At EOS, we know the business consulting world inside and out because our Professional and Certified EOS Implementersยฎ (highly-trained and specialized business consultants) are currently helping thousands of small businesses worldwide to get Tractionยฎ and grow.
If youโre at the beginning of your journey of becoming an independent business consultant for small businesses, this guide is for you.
Most importantly, youโll make a lasting impact on small businesses โ the heart and soul of our country and our economy.
This guide covers business consulting basics including what it takes to be a successful consultant for small businesses, as well as how to get started with your own practice.
Weโll also provide insights into becoming a Professional EOS Implementerยฎ for EOS.
Now, letโs get startedโฆ
While there are many types of consultants who work in a wide array of specialties (IT, management, human resources, etc.) for the purposes of this guide, we are focusing on independent business consultants for small companies.
A business consultant, by definition, is an advisor who helps organizations discover their issues and suggests solutions to improve operational strength.
Strengthening this component means getting everyone in the organization 100% on the same page with where youโre going and how youโre going to get there.
Simply put, we canโt do it without great people. This means surrounding yourself with great people, top to bottom because you canโt achieve a great vision without a great team.
This means cutting through all the feelings, personalities, opinions, and egos to boil your organization down to a handful of objective numbers that give you an absolute pulse on where things are.
With the Vision, People, and Data Componentsโข strong, you start to create a lucid, transparent, open, and honest organization where everything becomes more visible and you start to โsmoke out all the issues,โ which leads toโฆ
Strengthening this component means becoming great at solving problems throughout the organization โ setting them up, knocking them down, and making them go away forever.
This is the secret ingredient in your organization. This means โsystemizingโ your business by identifying and documenting the core processes that define the way to run your business. Youโll need to get everyone on the same page with what the essential procedural steps are, and then get everyone to follow them to create consistency and scalability in your organization.
This means bringing discipline and accountability into the organization โ becoming great at execution โ taking the vision down to the ground and making it real.
A business consultant โ specifically an EOS Implementer, can make a tremendous impact on a business by working with a companyโs leadership team to improve organizational health in these six areas.
The market for business consulting continues to grow. According to Statista, in 2017:
โThe management consultant sector, which generally advises organizations on how to improve their performance, had an expected market size of 139 billion U.S. dollars.โ
Opportunities abound for anyone who has the experience, passion and work ethic to start a business consulting service.
An EOS Implementer is a person with teaching, facilitation, and coaching skills who is passionate about helping business owners, leaders and managers get more of what they want from their businesses.
As we mentioned earlier, there are many types of small business consultants out there. You should be asking yourself what types of businesses you are most qualified to help and who are you most interested in working with.
You should consider creating an Ideal Client Profile (ICP) that outlines the firmographics and psychographics that best describe your perfect customer. Think about working with industries you already know and consider what types of opportunities are out there or which markets are growing.
Often, businesses choose to hire an outside small business consultant because they have โhit the ceilingโ and cannot get any further on their own. For others, the situation is more dire โ maybe theyโre facing layoffs or even bankruptcy.
At EOS, our Implementers are focused on helping business owners get what they want from their businesses. We are expert problem-solvers who come ready with solutions and are quick on our feet in order to pivot when needed.
We spend time getting to know your clientsโ unique challenges and then put our decades of entrepreneurial experience to work to identify the root causes and suggest solutions that are customized for each individual company. We provide objective opinions about whatโs holding the company back and have open and honest discussions with leadership teams to identify, discuss, and solve their issues โfor good.
Being a business consultant is not for the faint of heart. You should be ready to tackle the taboo topics that people inside the company are too afraid to discuss. We call this โEntering The Danger.โ This is usually a little painful at first but ultimately leads to business owners and leadership teams getting a grip on their business and pulling ahead.
The first question many people have is how do I start a small business consulting company? The answer to that question is not a straight line nor does it look the same for everyone. However, there are several first steps that should be taken before putting out your shingle as a consultant.
Once youโve completed the necessary education and training, youโll want to start developing your consulting business plan.
Once you have these things established, you should start trying to find clients. We suggest talking to peer groups and professional organizations who may know of opportunities that would align with your services. Donโt forget to ask for referrals!
EOS Implementers, in particular, can take advantage of the warm lead pipeline offered as part of our ongoing support.
For more information, our on-demand webinar will show you exactly how the Entrepreneurial Operating Systemยฎ and its tools can be used to improve your clientsโ results, and YOUR business.
For more information, our on-demand webinar will show you exactly how the Entrepreneurial Operating Systemยฎ and its tools can be used to improve your clientsโ results, and YOUR business.
โOnly around 14% of people will risk starting a business, and out of those, half will fail within 5 yearsโฆโ
Yikes! So what does it take to succeed as a business consultant?
If youโve read this far youโre probably wondering: how much do small business consultants make?
EOS has developed the EOS 400K Systemโข which is a plan designed to put a Professional EOS Implementer on track to net $400K by their third year as a Professional EOS Implementer.
In the end, your earning potential as a Professional EOS Implementer is completely up to you.
If youโve never started a business consultancy before (let alone your own business) there are a few key mistakes to avoid.
Focus on your ideal customers. Donโt get distracted by a gig outside of your core focus or with a company that is a poor fit for you.
Determining your rate will be a combination of your local competitorsโ rates, your project scope, and your target profit
Document your project scope and get it signed off before you begin. This will keep everyone in scope. Include things like the number of meetings youโll have and note any travel expenses to be covered.
Youโre not an employee so donโt act like one and donโt let them treat you like you. Remember to keep a professional distance so you can remain objective.
Itโs easy to get busy but you need to make time to network. This includes joining professional organizations and attending industry events.
keep certifications up to date and look for continuing education opportunities in the industries you choose to serve.
If youโre not quite ready to take the next step, we encourage you to review these resources that will help you gain a better understanding of EOS, what it takes to become an EOS Implementer, and what itโs like inside our EOS Implementer community.
There is no better feeling than signing your first client. We remember our very first clients fondly and are still working with some of them to this day! Weโre sure youโre off to a great start but before you go, always remember why you started: To make an impact!
If you need inspiration look no furtherโฆ
EOS is a language onto itself. Here are a few EOS terms from our glossary that will help you navigate the Entrepreneurial Operating System for the first time โ or at least help clarify a term that youโve heard before but are unclear about:
Entrepreneurial Operating Systemยฎ (EOSยฎ): A proven set of simple, practical tools that improves how people in an organization meet, solve problems, plan, prioritize, follow processes, communicate, measure, structure, clarify roles, lead, and manage.
The EOS Modelยฎ: Every business is comprised of Six Key Componentsโข as depicted by the EOS Model. Those six components are: Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, Tractionยฎ. These must be managed and strengthened to create a healthy, well-run business.
Vision Component: Getting everyone in the organization 100% on the same page with where your company is going and how youโre going to get there.
People Component: Getting the right people in the right seats.
Data Component: Using a handful of numbers that give everyone an exact pulse on where things are and when they are off track.
Issues Component: Strengthening your organizationโs ability to identify issues, discuss them, solve them, and make them go away forever.
Process Component: โSystemizingโ your business by identifying and documenting the core processes that define the way to run your business.
Traction Component: Bringing discipline and accountability into the organization.
Integrator: The leader of a companyโs leadership team. Integrators beat the drum, break the ties, harmoniously integrate other major functions in the organization, and accept ultimate accountability for achieving results.
Scorecard: An EOS Tool used to track a handful of numbers that give you a pulse on your business.
Accountability Chartโข: Different from an organizational chart, an Accountability Chart defines the right structure for your company and clearly identifies who is accountable for what.
Rocks: The 3 to 7 most important things you must get done in the next 90 days. Employees will typically have 1-3 individual Rocks each quarter while leadership team members will typically have 3-7 individual Rocks.
Measurables: When companies use EOS, everyone โhas a numberโ that is considered their measurable โ something they do to contribute value to the organization that is measured on a consistent basis.
V/TOโข (Vision/Traction Organizerโข): A two-page document that helps your leadership team define, document, agree on, and share the company vision.
10-Year Targetโข: A long-range, energizing goal for the organization, ranging from five years to twenty years out.
Core Focus: Your core focus defines what you are as a company to help you avoid โshiny stuffโ and keep you focused on the areas where your business excels. It comes from the intersection of knowing โWhyโ your company exists and โWhatโ you do in the world.
Core Values: A timeless set of guiding principles that define your culture and the behaviors you expect from each other. They help you determine who fits your culture and who doesnโt and they help you attract like-minded people to your team.
Marketing Strategy: The definition of your ideal customer and the most appealing message to attract them to your business. It should provide a laser-like focus for your sales and marketing efforts.
3-Year Pictureโข: A definition of what your company will look like, feel like, and be like in three years. The 3-Year Picture creates a powerful image of the future and helps everyone work towards the same vision.
1-Year Plan: Defines your objectives for the year by identifying and crystallizing your revenue target, profit target, and measurables, along with your top three to seven goals for the year.
SMART: Stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Making goals and Rocks SMART is essential for creating crystal clear communication and for setting the right expectations between you and your team so everyone knows what โdoneโ looks like.
IDSโข: Also known as the Issues Solving Trackโข, IDS is the process your team uses to identify, discuss, and solve issues on an ongoing basis.
Level 10 Meetingsยฎ: A weekly meeting with a specific agenda designed to help you stay focused on whatโs important, solve issues effectively, and keep your team connected.
People Analyzerโข: A simple tool that pulls your core values and Accountability Chart together to help your organization identify if they have the right people in the right seats.
Visionary: Often the company founder, a visionary is a strategic thinker who always sees the big picture and is tuned into the future of your industry. Visionaries are usually great with big relationships and the culture of the organization.
Organizational Checkupยฎ: A 20-question survey that helps measure a companyโs strength in the Six Key Components.
