My name is Marco Robert, and since 2001 I have been advising business owners all over the world. Every year I work clients on all continents; Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, USA and Canada.
In my functions as a business and management consultant, I come across many business owners who don’t seem to know which business professional to call for advice and it is costing them millions and millions of dollars.
Lawyer, accountant or management consultant, who you should you call and when? Let me take a few minutes to dispel the myths and misconceptions.
Business is pretty simple – Business owners love to complicate it
See, business is simple when you think about it. But too often, business owners complicate things by lacking discernment. While they wouldn’t think to ask their dentist about blood work, or ask their optometrist about their knee problem, yet when it comes to business professionals, many seem to confuse the lawyers, accountants and management consultants.
STEP ONE: Divide your business into four simple segments:
1. BUSINESS ORGANIZATION: Legal Structure, Human Resources, Team Empowerment, etc.
2. BUSINESS OPERATION: Administration, Finance, Operations, Logistics, etc.
3. CUSTOMER SERVICE: Promotions, Client Retention & Appreciation, Customer Management, etc.
4. SALES & MARKETING: Lead Generation, Sales Conversion, Merchandizing, Pricing, etc.
STEP TWO: Your job as a business owners is one simple thing:
Your Job as a Business Owner is To Systemize the Four Segments above to Ensure Maximum Business Efficiency and Maximum Business Growth at the Same Time.
However, no business owner knows everything. You are certainly not expected to figure how to maximize the efficiency and growth of your business on your own. No one is good at everything. So you will need the assistance of business professionals to assist you in doing your job.
As I stated above, are three main categories of business professionals: Lawyers, Accountants and Management Consultants.
STEP THREE: Differentiate between the advice of Lawyers, Accountants, and Management Consultants.
If you run a small or medium-size business you have probably been making a huge mistake that could cost you your retirement – you have been consulting with the wrong professionals. Let me explain.
First, you might need help with the different legal aspects of running your business. It seems pretty logical that in all legal matters you should only ask lawyers. Although accountants and consultants also have experience with diverse legal aspects of running a business, only lawyers have the expert knowledge necessary to guide you.
You would be surprised to see the large number of business owners who consult with me about legal issues. They think they can save money by asking me about their financial, human resources or any other legal issues. They think that while they are paying for my services, they might as well ask me about their legal concerns as well.
What they fail to understand is that there is a huge difference between an advice and an opinion. When it comes to law, management consultants and accountants may have opinions, but we are not experts. You might as well ask your neighbor or your parents.
When it comes to the law, the opinion of accountants and consultants is really not worth much more than your neighbor Jerry’s opinion on which car to buy or how to fix your furnace.
Second, you might need help with taxation. If that’s the case, you should consult with either a tax lawyer or an enrolled agent (E.A). Enrolled agents are accountant specializing in taxation. Any other professional can only share their opinion when it comes to tax that matter, because they are not experts.
You might as well ask your neighbor Jerry who seems to know a lot about many things, especially where to buy white tank tops at a discount. LOL!!
Third, you may have accounting questions. A good Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.) is the best person to set you up and ensure that your business follows Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) rules.
However, I am sure that Jerry, your neighbor who still lives in the basement of his mother’s cottage with his wife and two children, must have an opinion on that too. 😉
Fourth, and most importantly, if your goal is to increase your sales, streamline your profits, ensure your business never runs out of cash, or build up the equity value of your business, so you can have the retirement you deserve, you will need to speak with a management consultant.
Think about it, for most business owners, your business is the single, biggest assets you have. When you retire your lifestyle will be affected by whether your business is worth $500,000, $5,000,000 or $50,000,000.
Management consultants are experts at building businesses. That means we are experts at increasing your sales, reducing your expenses and building your business retirement nest egg.
The end value of your business depends mostly on your understanding of business systems and your ability to implement them. Management consultants are the only professionals who can help you with that.
A business/management consultant is the best person to advise you on building business systems to increase your revenues and profits.
In the end, when the bell announces the end of the game and you have to retire, how do you want to enjoy your retirement? Some people have first class retirements, others, like your neighbor Jerry, barely survive during their retirement. The decisions you make today will affect your lifestyle when you retire.
It’s your choice, you can spend your retirement on a $399 cruise-ship-vacation with Jerry, his wife Suzy who misses her two front teeth and their two kids Bubba and Dumbo. Or you can enjoy the benefits of a first class service in a cabin with balcony and dine at the captain’s table, with your friend Edward, a banker and his wife Penelope, a clinical psychologist. Same cruise vacation; different experience! LOL!
If you want the first class retirement lifestyle, I suggest you speak with a good business/management consultant soon.
I wrote this article because I see a lot of confusion amongst business owners out there. And while most business professionals are good at saying “This is not my field of expertise, you should rather consult with a management consultant or a lawyer instead.”, at the same time I see too many business professionals who share their opinions on business topics they have no real expertise in. I know that in doing so they hope to help their clients, but in many cases they harm them more than they help them.
In the end, the onus is on you, the business owner, to make the best decisions and to discern between the different professional corps out there.
I hope you enjoyed this short article. If you did please leave a comment below and SHARE on social media.
I wish you a healthy and wealthy retirement from your business,
Marco Robert
About the Author: Marco Robert is a business management expert and top tier advisor to small and medium size owners from all over the world. He is the creator of the famous BOSS business framework – a decision matrix designed to help business owners make better decisions. Every year Marco flies hundreds of thousands of miles and scours the world to speak at business conferences and work one-on-one with business owners in more than 40 countries. For more information about him or the services his firm offers, you can visit his website: MarcoRobert.com