Business consultant in small and medium-sized businesses. Who is this and why is it needed? The first steps in consulting. Business consultant where to study and what to take

So what is the main task of a business consultant? He scrupulously understands the problem of business activity, finds and offers ways to solve it under the guise of specific actions. After thoroughly studying business production at the moment, a professional comprehensively analyzes the current situation, determines the reasons for which this or that problem has appeared, and offers a whole range of measures to solve it. Often there are times when a specialist is personally involved in the implementation of his own methods and solutions to clarify their effectiveness, and if necessary, make adjustments and bring all activities to their logical conclusion.

Usually, specialists of this level choose one specific direction for themselves, and they are invited to solve certain problems, which include:

Company registration.
Marketing research of the current state of the market.
Organization and preparation of a business plan.
Certification of employees.
Lawyer consulting.
Auditing.
Real estate valuation, etc.

The call of this specialist is to improve the state of business production, develop relations with partners, increase profits, and optimize business processes. He can enter as a consulting company, or work independently as an independent professional. But for the latter case, he must be highly qualified and have a great deal of work experience. Most often, independent specialists provide services for small companies or help in resolving individual issues.

Counseling Specialist Responsibilities

The business consultant has the following list of job responsibilities:

Advice on the organization of the case.
Assessment of the business condition of the organization, as well as financial, material and personnel.
Assessment of the production and innovation potential of the organization, determination of its problems.
Assessment for the future development of the organization.
Analysis of current projects that have a direct impact on the development of the organization. Development of completely new projects and planning for its development; their economic feasibility is calculated.
Development of action schemes for the financial recovery of the company (through investments, loans, loans, etc.).
Tracking trends in business and market needs, preparing source materials with which business projects will be developed. To substantiate all this financially and economically, in the future to coordinate work during the implementation of some projects.
To coordinate their actions with the actions of departments of the organization, including individual specialists.
Advise the manager during planning, contractual and contractual documentation, ongoing agreements, in negotiations with contractors, etc.
Report on the work done.

Business Consultant: Profession Features

If an organization needs outside assistance of a specialist, this means that its manager is ready to invest in its promotion, modernize business processes, and engage in cost and resource optimization.

A professional business consultant is constantly at work. His busy schedule of work, along with great responsibility, is justified not only from the financial side, but he still takes possession of valuable experience, applying it in his future work.

The rapid aging of practice encourages the birth of new ideas, an excessive number of options, and the use of real cases taken from the experience of other enterprises.

Therefore, a new business consultant born in this process should be able to do the right analysis of the current situation, and with the help of various approaches bring new ideas to life.

Allows you to choose the one that will appeal to you. However, there are those where even a novice, with a certain approach and diligence, can begin to make a career. One of these is a consultant who it is, what requirements and opportunities you can get - read on.

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Profession Features

The provision of advisory services allows a person to solve a number of problems related to the explanation of not only certain terms and designations, but also various characteristics of goods.
For this reason, the consultant is a person who is a professional in a certain industry and provides consulting services in this particular field of activity.

Today, on the labor market, specialists who have a certain level of training and are able to provide consulting services on various issues are especially in demand.

The profession of a consultant is divided into 2 main types :

rendering services at the internal level, when being an employee of an organization, a specialist can consult not only his colleagues, but also clients seeking help;
providing services at the external level. Most often, it will be an individual entrepreneur providing advisory services using a special agency.

Let's look at the main areas in which professional consultants can work.

Shop assistant

One of the most sought-after professions in the labor market is a sales assistant. Its main task is to correctly communicate about the product, and so that it is immediately acquired.

Like many, the specialty sales consultant provides professionals with career opportunities. However, for this it will be necessary to show maximum effort and energy. Only in this case he will succeed on a rather difficult way up.

Career growth will occur in several stages:

the initial level will be a simple seller providing advisory services;
senior Sales Consultant;
shift supervisor;
the head of the store or salon.

With great diligence, nothing is impossible.

Financial Consultant

The provision of financial advisory services is always in demand and requires specialist knowledge in this industry. This consultant is contacted at the moments when it becomes necessary to complete transactions, assess the financial condition, develop a strategy, choose an object for investment, and resolve the issue of purchase and sale.
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Moreover, a specialist is required to be a professional in the financial industry. Constantly monitor changes in the stock market, study and understand legislative changes, analyze the financial situation in the country and abroad, always be aware of all the opportunities for successful investment and much more.

Modern business cannot carry out its activities without knowledge of tax legislation. For this reason, the services of a tax consultant will always be in demand.

Only they will be able to get detailed information regarding problems arising from taxation. In order to be in demand, experts study not only tax issues. But also in tax law.

Business consultant

For those who plan to start a business or are already an entrepreneur, it is important to get qualified advice on doing business.

This includes questions such as:

competent and correct preparation of a business plan;
certification of personnel;
audit control;
conducting company registration;

These and many other questions can be solved by specialists who have chosen the main profession as a consultant, who it is, the basic requirements were highlighted in this article.

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". In the comments from readers, a request was voiced to tell in more detail who a business consultant is in small and medium-sized businesses, what tasks this person performs, what knowledge he should possess, and when he is needed. And today I keep my promise to the readers then. So let's get started.

Who is a business consultant?

I will not give dry definitions here, I think they are of no interest to anyone. A business consultant is the same person who is invited from the outside so that he helps to find a solution to some problems. It is also obvious that looking “from the side” very often helps to reveal what you will never find when you are an employee of the company.

I want to talk with you exclusively about business consultants who work with small and medium businesses, as with enterprises with approximately 5 to 70 employees. This work is in many ways different from what the specialists who are attracted to in such cases by large companies do. And, just, it makes sense to deal with these nuances.

So, what are the features of small and medium-sized businesses?

Business in its structure is quite simple. Usually, complex logistics or analytics are not needed here. Management is carried out by a small number of people. Many other structures are also missing, without which it is impossible to imagine the management of a large company.
A small business does not have sufficient financial resources to attract a whole staff of different specialists to work.

These two reasons - the lack of need and cost savings - have led to the fact that the services of a consultant-generalist are the optimal solution for small and medium-sized businesses.

I remind you that a generalist consultant (unlike a specialist consultant) is a person who is able to evaluate the business as a whole, outline general trends, see prospects and opportunities for improving the situation. Typically, a situation goes beyond a single process and / or function.

Of course, not everything is so simple. Understanding what is happening in business and finding the causes of a “disease” is only half the battle. The decision should be specific, like a prescription from a doctor. Therefore, along with a general understanding of business processes, a consultant must have many related knowledge and skills. So, today it is impossible to imagine managing a business without using software. And therefore, a business consultant should be guided in the IT sphere, have knowledge about what solutions exist, which can be implemented to order, be able to set a task for a programmer, etc.

Why do I need a business consultant?

When communicating with new customers, I constantly have to answer this question. Also, it is often asked by my former colleagues from the IT sphere and employees of various companies.

It would seem true:

The structure of a small enterprise is quite simple.
The manager can and should even be able to see the work “in general”.
It is not difficult to find a “weak link”, often even clerks understand which department “slows down” the work.
For automation, you can directly contact the programmer.

All of this, of course, is true. That is how a small company should work. But reality is somewhat different from any business scheme, and usually differs for the worse. As a result, the company has been working for some time; current problems are being solved more or less successfully as they arise. And then comes the crisis. And then the name of the business consultant.

What does a business consultant most often see?

« The bottleneck of a business is often not at all what the client was talking about.
For example, you can be 100% sure that your company cannot increase sales due to the slow operation of the warehouse. You buy computers and some kind of automation software at the warehouse. Hire a larger number of movers and storekeepers so that they collect orders faster. However, the real problem lies in the ill-conceived work of the delivery department. It is enough to optimize transport routes, learn to transfer documents to the warehouse in the correct order, and the throughput of this warehouse will increase without any other investments.
To solve the emerging problem, a difficult and erroneous path is chosen.
As you know, learn from mistakes. But is it worth learning exclusively from one's own? A business consultant is essentially a crisis manager. His name is when the company is faced with certain problems. The consultant analyzes the business, understands the premises that led to the current situation. He sees many different erroneous decisions, as well as their consequences in practice. And, of course, such mistakes will not be repeated in his work. And therefore, the help of a business consultant very often relieves the business of the "rake dance" that your competitors have already visited.
When automating work, preference is given to far from the best tool.
Most often, the business leader and the programmer speak "different languages." As a result, the programmer works either without any tasks at all, i.e. he composes it for himself on the basis of what he himself guessed in the conversation with the client, or receives TK, which in fact forces him to do not quite what the client really needs. Moreover, any IT specialist, without exception, is organic in choosing a solution for his specialty. So, a 1C specialist will habitually modify one of the 1C configurations for the task at a time when an Excel table or a separate program for mailing may be enough to solve the problem.

So, a business consultant is the same person who will be able to conduct a competent diagnosis of the problems that have arisen in your business. He is used to looking not only at obvious symptoms, but he is analyzing the entire business process. Then the business consultant will prescribe the right “treatment” for you. He has practical experience, has knowledge and understanding of the mistakes of your colleagues, there are various solutions that have been tested in practice.

A business consultant must be an IT consultant

If a business consultant works with small and medium-sized businesses, he must also be an IT consultant. Modern business processes cannot be imagined without automation. Many enterprises need new products, methods, and as a result, programs. Implementing a new process without software support is not realistic. And you need to be able to choose the best solution, as well as explain to the client why exactly such a software product is best suited. In addition, it is very important to understand how it will interact with other programs and processes in the enterprise. For a small business, it is best if the tactics and strategy of the business, as well as software for new business processes, are chosen by one person.

At the same time, a business consultant cannot be tied to any one software product. Unlike a programmer, he must choose the optimal solution every time, without "looping" on some familiar tools. The business consultant doesn’t care whether the work of new processes will be built using 1C, some specially designed applications or standard Microsoft Office tools. He knows well what the modern IT market can offer, is able to clearly set the task for the programmer, and always chooses the solution that is best suited for automating business processes in a particular case.

Turnkey work and other nuances

A very important point for small businesses. The consultant will help to realize all your ideas and suggestions:

It will prepare and help implement any personnel changes, changes in the operating mode, etc.
Prepare and implement new software solutions. All the nuances - from the choice of the program to the search for a specialist and implementation - the consultant takes care of.
In the process of solving the problem, if necessary, it will work out some nuances separately, including attracting experts from the consultant profile.
Will train staff in new working methods.

Most often, a business consultant works with one company for no more than 1.5 years. During this period, all tasks are fully resolved. And when new business solutions begin to work as usual, the company’s employees themselves can continue to work in the right direction without the help and prompts, the work of a business consultant with a particular company ends. As my practice shows, until the next difficult task.

I would also like to say about another function of a business consultant. This is a lightning rod function. Personally, I have come across this situation more than once. The head of the company even without my help knew that the company needed changes. Moreover, I understood in many ways which ones. But he also understood that these changes would lead to staffing decisions that were unpleasant for some of the staff. And the team is friendly, working together. If you start to introduce some innovations, you may be offended and leave, including those specialists who do not want to lose at all. What is the result? Reforms shelved "out of fear" for fear of making things worse

What happens when a business consultant appears? He is a stranger, and it is he who is responsible for all unpopular decisions. Everything is simple and clear. The company has certain problems. The head hired a specialist, who then proceeds as he sees fit to solve the task. And all the negative from the team is directed specifically to the consultant.

It would seem that this is all trifles. But it is precisely such “trifles” that very often help to keep employees and normal relations in a team in a small company, and to carry out all the changes as painlessly as possible. The consultant is not afraid of this negative. He worked and left. Yes, and he is paid just for the introduction of change, so the reaction is familiar, it does not cause any emotions, and for the leader - one less problem, and an important problem.

How did I come to this?

The question of how I came to this profession, which is so rare for our country, is also often asked to me. And to understand the specifics of the work to talk about this will not be amiss. Maybe even one of you will wish to be my colleague. And here I hope that my path, my mistakes and developments can be useful.

Incidentally, today in the Russian market business consultants for small and medium-sized businesses are very necessary. This niche is still very weakly filled. And the work is incredibly interesting, and not only financially. I personally will always be happy to help any of you become my colleague, I will give you some good literature, and I will answer questions. To whom it is necessary - write, I will be glad. And immediately I recommend a book that I myself consider a desktop: “Management Consulting. Introduction to the profession »Edited by Milan Kubra .

So, I lived in Ufa, was engaged in business, was actually the deputy director of a fairly solid company. We sold auto parts, then it was profitable. It would seem that what else is needed? I had a very decent income, had a car with a personal driver, quiet work and a "solid" 100 kg with a tendency to further increase in body weight. Here is such a classic "boss."

I know that, unfortunately, for most of Russians, such a course of affairs is the ultimate dream. Very many among us are “imprisoned” solely for profit. As a result, even too many more or less successful sellers have appeared in our country, while there is a clear lack of artisans, specialists who know and love their job.

Personally, when I am told the word “artisan”, I recall German blacksmiths of past centuries who have honed their skills for generations, forged armor, swords, and utensils. They were not good sellers. They were specialists who knew and loved their job. And for this they were very much appreciated.

What do I want to tell you? If you are a seller, if you think that profit is above all, then most likely you will not be interested in reading further. But if you, like me, think that it’s much more interesting not just to sell, but to create some values \u200b\u200byourself, to be a specialist, then you and I are on the way.

So, I am a fairly active person, I did not have enough of my settled comfortable existence, I wanted something interesting. I read about business consultants, watched interviews with representatives of Western business, who in our country were able to open branches and become successful precisely with the help of such specialists, and I understood that I can do that too. Moreover, I want to do this. In the end, I dropped everything and moved to Moscow.

1C specialist or my training

Personally, I have chosen the path closest to me for studying in practice various business processes. He graduated from the courses, received a certificate and became a specialist 1C. As you know, 1C programmers are constantly working with business processes, accounting, warehouse, trade, and other types of accounting. Therefore, in the process of working with the 1C program, it is very simple to study the features of a particular company.

The first company where I got a job was a company selling various pet products (animal feed, cages, toys, other accessories). The company was actively developing, and it already had an extensive network of stores. Somehow, in my presence, a debate broke out about pricing. I already knew how everything works here, and therefore I ventured to make my offer - one of the options for a uniform pricing for all stores. At first, the leadership reaction even offended me. They told me: “Are you a programmer? Mind your own business". But then I realized that they were right.

And then I made an important conclusion for myself: If you want to see you as a business consultant, you must introduce yourself as a business consultant. Otherwise, you and your ideas will never be taken seriously. People run a business, and people are used to thinking in stereotypes.

Next, I got a job as a project manager. Then he worked in several more positions. So I worked from 1C until 2008, before the crisis. At this point, I already had some ideas and ideas, plus for about a year now I worked as a freelancer on various projects.

So, 2008. A crisis. I come to one enterprise whose owner is going to introduce 1C Production Management. At the same time, I see that he himself doubts his choice and even whether he needs to implement this program. And then I suggested to start with a description of the business processes. It turned out that the management could not understand what was going on in their company in any way, and therefore I was very welcome with my proposal. It should be noted that if it were not for the crisis, they would hardly have agreed to trust and try to radically change their company. This project lasted more than two years and gave me experience and even more convinced me that I was going the right way.

So I understood what needs to be done to start a career as a business consultant. . Many have problems in business. We must come to people, tell what I can, we must offer our services. They are really very popular.

Today, I have about 35-45 finished projects in the asset. Each project is new people, industry, new achievements, new ideas. I worked with a garment factory, worked with manufacturers of smoothies and juices, with the sale of cosmetics, with auto parts, with sales of warehouse equipment, with beauty salons, etc.

I saw a lot of mistakes in business. After all, I, a business consultant, as well as a doctor, are most often called when the “illness” becomes apparent, and “self-medication” does not help. But because I saw a lot of the most diverse solutions, and, in practice. And I can immediately cut off erroneous ideas and choose the optimal “medicine” for a particular situation.

I constantly study, and not only in practice. If in our country business consulting for small and medium-sized businesses is very poorly developed, then in the West this specialty is very popular, there are many textbooks, interesting articles are published, there are some methods and even standards of the profession.

Each project is a challenging and challenging task. Despite all the knowledge and skills, I do not have and cannot have ready-made solutions “on my knee”. Each time I have to study all the nuances of the business, starting from general trends and ending with the work schedule of employees, the reward and punishment system, the specifics of transport accessibility of the office, warehouse, production, etc. etc. And only after understanding all the nuances of the company’s work, it becomes possible for me to identify the real problem and offer solutions.

Business consultant - work is not for the lazy. I will not talk about how much time and effort it takes to sell my services. On the one hand, they are very in demand, there is a real shortage of business consultants for small and medium-sized businesses. On the other hand, very many businessmen do not understand how a business consultant can help them; they have to spend a lot of effort explaining what I'm writing here and now. But these are trifles in comparison with how much effort will have to be put into the process of work itself. We have to constantly learn. First, you need to study the nuances of a particular industry, and even a specific enterprise. Secondly, it is not enough to identify the problem, it needs to be solved. And this is to think over and implement a software solution, monitor the work of employees who, most likely, will sabotage your proposals for the first time, since the new is always perceived with difficulty. It is necessary to train staff in new working methods, constantly monitor the quality of this work and the effectiveness of the selected solution, and much, much more.

A business consultant for small and medium-sized businesses is very interesting!

Unfortunately, today in Russia small and medium-sized businesses are developing very poorly. One of the important reasons for such a sad state of things is the lack of sufficient experience and knowledge of business processes among entrepreneurs. A business is developing, essentially, by trial and error. While in the West, businessmen are actively using the services of business consultants, thanks to which they avoid many "pitfalls" in their work and use their opportunities more efficiently.

I consider it very important that in our country the number of business consultants working with small and medium-sized businesses also increases. And so that businessmen remember that they always have an assistant. A business consultant does not have any of his interests and preferences in your business, but he is always ready to help in a crisis situation, develop a reliable and effective development strategy, or even just give really good advice.

I hope that I managed to convey to you the main thing: why do I need a business consultant in small and medium-sized businesses, what he does and what knowledge should possess. And also how interesting this profession is, and how important it is for the success of Russian business so that we become more, that we are contacted more often, so that together we learn to work even better!

More and more students are interested in what subjects need to be handed over to the manager. The thing is that "management" is a very common specialty now. After graduation, you can become a manager in a particular area. But what do you need to know about admission? What items will need to be handed over to become a manager? Where can I go for further education? Understanding all this is not so difficult. Of course, you should first choose which one you can enter, then there to clarify the exams for admission to the manager. But in general terms, the enrollment process will occur in all universities the same way.

Management is ...

What items need to be handed over to the manager? Before figuring out the answer to this question, you must first understand what kind of profession is involved. After all, schoolchildren try to choose either promising areas of study, or those where it is easy to study. Management, as already mentioned, is a very common area of \u200b\u200bstudy.

But who will be the citizen after graduation? Does it make sense to acquire this profession? A manager is a manager. Most often it is about sales. And any - both in the field of IT, and in ordinary stores.

In Russia, it is considered both promising and useless. High competition is what you have to face. And even a person without a diploma can work as a seller in a store. Not everyone will succeed. That is why the profession of manager is not too respected by parents and is preferred by applicants. This is a humanitarian direction, it’s easier to learn than, for example, to become a programmer. And if you just want to get at least some diploma, you can think about what subjects you need to take to the manager.

List of items

Management is a common humanitarian field of study. And almost every student knows what exams he will have to pass after grade 11 for admission. It is worth noting that there are no additional tests and competitions when considering applicants as future students. Therefore, it will be enough to successfully pass the exam. And submit documents to a particular educational institution.

But what subjects need to be handed over to the manager? At the moment this is:

russian language;
maths;
social Studies.

The last exam is profile. Actually the main one. It is on it that applicants will be evaluated in the first place. Considering the fact that now in Russia they plan to divide all exams into regular and specialized, it is simply necessary to know that social science plays a paramount role for a manager.

where to go

No more additional tests, tests or complex items will have to pass. And where to go to the manager? This is a rather difficult question. After all, there are a lot of training options.

Among them are:

Admission to the University. After the 11th grade, having passed the Russian language, mathematics and social studies, you can enter the direction "Management" in almost any university in the country. This direction is available at Moscow State University and MGIMO. You can also pay attention to any humanitarian universities.
Studying in college. At the moment, in Russia they offer to learn to be a manager even after the 9th grade. Or after 11 - depending on the educational institution. It is worth paying attention to humanitarian colleges. There will definitely be a direction of "management" or certain specialties such as "advertising manager", "sales manager".
Re-qualification. Most often, retraining is already at work. Or at courses from the labor exchange.
Passing courses. Not the best solution, but the managerial profession can be mastered in specialized courses. They are organized, as a rule, by private training centers. No need to hand over.

Now it’s clear where to study as a manager. As practice shows, universities are most in demand. After graduation, you can work in the field of management without any problems.

Training period

And how many are studying in the chosen direction? It all depends on what educational institution the person turned to. 4 years are studying at a university, while another 2 are studying at a magistracy. In colleges, the average term for obtaining a specialty will be the same as at a university (undergraduate). Further education courses require about 6 months of retraining. And if you visit private centers, then you can become a manager in 2 months and a year.

It is worth noting that in some universities, in addition to the listed exams, they may require to pass a few more subjects. It all depends on the nature and specific focus. What items need to be handed over to the manager additionally in some cases? It:

geography;
biology;
physics;
chemistry;
history.

The first steps in consulting

I receive regular letters with one single question: " How do I become a business consultant? Where to begin?".

Uh ... how tired I am of answering such questions ...Especially when they come from people aged 20+. Friends, I’ll say directly: the desire to become a business consultant at such a young age is a pathology. Which must be treated with electricity :) I will explain.

All over the world (but not in Russia) consulting is " gray hair profession"There are people who ALREADY have something for their souls, have some solid life and professional experience. These are people who ALREADY achieved success in some profession, made a career, implemented many projects, achieved significant results in society and status.

WHERE exactly people come to consulting (from business, from science, from sports, etc.) - this is not so important. It is more important to understand two fundamental things:

1. Consulting is separate, NEW (in relation to past successes and life experiences) professional field. It has its own competencies, skills, tools, principles of work, etc. etc.

Consulting must be studied, and it is necessary to work hard to constantly improve your skills and abilities related specifically to consulting. It's me that just "go" to consulting - everyone can. The thresholds for entering this business are fantastically low (it’s more difficult to open a hairdresser)))). But only a few become consulting professionals.

2. There are many things in the world that impossible to implement directly. If only because these are “fuzzy concepts” - no one knows to the end and is not sure what it really is :)

An example of such a fuzzy concept is "happiness." Who knows what it is, and how to get it with a guarantee ... For example, can you right now, after reading these lines, click your fingers (pull a hair out of your beard, press a button, etc.) and become happy?

I repeat - there are many things that are certain secondary, uncontrolled resultour constant activity / activity. If you strive for happiness by attacking it “on the forehead,” you will at best become a miserable drug addict. But if you live a productive, interesting, full of meaning and emotions life, doing what you love, communicating with good people - happiness itself will find you :)

The same story with consulting ... A person who wants to become a business consultant (business coach) head-on is a worried maniac :) But then, what is the by-product of WHAT consulting?

Consulting is HELPING profession. Those. this a byproduct of your sincere and constant desire to help other people. Think it over! It is important not to confuse some fundamental things! For example...

Consulting is NOT a desire teach / teach others. If you want to learn, go to pedagogy and torment shkolota :) In business consulting, it is still unknown who is teaching whom :)) If you like the role of a mentor / guru, then you better go by consulting (until you have done a lot of bad things).

Consulting is NOT a desire show off in front of the public. If you want to show off in front of large audiences - go to the Petrosyans :) Of course, business clowns ( oh, excuse me, motivational speakers :))) is in fashion today, but on this path you need to have at least acting talent (to become a "consultant"))).

I repeat: consulting is a sincere desire to help other people in their work, in achieving THEIR GOALS. Of course, there are many ways to help. Familiar Story: " Do you want to help? Get close, take a shovel, and dig! ":))) Here you need a very clear understanding of the subject of their activities and their strengths ( unique competencieswith the help of which you can really provide valuable assistance to the client).

To myself, my beloved :) I know for sure what I have two unique competencies. First i'm professional psychologist. Secondly i researcher, analyst, scientist. The subject of my activity- people (more precisely, their psyche) and information. I also know how to handle a shovel, but using my competencies to dig is not a good idea :) It's like hammering nails with a microscope.

I began to help others precisely as a psychologist. People sought advice on a variety of issues, among which there were many related to business: How to resolve the conflict in the workforce? How to motivate your own employees? How to develop a new product so that it is attractive to customers? How to train new employees? etc. etc. I just helped in solving these issues, for many years without even thinking about the fact that I am actually doing business consulting :)

The same story with scientific competencies. I will give only one example of many years ago ( then I still worked as a university teacher, and on my business card there was no inscription "business consultant"))) A businessman in a private conversation complained that he had a "sales crisis." He has several stores, but recently he found new suppliers, changed the assortment very much, and indeed the “whole sales concept”. After which the sales collapsed ...

I began to ask questions in order to understand the situation, and began to jointly discuss the causes and consequences of the crisis. We came to the conclusion that we need some kind of marketing action to convey to our customers a new concept of sales. It also turned out that the company has a marketer, and there is a luxurious customer base. “Luxurious” because customers were periodically questioned, and there was a sea of \u200b\u200buseful, quality information in the database. For example, including how customers reacted to marketing campaigns that were previously conducted. There was so much information ( customer base contained almost 3 thousand ID), that it was just some Big Data))))

My eyes lit up right away: “And based on this very data, we will make customer segmentation! Moreover, we will do it on the basis of all the data at our disposal, using some statistical analysis methods.” The leader "gave the go-ahead"; I did a cluster analysis; Together with a marketer, for each cluster segment, we proposed ideas for promoting a new sales concept and a new assortment; after which they rushed to put these ideas into practice ...

For those who are eager for consultants :) I focus on: 1) I just tried to help solve a pressing problem; 2) I tried to help with the help of those competencies / tools that I know perfectly (in this case, multivariate statistical analysis); 3) then I did not think that I was "business consulting" :))) I rather solved the research problem. As a result of the research, I gained some new knowledge (a detailed description of client segments), and transferred this knowledge to those who already used it in practice.

By the way (again, for beginners;)) I will say what I did then this study for free. I was just wondering what would come of it - a purely cognitive interest. In addition, I was not at all sure whether the knowledge gained about client segments would help the company overcome the crisis. Knowledge helped :) But thanks (in the form of money))) from the head of the company I received almost a year later - when it was already clearly clear that this information was useful to them.

If we talk about today ( when my business card already says "business consultant"))), then everything is already more complicated. There are types of work for which I undertake only for decent money, only on a prepayment basis, and I’m still making fun at the same time))) For example, like the statistical analysis of the company's client base described above. It’s just that I have honed this competency for many years, and with a 99% guarantee, I know that the information extracted from the analysis will be useful to the customer.

But despite this, principleremains unchanged: " First, the desire to help, then everything else"That is why among my projects there are a lot of free ones or those that I do for a penny. These are projects where I’m not sure of the adequacy of my competencies, or of the usefulness of the result for the customer which, by the way, is always honestly warning) This including charity projects. These are projects in which I develop myself, and where the interaction with interesting and smart people is much more important than the money received. These are projects where not only I help (unilaterally), but where genuine cooperation and mutual assistance arise ...

Why am I writing all this? Here the other day comes another letter asking "How do I become a consultant?". And there are many more clarifications: And how much should a consultant earn? What should be the prices for services? Is it necessary to register IP? Etc. etc. Maybe these issues are important ... But in my understanding - these are all secondary trifles.

The main thing - do you want to helpto other people in their business? Can you really do this (help \u003d temporarily forget about your life and your interests, and live on the interests and goals of the client)?

Do you havesome valuable competencies(and are you working on constantly building them), thanks to which you can help others?

Answer these questions positively - you can take a chance, go into consulting :)

Suppose you read everything, and I did not dissuade you ... Those. still itching to become a business consultant :) And still I want to get specific advice ... Get it!

Here's a specific tip: in my opinion, there is 4 types of professional competencies of a business consultant, and you can start "becoming a business consultant" by working through any of them.

1.Industry Competencies. In what real business, in what field of activity do you know best? In retail? In the oil trade? In internet marketing? In the restaurant business? (etc.)

In what industry have you maybe already worked before? In which industry during your career did you achieve maximum results and implement outstanding projects? In which industry do you have a unique "authoring", innovative experience?

Even if you do not have real work experience in the industry you are interested in, how do you assess your “industry outlook”? Are you able to communicate with specialists from this industry in one language? Are you able to maintain professional conversation topics at such a level that you can easily be mistaken for “your own”?

2.System competencies. Any business consists of standard subsystems (typical business processes): strategic and operational management; marketing; production; personnel management; quality management; financial management etc. etc.

What system competency (and, importantly: very well developed) do you possess? Perhaps you are well versed in personnel management? Or can you manage corporate finance?

System competencies require special education ( for example, if you want to become a HR consultant, get at least a university diploma from an HR manager!) and a whole range of professional knowledge and skills.

I emphasize: the system competency chosen by the consultant should be developed at a VERY high level! You must constantly study, study and study, and also implement project after project in various organizations. Otherwise, you simply will not have anything useful / new to give to those system specialists who already work in the organization.

Do you understand what I mean? So that, for example, a consultant can at least help the professional marketer who has been working in a specific organization for many years, the consultant must be a super-duper-mega-marketer who can give at least something valuable to a competent professional. This means that you must be able to "pump" your system competency faster, wider and smoother :) than your client. Do you know how / can?

3.Instrumental competencies. Business consulting is assistance that is carried out using various tools. The nature of these tools can be very different - managerial, psychological, economic, financial, etc.

As a rule, all these tools are easily accessible (just look through any textbook). Not only that, I’ll tell you a secret that it’s almost impossible to come up with new, some particularly advanced and “secret” tools in the world of management and business. Under the booming "latest methods of counseling" usually hides the banal desire of the "creators" to simply cut money on such a "rebranding".

It is not by chance that I say that all tools are ALREADY known and easily accessible. It's not about the tools, but about how deeply, accurately and masterly we use them. Many years ago, I thought that there was nothing simpler and more primitive, say, a SWOT analysis, or, for example, compiling a map of organization problems. These are really VERY SIMPLE tools described in any textbook on management or marketing ...

And then I saw how the consultant-Professional (with a capital "P") -Arkady Ilyich Prigozhin applies these "simple" tools in practice. And I realized two things: a) these tools are not at all simple, they are very powerful and allow you to extract a sea of \u200b\u200buseful information and help in solving many problems; b) there are many subtleties and variations in the application of these methods "for all occasions."

This is about the same as with a violin. If you give this beautiful instrument to the hands of an unprepared person, then he can only knock on the case :))) And if you give it to the Master, he can perform a whole suite on one string ...

Now, in fact, the question is: what specific consulting tool do you master in perfection, at the master level? At least one ?! Own at a level at which no one else owns - i.e. Do you have unique experience, knowledge and skills in using this tool?

4. Alien competencies. Any business is a lively and open system. This is a part of life. Business will never be a science in which everything is subject to strict laws and regulations.

This means that there is no and never will be severe restrictions on understanding the process and methods of business consulting. A business can grow with the help of instrumental metaphors borrowed from a wide variety of areas of life.

For example, if "the whole world is a theater, and the people in it are actors," and you personally are a brilliant director, then why not use your professional skills for business consulting? For example, you can take and organize a business theater :) / And this is an ALREADY realized idea :)) just enter in any search engine "business theater"/.

Maybe you are a great jazz player and can advise on creating a "funky business"? ;) Or are you a wonderful traveler, and can you tell me how to develop an "expedition-style business"? ;))) / and these are also realized ideas!/

Question: Do you have any unique “alien” (that is, not directly related to business) competence, but which is in demand by business or can be a valuable business metaphor? Can you use your existing competencies to provide real business assistance?

Do you want to become a business consultant? The four types of professional competencies of a consultant are listed above - take and develop any of them. It is possible separately, it is possible in combination :)

I am also often asked the question: " What to read on business consulting?". It's simple :) We decided to pump industry competency - you read everything that is possible about your own industry. Especially periodicals. Especially professional forums / blogs on the Internet. Especially foreign professional forums / blogs. (We decided to pump system or instrumental competence - recommendations similar).

By the way, even if you have a specialized education (say, a university management diploma), I highly recommend re-reading the textbooks. Especially those sections that are related to your chosen consulting specialization. Re-read not as a student, not for show, but to purposefully seek out tools that are close and interesting to you, and which will then feed you, among other things. If you find “something interesting” in textbooks, search (Google for help!) The latest books and articles on these topics / tools (special magazines, forums, blogs).

In addition to specialized literature, it is important to have some general idea of \u200b\u200bwhat consultation is, how the process is organized, what rules a consultant should adhere to, etc. A lot of dregs are being written and published on counseling, so I recommend starting with the classics:

1) Any books and articles of the aforementioned A.I. Prigozhin. In general, I believe that the very first book read by a novice consultant should be " Organization Development Methods"(2003). It complements very well." Disorganization: Reasons, Types, Overcoming" (2007).

2) All books by David Meister: "Trusted Advisor," First Among Equals, "True Professionalism," Strategy and Fat Smoker, "Managing a Professional Service Firm," Do What You Preach. "

3) In order to understand (feel!) What business consulting is at the level of industry leaders, I highly recommend reading I. Rasiel, P. Friga " McKinsey Tools"and / or I.Rasiel" McKinsey Method ".

4) One of the first books (read back in 1999), which also helped me understand that there is counseling as a professional activity - Calvert Markham " Management consulting"(later reprinted as Management Consulting).

Of course, there are other books on business consulting. Maybe someday I will continue this list;)

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