Running a business, no matter how small, is no easy task. Along with being an exciting and rewarding journey, business ownership is fraught with unexpected difficulties and hurdles - even for the most confident entrepreneur.
As with any endeavour, you will do much better if you have a great support network. Although it can be tempting to grit your teeth and tackle your problems alone, enlisting the support of a business advisor is a smart move and can help you and your business grow more smoothly and rapidly.
Even the most competent pro-athletes have coaches to motivate and inspire them, and your business should be no different. Successful people know when to ask for help and make the most of other people’s extensive experience and knowledge.
But there can be a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. Conflicting advice is not helpful and can actually hinder your progress. That is why it is best to choose just one trusted business advisor to avoid confusion.
Here is how you can do that.
Why just one Advisor?
Although it is helpful to have a wide support network when running a business, you should choose just one trusted business advisor to be on your team.
Every advisor has a different approach to business, a different skill set, and varying ideas of how you can best achieve success. If you bring on more than one advisor, you will likely receive a lot of conflicting advice that will confuse you more than assist you.
Having one advisor overseeing everything keeps it simple, rather than having multiple advisors take charge of different aspects of your business. With more than one advisor, you end up having to be responsible for what each one is doing and keep track of them, creating more work for yourself.
When should you consider getting an Advisor?
There is no right or wrong answer here. It is entirely up to you when you think you should get an Advisor. If you’re currently in the business planning stage, an Advisor could be useful to give you advice on things you might not necessarily think about. If you’re already in business, having an Advisor can help you and your business go from ‘good’ to ‘great’.
Choosing The Right Advisor
The key is to invest time and energy into finding an advisor that not only has the specific experience you want to learn from, but also someone who understands your own style, your business goals, and works in a way that you find helpful. It is important to choose someone whose business values mirror your own.
Having said that, don’t look for a “yes-man” advisor. You need someone who will challenge you, disagree with you when they think it’s called for and is willing to call you out from time to time.
Rather than a consultant who comes in, trouble-shoots your business and leaves, think of your advisor as more of a coach. The ultimate goal should be providing you with the necessary skills to grow and succeed independent of their services.
Choose a coach who has a history of building a successful business and preferably someone who has successfully coached other business owners. If you have a small business, look for someone who has experience relevant to this - who can understand the specific challenges that a small business owner faces.
Here at Accountabill, we are more than just numbers. While finances are a key part of your business, strategy is just as important. That is why we focus on both. While helping you run the day to day monetary aspects of your business, we can help you develop systems and processes that will drive you forward to the success you deserve.
Get in touch with us today for a free 30-min chat to see how we might work together and really nail your business strategy.