution by immediately proposing to implement a different one, it may be someone who is a salesperson first and a consultant second.

Conclusion

IT network consultants help businesses solve network problems that affect business productivity, client relationships, and the bottom-line. However, hiring the wrong candidate often compounds the problems instead of solving them. If a business needs a provider of managed IT services, remember the tips above when evaluating the candidates; and remember that fixing IT problems is almost always less expensive than allowing the problems to persist, especially in the long-run.

Finding a reputable SEO consultant will be very important in growing and generating a sustainable revenue from your Internet business. You will want to spend some time researching the different consultants and making sure that the services being offered meet your needs.

Researching the consulting firm and the services that they provide is going to help you to find the consultant who can provide the services you need. When you have a clear idea of what your expectations are and what services you want from the consultant you will be able to narrow down your search for a reputable consultant more easily.

Narrowing down the multitude of website consultants available will be much easier if you remove those consultants from your list immediately that present a red flag. A company that makes any guarantees about raising your ranking or getting you to number one within a specific period of time are a scam. No website or company can make a promise about what the major search engines will or will not do. In addition, a consultant that is vague and does not provide detailed information about their methods and techniques for the services they provide is also a red flag.

When you see a sales pitch it will be easier to move on than to read the entire sales letter. A reputable SEO consultant does not need to write a long sales letter telling you why you need SEO. If you didn’t need SEO you would be looking for a consultant. The website will be easy to navigate and read, it will give you relevant information about the services they provide and the qualifications of their staff. You won’t have to scroll down pages and pages of sales verbiage to get to the meat of what they offer.

Once you have removed the websites that are obviously not real consultants you can focus on those companies that seem to have real products and services to offer. These websites will have details about the services they provide as well as pricing for their services.

You will find that the services provided by consultants will vary. Some will only provide SEO services and will not work with your website or other marketing efforts. Other sites provide full services that include e-mail marketing, social media optimization, multi-variate testing, PPC and a lot more. These sites are generally a little more expensive on the front end, but save you a lot of money over the long term.

You will hear a lot about black hat SEO methods. Some providers may say that they use these methods and there is nothing to worry about. However, both BMW, Germany and Ricoh Germany found out differently in 2006 when they were removed from search engines for using deceptive practices. Don’t take a change on having your business banned from the marketplace because of black hat methods that you don’t know about. If the consultant uses keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text, link farming, cookie stuffing, or spamdexing, you do not want to employ that consultant.

The SEO consultant that you select should also make any needed changes to your website to generate growth and relevance of the site for your target audience. They will be able to show you the steps they take in terms of optimizing your business. Their mission will be to generate a steady increase in traffic and ranking for your site. By partnering with a consultant who has your goals in mind, you will be able to focus your efforts on other areas of growing your business.

Before making any decision, it is imperative to have good plans and strategies. This will allow individuals to ensure that their goals are achieved properly and easily. These plans and strategies are also important when running a business. However, there are cases when your business team cannot cater to your needs, which can be a huge problem and may lead to serious expenses or bankruptcy.

Luckily, business owners can now opt for the services of reliable strategy consulting firms. These firms have professionals who can provide services that can help make your team better and more reliable. Unfortunately, there are cases when business owners hire the wrong firm, which can affect their business. Below are some of the most common mistakes.

Hiring inexperienced or new consultants

When it comes to consulting services, it is essential to hire seasoned firms to obtain good strategies from their past experience and clients. Thus, hiring inexperienced or new consultants is a huge mistake since these experts lack in experience to provide reliable business strategies.

Unable to help teams to be focused

One of the main goals of hiring consulting firms is to help employees to be focused. Unfortunately, some consulting firms forget this since they tend to other aspects that are visible on the team. As a result, hiring consulting firms can only be a pain in the pocket.

Cannot provide good and relevant options

It is also essential not to hire consultants who cannot provide good and relevant options. In any type of industry, there are numerous options business owners can choose from. Therefore, it is the job of consultants to present all good options for the team to help them make better decisions.

Providing solutions that are not suitable for your team

As mentioned above, consultants need to provide different options. So, it is also a must that consultants can provide the right solutions. In this way, employees have better insights about the best solutions that can cater to their needs.

Working with consultants who offer low cost services

Lastly, business owners must not hire a consulting firm solely for their low cost services. Of course, there are reliable companies that can provide competitive rates for their services, but there are also companies that provide services that match their rates. As a result, low cost services cannot support your needs.

By knowing all these, business owners can avoid these mistakes which can help them find the best consulting firm they need. Click here for more.

The use of business consulting, Naperville experts have found, is growing. Why is this? It is done for the unbiased professional opinion and solid solutions that they are given. This professional advice can take an old business and make it better or take a new business or make it exceptional from the very beginning. It is the choice of the business as to use the advice offered by the consultant or not. However, the majority of the time they do use the advice for the fact that some very solid insights are provided.

But how do you choose the best consulting Naperville and the Chicago area have to offer? You do want to make sure you choose the firm or individual that will suit the needs of your particular business the most. Here are some steps that you can use:

• Examine all of the businesses and individuals offering consulting Naperville has in the phone book or on local Naperville business websites. This will help you to learn more about the consulting business before making a commitment.
• If you know of other businesses that have had success with a consultant, ask them who they used. Word of mouth is very powerful and hearing the experiences of others can go a long way.
• Call the consultancy directly and ask them any questions that you may have. When they are knowledgeable about their business, then you know you are dealing with someone who knows what they are talking about.
• If there are no testimonials present on the consultant’s website, ask them for testimonials or the numbers to clients that they have worked for in the past so that you can ask those clients about their experiences.
• Do a thorough Internet search, looking for reviews to see what others have to say. If there are more reviews than bad reviews, then you know you are dealing with a good business. Just make sure you evaluate all of the reviews carefully in order to distinguish serious reviews from those that are not so serious.
• You also want to make sure you compare rates. Will you be paying for the duration of a contract or on an as needed basis?

When you implement these steps, you are bound to find a quality consulting, Naperville or nearby, firm. Don’t just settle for the first company you see unless that company is able to show you why they deserve your business. However, you may still wish to implement some of the above steps to make sure that the company is one that you definitely want to do business with.

In the end, you’ll be more satisfied that you took your time to explore the business consulting Naperville experts. You can feel confident about your decision, although you should not have a problem finding a quality firm to help your business. Besides, if your business would not do well after using a consultant, that consultant’s reputation would be compromised and it would be difficult for them to secure new clients. So you can expect that your consultant will do a good job for you.