As principal consultant and a co-founder of the Business Improvement Group, Anthony Carra brings more than 20 years of experience in technical services, process engineering, equipment engineering, applications engineering, sales, and quality engineering. Carra is an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt and holds a degree in electrical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a master’s in applied statistics from Penn State University.

The Business Improvement Group has been busy the past few years! What started off as dabbling in the consulting space has developed into a thriving practice with several team members and contributors. One of our recent activities was to create a blog series to share some of the lessons we have learned over time. Here are some of the highlights, with links to the full articles.

They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. How often do individuals come up with an idea for a product or service to offer, only to be disheartened by the supposed hardships of starting a business? How many dreams have been dropped, only to be picked up by others willing to make a go of it? We often find ourselves encouraging others to at least start off with what they have and slowly build toward their BIG dreams. In “Dream BIG, Start Small,” we share how we walked a group of aspiring entrepreneurs through their limiting beliefs and demonstrated how they could start their businesses that very day with the resources they already had.

Most of us who offer consulting, collaboration, and other professional services do so as a skilled practitioner in a particular field. This is the most common way to get started, leveraging the network you have and meeting an immediate need. However, there are other roles one must consider to ensure a sustainable business for years to come. While the practitioner is focused on completing the tactical work in the business, there are two other roles that transition from tactical to strategically working on the business for future growth and profitability. You will want to exercise all three as you build your practice.

Just as there are three roles the professional service provider must take on to ensure business for tomorrow, there are four primary functions required. Most start off filling these functions themselves, but only on an as-needed basis (and most commonly in response to some sort of crisis). By proactively identifying these four functions and developing strategies, you can avoid crises and systematically build your practice. Unlike the three key roles that are more of a mindset (albeit, there are some skills involved), these functions can either be learned through training, given to employees, or contracted out to others providing these services. You’ll find the most successful consulting practices align the strengths of each team member with the functions they are most proficient with. 

I often tell people there is a big difference between consulting and owning a consulting business (as I have personally found). When you are skilled in what you do, delivering your services by collaborating with your client is probably the most fun and rewarding part of the job. However, what happens when that project is over and you have to find another? Most professional service providers find themselves on a sort of roller coaster, reaping the benefits of project work and then roaming social media channels to announce their availability when that project is over. This approach is similar to holding the proverbial “will consult for food” cardboard placard and often results in periods of downtime and no cash flow. A better way is to treat your practice like a garden—plant seeds, nurture them, and then harvest a plentiful bounty according to your season. 

If you are thinking about starting your own practice or would like to learn more growth strategies, request a copy of The Small Business Owner’s Handbook. Also, follow our company page on LinkedIn for upcoming webinars and articles with tips to help you grow your successful consulting practice.