I’m sure if you are starting a business, you know something about your industry. Even if you are a newbie, you have probably selected something you were intensely interested in and were willing to invest time and resources into learning. However, you may find due to your wide scope of responsibilities that it is impossible to learn about everything and handle it all.
That is the reason why you should ask an expert for some advice and feedback.
As a budding start-up, you may have at least a small network of people who are also in the same industry as yours. It is also a good move to ask them for advice about the business do’s and don’ts. You can also have them take a look at your business plan and ask them what they think about it.
- Is there something missing?
- Is it too overloaded with unnecessary things?
- Should you expand on any sections?
- What happened when they launched their business?
Be willing to seek out several people for this advice and be respectful of their time and interest – whether they are able to support you or not.
But if you have enough funds, you can actually hire a paid adviser. Do your due diligence and ensure they are reliable and worth the money you’ll be spending. I would recommend seeking out referrals and testimonies from clients to help you vet their work.
What are things you could consider?
- Choose someone who you can easily contact and talk to. They should be easily accessible and share their business hours and methods of contact.
- Find out their area of expertise. Their expertise will determine if they can offer effective pieces of advice. Also know how long has s/he been doing it or they have already put another business into success.
- Set clear goals of what you want to achieve. If you are paying for their services, make sure you have a specific tangible that you are aiming to accomplish in your discussions.
Since you are just starting out, the first thing you should consult with your adviser is your business plan. Whether you have finished it or not, start with what information you do have as part of your first conversation. While you may think that your plan is perfect; there may be things that you overlooked which your adviser might be able to offer suggestions. Often it’s hard to have an independent perspective on your own plan and an adviser might be just the ticket to help you see the flaws. Better to pay someone up front a few $100 than to spend thousands in errors and lag time.
Simply put, it’s important to ask them for feedback as you can’t check all angles of the plan yourself.
As you move further along in your business, you may decide to keep your adviser or seek out others. An efficient and reliable business adviser will surely be an asset to a business regardless if it is the country’s top company or just a new small company which is just starting to make itself known.
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