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. business activity, finds and suggests ways to solve it under the guise of concrete actions. After a thorough study of business production at the moment, a professional comprehensively analyzes the current situation, determines the reasons due to which this or that problem has appeared, and proposes a whole range of measures to solve it. Often there are cases when a specialist personally participates in the implementation of his own methods and solutions to clarify their effectiveness, and if the need arises, 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.
Employee certification.
Lawyer consulting.
Auditing.
Real estate appraisal, etc.

The calling of this specialist is to improve the state of business production, develop relationships with partners, increase profits, and optimize business processes. It can enter both consulting company or work independently as an independent professional. But for the latter case, he must be highly qualified and have extensive experience behind him. Most often, independent specialists provide services for small companies or assistance in solving specific issues.

Job Responsibilities of a Counseling Specialist

A business consultant has the following list of job responsibilities:

Consulting 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, identification 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 schemes of measures for the financial recovery of the company (through investments, lending, loans, etc.).
Tracking trends in business and market needs, preparing source materials with the help of which business projects will be developed. To justify all this financially and economically, in the future to coordinate the work during the implementation of some projects.
Coordinate their actions with the actions of departments of the organization, including individual specialists.
Advise a manager during planning, contractual and contractual documentation, ongoing agreements, in negotiations with counterparties, etc.
To be accountable for the work done.

Business consultant: features of the profession

If an organization needs outside help from a specialist, it means that its manager is ready to invest in its promotion, modernize business processes, and optimize costs and resources.

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

The rapid aging of practice pushes for the birth of new ideas, an excessive number of options, and turning to real cases taken from the experience of other enterprises.

Therefore, born in this process new business consultant, must be able to do correct analysis the current situation, and using various approaches to translate new ideas into reality.

Allows you to choose the one that you like. However, there are those where even a beginner, with a certain approach and diligence, can start making a career. One of these is a consultant who it is, what requirements and opportunities can be obtained - read on.

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Features of the profession

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

Today in the labor market, specialists with 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 :

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

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

Shop assistant

One of the most demanded professions in the labor market is a sales assistant. Its main task is to correctly tell about the product, and so that it will be immediately purchased.

Like many others, the sales consultant profession provides specialists with the opportunity to career growth... However, for this it will be necessary to show maximum effort and energy. Only in this case he will be successful on a rather difficult path upward.

Career growth will take place in several stages:

the entry-level will be a simple salesperson providing advisory services;
senior sales assistant;
shift manager;
store or salon manager.

With a lot of effort, nothing is impossible.

Financial Consultant

The provision of advisory services related to finance are always in demand and require from a specialist in-depth knowledge in this industry. This consultant is contacted in those moments when it becomes necessary to complete transactions, to make an assessment financial condition, develop a strategy, choose an object for investment, resolve the issue of buying and selling.
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At the same time, a specialist is required to be a professional in the finance industry. Constantly monitor changes in the stock market, study and understand changes in legislation, 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. It is for this reason that the services of a tax consultant will always be in demand.

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

Business consultant

For those who are planning to start their own business or are already an entrepreneur, it is sometimes important to get expert advice on running a business.

This includes questions such as:

competent and correct drawing up of a business plan;
personnel certification;
audit control;
company registration;

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

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". In the comments from the readers, a request was made 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 have, and when he is needed. And today I keep my promise to my readers back then. So let's get started.

What is a Business Consultant?

I will not give dry definitions here, I think they are not interesting to anyone. A business consultant is the very person who is invited from outside to help find a solution to some problem. It is also obvious that looking from the outside can very often help to reveal what you will never find as an employee of the company.

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

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

The business 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 absent, 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 - lack of need and cost savings - have led to the fact that for small and medium-sized businesses, the services of a generalist consultant are the best solution.

Let me remind you that a generalist consultant (as opposed to a specialist consultant) is a person who is able to assess the business as a whole, outline general trends, see prospects and opportunities for improving the situation. Usually the situation goes beyond one process and / or function.

Of course, not everything is so simple. Understanding what is happening in business and finding the causes of the "disease" is only half the battle. The decision should be as specific as a doctor's prescription. Therefore, along with a general understanding of business processes, the consultant must have many related knowledge and skills. So, today it is impossible to imagine running a business without using software. That is why a business consultant must be oriented in the IT sphere, have knowledge of what solutions exist, which can be implemented to order, be able to set a task for a programmer, etc.

Why do you need a business consultant?

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

It would seem, and the truth:

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

All this is, of course, true. This is how a small company should work. But the 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 solved as they arise, more or less successfully. And then there is a crisis. And then the business consultant is called.

What does a business consultant see most often?

« The bottleneck of the business is very often not what the client was talking about.
For example, you can be 100% sure that your company cannot increase turnover due to a slow warehouse operation. You buy computers for a warehouse and some software to automate work. Hire more movers and storekeepers so that they can collect orders faster. At the same time, the real problem lies in the ill-conceived work of the delivery department. It is enough to optimize transport routes, learn how to transfer documents to a warehouse in correct order, and throughput this warehouse will grow without any other investment.
To solve the arising problem, they choose a difficult and erroneous path.
As you know, you learn from mistakes. But is it worth learning exclusively from your own people? 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 prerequisites that led to the current situation. He sees many different erroneous decisions, as well as their consequences in practice. And, naturally, he will not repeat such mistakes in his work. That is why the help of a business consultant very often saves the business from the "dance on a rake", which your competitors have already visited.
When automating work, preference is given to far from the best tool.
More often than not, the business leader and the programmer speak "different languages." As a result, the programmer works either without those tasks at all, i.e. composes it for himself on the basis of what he himself guessed in a conversation with a client, or receives a technical assignment, which actually forces him to do not quite what the client really needs. Moreover, any IT specialist, without exception, is limited in choosing a solution by his specialty. So, a 1C specialist will habitually modify some of the 1C configurations for a given task at a time when an Excel spreadsheet or a separate program for sending mail may be enough to solve the problem.

So, a business consultant is the very person who will be able to correctly diagnose the problems that have arisen in your business. He is used to looking not only at obvious symptoms, but analyzing the entire business process. Then the business consultant will prescribe the right "treatment" for you. He has practical experience, there is knowledge and understanding of the mistakes of your colleagues, there are different options for solutions that have been tested in practice.

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 it is impossible to imagine without automation. Many businesses need new products, methods, and, as a result, programs. The introduction of a new process without software support is not realistic. And you need to be able to choose the optimal solution, as well as explain to the client why 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 small business it is best if the tactics and strategy of the business, as well as software support for new business processes, will be chosen by one person.

At the same time, a business consultant cannot be tied to any one software product... Unlike a programmer, he has to choose the optimal solution every time, without getting hung up on some familiar tools. A business consultant does not care whether the work of new processes will be built using 1C, some specially developed applications or standard Microsoft Office tools. He knows very well what he can promote the modern IT market, knows how to clearly set a 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 a small business. The consultant will help to bring to life all your ideas and suggestions:

Prepare and help implement any personnel changes, changing the operating mode, etc.
Prepare and implement new software solutions. All the nuances - starting from the choice of the program and ending with the search for a specialist and implementation - are taken over by the consultant.
In the process of solving the problem, if necessary, he will work out some nuances separately, including attracting specialists of an advisory profile to this.
Train staff in new ways of working.

Most often, a business consultant has been working 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 can continue to work in the right direction without help and tips, the work of a business consultant with a specific enterprise ends. As my practice shows, until the next difficult task.

Separately, I would like to say about one more function of a business consultant. This is the "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 personnel decisions that would be unpleasant for some of the staff. And the team is friendly, well-knit. If you start to introduce some innovations, they may take offense and leave, including those specialists whom you do not want to lose at all. What's the bottom line? Reforms are postponed for fear of making things worse

What happens when a business consultant shows up? He is a stranger, while it is he who is responsible for all unpopular decisions. Everything is simple and straightforward. The firm has certain problems. The manager hired a specialist who then acts as he sees fit to solve the problem. And all the negative from the team is directed to the consultant.

It would seem that this is all - trifles. But it is these "little things" that help very often in small firm preserve both employees and normal relations in the team, and carry out all changes as painlessly as possible. The consultant is not afraid of this negative. He worked and left. Yes, and he is paid money just for the implementation of changes, so that the reaction is habitual, does not cause any emotions, and the leader is one less problem, and an important problem.

How did I come to this?

The question of how I came to this profession, so rare for our country, I am also asked quite often. And to understand the specifics of the work, it will not be superfluous to talk about it. Maybe even some of you would like to become my colleague. And here I hope that my path, my mistakes and best practices can come in handy.

By the way, today on Russian market business consultants for small and medium-sized businesses are in great need. This niche is still very poorly filled. And the job 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 a hint and good literature, and I will answer the questions. Who needs it - write, I will be glad. And I will immediately recommend a book, which 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, what else is needed? I had a very decent income, I had a car with a personal driver, quiet work and "solid" 100 kg with some tendency to further increase in body weight. Here's a classic "boss".

I know that, unfortunately, for the majority of Russians, such a course of affairs is the ultimate dream. Many of us are "sharpened" exclusively for profit. As a result, too many more or less successful sellers have appeared in our country, while there is an obvious shortage of artisans, specialists who know and love their business.

Personally, when they say the word "craftsman" to me, I remember the German blacksmiths of the past centuries, who for generations honed their skills, forged armor, swords, utensils. They weren't good sellers... They were specialists who knew and loved their job. And for this they were highly valued.

What do I want to tell you? If you are a seller, if you think that profit is first of all, then, most likely, you will not be interested in reading further. But if you, like me, think that it is much more interesting not just to sell, but to create some value yourself, to be a specialist, then we are on the way with you.

So I am enough active person, my well-established comfortable existence was not enough for me, I wanted something interesting. I read about business consultants, watched interviews with representatives of Western business who managed to open branches in our country and become successful with the help of such specialists, and I realized that I could do that too. Moreover, I want to do this. As a result, I dropped everything and moved to Moscow.

1C specialist or my training

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

The first company where I got a job was a company selling various pet supplies (pet food, cages, toys, other accessories). The company was actively developing, and it already had branched network shops. Somehow, in my presence, a dispute about pricing flared up. I already knew well how everything works here, and therefore I ventured to submit my proposal - one of the options for a single pricing for all stores. At first, the reaction of the management even offended me. They said to 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 be seen as a business consultant, you must introduce yourself as a business consultant. Otherwise, you and your ideas will never be taken seriously. Business is run by people, and people are used to thinking in stereotypes.

Then 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. By this time, I already had some ideas and developments, plus I have been working as a freelancer on various projects for about a year.

So 2008. A crisis. I come to one enterprise, the owner of which is going to implement 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 begin with a description of business processes. It turned out that the management could not understand what was happening in their company, and therefore I was very helpful 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 change their company so drastically. This project lasted more than two years and gave me experience and convinced me even more that I was on the right path.

This is how I understood what needs to be done to start a career as a business consultant. ... Many people have problems in business. We must come to people, tell them what I can, we must offer our services. They are really in great demand.

As of today, my assets are somewhere around 35-45 finished projects... 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 warehouse equipment, with beauty salons, etc.

I've seen so many mistakes in business. After all, I, a business consultant, like a doctor, are most often called when the "illness" becomes apparent, and "self-medication" does not help. That is why I have seen a lot of the most diverse solutions, moreover, in practice. And I can immediately cut off erroneous ideas and choose the optimal "medicine" for a particular situation.

I am constantly learning, 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, there are some methods and even standards of the profession.

Each project is a challenging and exciting task. Despite all the knowledge and skills, I do not and cannot have ready-made solutions"On the knee." Every time I have to study all the nuances of the business, starting from general trends and ending with the work schedule of employees, a system of rewards and punishments, the peculiarities of transport accessibility of an office, warehouse, production, etc. etc. And only after understanding all the nuances of the company's work, I have the opportunity to identify a real problem and offer options for its solution.

A business consultant is not a job for the lazy. I will not talk about how much effort and time it takes to sell my services. On the one hand, they are in great 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 am writing about here and now. But these are trifles compared to how much effort will have to be invested in the work process itself. You have to constantly learn. First, you need to study the nuances of a specific industry, and even a specific enterprise. Secondly, it is not enough to identify the problem, you need to solve it. And this is to think over and implement a software solution, to control the work of employees who, most likely, will sabotage your proposals for the first time, since new things are always perceived with difficulty. It is necessary to train staff in new methods of work, constantly monitor the quality of this work and the effectiveness of the chosen solution, and much, much more.

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

Unfortunately, today in Russia a small and medium business develops very weakly. One of the important reasons for this sad state of affairs is the lack of sufficient experience and knowledge of business processes among entrepreneurs. Business develops, in fact, by trial and error. While in the West, businessmen actively use the services of business consultants, thanks to which they avoid many "pitfalls" in their work and use their opportunities more effectively.

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

I hope that I was able to convey to you the main thing: why do you need a business consultant in small and medium-sized businesses, what he does and what knowledge he should have. And also how much it is interesting profession and how important it is for success Russian business so that there are more of us, so that they will contact us more often, so that together we will learn to work even better!

More and more schoolchildren are interested in what subjects need to be handed over to the manager. The point is that "management" is a very widespread specialty now. After graduation, you can become a manager in a particular area. But what do you need to know about admission? What subjects do I need to pass to become a manager? Where can you apply for further education? Sorting out all this is not so difficult. Of course, you should first choose which one you can enroll in, then there to clarify the exams for admission to the manager. But in general outline the enrollment process will take place in all universities in the same way.

Management is ...

What subjects do you need to take to the manager? Before finding out the answer to this question, it is necessary first of all to understand what kind of profession we are talking about. 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 study.

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

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

List of items

Management is a widespread humanitarian study area. And almost every student knows what exams he will have to take 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 institution for training.

But what subjects do you need to take to the manager? At the moment it is:

Russian language;
maths;
Social Studies.

The last exam is a profile one. In fact, the main one. It is on it that applicants will be evaluated first of all. Taking into account the fact that now in Russia they plan to divide all exams into regular and specialized ones, it is simply necessary to know that social studies plays a primary role for a manager.

where to go

You will not have to take any more additional tests, tests or difficult subjects. Where to apply for a manager? This is a rather difficult question. After all, there are a lot of training options.

Among them are:

Admission to the University. After grade 11, having passed the Russian language, mathematics and social studies, you can apply for the direction of "Management" in almost any university in the country. This direction there are both at Moscow State University and at MGIMO. You can also pay attention to any humanitarian universities.
College education. At the moment, in Russia, they offer to study a manager even after the 9th grade. Or after 11 - depending on the educational institution. It is worth paying attention to the liberal arts colleges. There will definitely be a direction "management" or separate specialties such as "advertising manager", "sales manager".
Re-qualification. Most often, retraining takes place already at work. Or on courses from the labor exchange.
Passage of courses. Not the best solution, but the profession of a manager can be mastered in specialized courses. They are usually organized by private training centers. You won't have to take any.

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

Training period

And how many are trained in the chosen direction? It all depends on which educational institution the person turned. At a university, a bachelor's degree is studied for 4 years, in a master's degree - another 2. In colleges, the average time for obtaining a specialty will be the same as at a university (bachelor's degree). Refresher courses require about 6 months of retraining. And if you visit private centers, then you can become a manager in 2 months or a year.

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

geography;
biology;
physics;
chemistry;
history.

First steps in consulting

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

Phew ... how tired I am of answering questions like this ... Especially when they come from people in their 20s. Friends, I'll be honest: the desire to become a business consultant at such a young age is a pathology. Which must be treated with electricity :) Let me 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 kind of solid life and professional experience... These are people who have ALREADY achieved success in some profession, made a career, implemented many projects, achieved significant results and status in society.

WHERE people come to consulting (from business, science, sports, etc.) is no longer so important. It is more important to understand two fundamental things:

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

Consulting has to be learned, and you have to work hard to constantly improve your skills and abilities related specifically to consulting. This I mean that just "go" into consulting - everyone can. Entrance thresholds this business fantastically low (opening a hairdresser is even more difficult)))). But only a few become professionals in consulting.

2. There are many things in the world that impossible to implement directly... If only because these are "fuzzy concepts" - no one fully knows 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, snap 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 side, uncontrollable result our constant activity / activity. If you strive for happiness, attacking it "head on", you will at best become an unhappy addict. But if you live a productive, interesting, meaningful and emotional life, doing what you love, communicating with good people- happiness will find you by itself :)

The same story with consulting ... A person who dreams of becoming a business consultant (business coach) is a worried maniac :) But then a by-product of WHAT is consulting?

Consulting is ASSISTANT profession... Those. this is a by-product of your sincere and constant desire to help other people... Think about it! It is important not to confuse some fundamental things here! For example...

Consulting is NOT a desire teach / instruct others... If you want to teach - go to pedagogy, and torment the shkolota :) In business consulting, it is still unknown who teaches whom :)) If you like the role of a mentor / guru, then you better pass 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 Petrosyan :) Of course, business clowns ( oh, sorry, motivational speakers :))) is in vogue today, but on this path you need to have at least an acting talent (to become a "consultant"))).

I repeat: consulting is a sincere endeavor help other people in their work, in achieving THEIR PURPOSES... Of course, you can help in different ways. A 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 your activity and your strengths (unique competencies that you can truly provide valuable assistance to the client).

About myself, beloved :) I know exactly what I have two unique competencies ... First, I am 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 in order to dig is not best idea:) It's like hammering nails with a microscope.

I started helping others exactly 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 work collective? How to motivate your own employees? How to develop a new product so that it is attractive to customers? How to Train Newbie 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 :)

It's the same story with scientific competencies. I will give just one example from many years ago ( then I was still working as a university teacher, and on my business card there was no inscription "business consultant"))). A familiar entrepreneur in a private conversation complained that he had a "sales crisis". He has several stores, but recently he found new suppliers, greatly changed the assortment, and indeed "the whole concept of sales." Then sales collapsed ...

I began to ask questions in order to understand the situation, began to jointly discuss the causes and consequences of the crisis. We came to the conclusion that some kind of marketing action is needed to convey a new sales concept to buyers. It also revealed that the company has a marketer and a luxury customer base. "Luxurious" because clients were periodically surveyed, and the database contained a sea of useful high-quality information. For example, incl. how customers have responded to previous marketing campaigns. There was so much information ( the client base contained almost 3 thousand IDs) that it was just some Big Data))))

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

For those who are eager to become consultants :) I emphasize: 1) I just tried to help in solving an urgent 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 was rather solving a research problem. As a result of the research, I got some new knowledge (detailed description of client segments), and passed this knowledge on to those who have already used it in practice.

By the way (again for beginners;)) I will say that I did this research for free then. I was just wondering what would come of it - purely cognitive interest. In addition, I was not at all sure whether the acquired knowledge about client segments would help the company to get out of the crisis. Knowledge helped :) But I received gratitude (in the form of money))) from the head of the company 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 more complicated. There are types of work for which I undertake only for decent money, only on prepayment, and I am also capricious at the same time))) For example, like the statistical analysis of the company's client base described above. It's just that this competence has been honed by me for many years, and with a 99% guarantee, I know that the information extracted as a result of the analysis will be useful to the customer.

But despite this, principle remains unchanged: " First, the desire to help, then everything else"That is why there are a lot of free projects among my projects or those that I do for a penny. These are projects where I am not sure of the sufficiency of my competencies, or the usefulness of the result for the customer ( which, by the way, I always honestly warn you). This is incl. charitable projects. These are projects in which I myself develop, and where the very 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 arises ...

Why am I writing all this? One of these days another comes a letter asking "How can I become a consultant?"... And there are many more clarifications in it: How much should a consultant earn? What should be the rates for services? Is it necessary to register an individual entrepreneur? Etc. etc. Maybe these questions are important ... But in my understanding, these are all minor details.

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

Do you have some valuable competences(and are you constantly working on building them up) through which you can help others?

Answer yes to these questions - you can take the risk, poke your nose into consulting :)

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

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

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

What industry have you, perhaps, ALREADY worked in before? In which industry have you achieved maximum results and outstanding projects during your career? In which industry do you have a unique "authoring", innovative experience?

Even if you have no real work experience in the industry you are interested in, how do you rate your "industry horizons"? Are you able to communicate with experts from the industry in the same language? Are you able to maintain professional themes conversations at such a level that you are easily mistaken for "our"?

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

What system competence (and, what is important: developed at a very high level) do you possess? Maybe you are well versed in HR management? Or can you manage corporate finance?

Systemic competencies require special education ( for example, if you want to become a HR consultant - get at least a university degree in HR manager!) and a whole range of professional knowledge, skills and abilities.

Let me emphasize: the system competence chosen by the consultant must be developed at a VERY high level! You must continually learn, learn and learn, and implement project after project in a wide variety of organizations. Otherwise, you simply will have nothing to give useful / new to those system specialists who already work in the organization.

Do you understand what I mean? So that, for example, a consultant could help at least with something professional marketer, who has been working in a particular organization for many years, the consultant must be a super-duper-mega-marketer, capable of giving at least something valuable to an ALREADY competent professional. This means that you should be able to "pump" your system competence faster, wider and lighter :) than your client. Do you / can you do that?

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

As a rule, all of these tools are readily available (just flip through any textbook). Moreover, I will tell you a secret that it is almost impossible to come up with new, especially advanced and "secret" tools in the world of management and business. Under the hyped "newest methods of consulting" there is usually a banal desire of the "creators" to simply cut down money on such a "rebranding".

It is not by chance that I say that all the tools are ALREADY known and readily available. It's not about the instruments, but how deeply, accurately and masterly we use them. Many years ago I believed that there is nothing simpler and more primitive, say, SWOT analysis, or, for example, mapping the problems of an organization. These are really VERY SIMPLE tools described in any management or marketing textbook ...

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

It's about the same as with a violin. If you give this wonderful instrument into the hands of an unprepared person, then he can only knock on the body :))) And if you give it into the hands of the Master, then he will be able to perform a whole suite on one string ...

Now, in fact, the question is: what specific consulting tool do you master perfectly, at a master level? At least one ?! You are proficient at a level that no one else possesses - i.e. do you have unique experience, knowledge and skills in the use of this tool?

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

This means that there are no and never will be hard restrictions on the understanding of the process and methods of business consulting. Business can grow with instrumental metaphors borrowed from a wide variety of walks of life.

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

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

The question is: do you have any unique “alien” (ie, not directly related to business) competence, but which is in demand by the business or can be a valuable business metaphor? Can you use the competencies you already have to provide real help to the business?

WANT to become a business consultant? Above are four types of professional competencies of a consultant - take and develop any of them. It can be done separately, it can be combined :)

Also, I am often asked the question: " What to read about business consulting?"It's simple :) We decided to upgrade our industry competence - you read everything you can about“ your ”industry. Especially periodicals. Especially professional forums / blogs on the Internet. Especially foreign professional forums / blogs. (We decided to upgrade system or instrumental competence - recommendations similar).

By the way, even if you have a specialized education (say, a university degree in management), I highly recommend re-reading textbooks. Especially those sections that are related to your chosen consulting specialization. To reread not like a student, not just for show, but purposefully look for tools that are close and interesting to you, and which will then feed you, by the way. Having found "something curious" in the textbooks, look (Google for help!) For 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 what counseling is, how the process is organized, what rules the consultant should adhere to, etc. A lot of all sorts of dregs are being written and published on consulting now, so I recommend starting with the classics:

1) Any books and articles of the already mentioned A.I. Prigogine. In general, I think that the very first book a novice consultant reads 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 the Fat Smoker, Managing a Professional Services Firm, Do What You Preach.

3) 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 what counseling is like professional activity- Calvert Markham " Management Consulting"(later republished as" Management Consulting ").

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

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