Can management consulting help small firms grow?

As an entrepreneur or the owner of a small firm, you’re no doubt aware of the importance of leadership development and the effect that passionate management can have over a business.

In today’s economic climate, it’s essential that companies are able to hit the ground running, rather than spending their first few months playing catch up, and the way in which you take charge will dictate how your small firm progresses from those earliest moments.

Are you capable of taking your business all the way, or do you lack the relevant managerial experience to get the most out of your company and its people? While years of experience and an expansive portfolio aren’t always necessary when it comes to succeeding in business, a grasp of the concepts you’re about to face will be.

If you’re hoping to prime your small firm so that it’s soon able to compete on a global stage, or stand shoulder to shoulder with your biggest competitors, now could be the time to call in a management consultant.

Find the right balance: how could management consulting help?

In the days leading up to the launch of your business, and during its tentative first months, you may well have come across the job title “Management Consultant” more than once, or been directed towards the services of such a person. What is a management consultant?

Whether you’re a passionate CEO or budding entrepreneur striking out on your own, admitting that you need a little guidance can be difficult. However, a management consultant won’t be trying to take over; the purpose of a management consultant isn’t to assume that smaller firms and enterprises are lacking in understanding or skills, but to complement existing managerial experience and guide firms safely towards success.

Management consultants exist to help businesses across a variety of spheres, including performance, business development and growth, innovation and even finance. A management consultant will be there to ensure that your company is being led towards success, and operating in the most efficient and successful manner possible.

How is such a target achieved? Whether they’ve been drafted in to give talks on a particular aspect of business, have established a presence in order to keep watch over your management techniques, or are providing a more thorough service in order to improve practices and fix issues, a consultant’s main job is to support you as the firm’s leader. Consultants will analyse the manner in which your business is conducted, look out for the gaps that could be causing problems, and offer advice that will enable your business to flourish.

Their advice is just that; guidance so that you may secure your company’s success, rather than a model that will be implemented and followed to the letter.

A successful management consultancy, such as the internationally renowned firm Procorre, will take its time to assess your business’s operations and work alongside you on a number of lifecycle projects, noting areas in which you’re flourishing or lacking. The consultant assigned to your firm will offer advice, draw up plans for change, and ensure they are collaborating with, rather than dominating, your team.

The mission of a management consultant is to turn your losses into growth, and enable you to take charge once their methods are established. Global agencies such as Procorre have extensive experience in this field and will work with you to turn your firm’s prospects around – as well as teaching you a thing or two about the managerial techniques that will come in most useful.

The answer to this post’s titular question is a resounding “yes”; management consulting is vital to many small firms as they start their journey towards the global stage, and beyond.

In today’s economic climate, it is incredibly important for businesses to be spearheaded by experienced and passionate leaders, and for those managers to have a grip on the market they’re entering.

Wherever relevant experience is lacking, management consulting can help that small firm or entrepreneurial enterprise to flourish, and to take on a life of its own.

Praseeda Nair

Praseeda Nair

Praseeda was Editor for GrowthBusiness.co.uk from 2016 to 2018.