Competent Professional Help Worthwhile For New Business
The business world is becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated. Consequently, entrepreneurs are finding they need various kinds of outside, professional help early in their ventures. Hiring the best man - or woman - for the job isn’t easy.
Q: I’m getting ready to launch a business venture that I have been planning for over a year. It’s pretty clear that I’m going to need a lawyer and an accountant, and maybe even a marketing consultant. How do I go about finding the right people for these assignments? The Yellow Pages are full of names.
A: You’ve already taken one of the most important steps. Recognizing the need for professional assistance at the start of your undertaking will ensure that the right kinds of advice and inputs are working for you before you go too far in the wrong directions. Once your business gets rolling, you won’t want to spend valuable time undoing your birthing mistakes.
However, picking the right advisors isn’t a “slam dunk.”
Get ready to spend some time listing the types of assistance you need, and then rigorously interviewing the various professionals who will come forth to help. Don’t hesitate to grill each of the candidates as to their competencies, experience, and style of operating.
Ask to see their sheepskins to guarantee that they have the requisite professional credentials. Get a list of their past clients and contact them for references. Make sure they have the specific kinds of experience that are relevant to your business and needs.
Remember, “experience is the best teacher.” And specialized experience is best of all. You don’t want to wind up with a “jack of all trades; master of none.”
For example, a good real estate attorney isn’t necessarily an expert at contract law. Some are, but make sure you check out any claims to triple-decker talent.
Also, make sure that you and the professionals you hire are compatible. You’ll have a personal as well as a professional relationship, and these links will probably have to endure some tough, stressful times.
Here are some tips on retaining a good advisor:
Get one who is willing to work to get to know you and your business.
Find one who is willing to accept a finite assignment in the beginning. You can always make the arrangement more permanent when you are satisfied with his approach.
Make sure he will be available when you need him.
Be neither his biggest or most complex client, nor his smallest.
Be sure he will be able to deal well with your other advisers.
Make sure you trust your adviser; he must be willing to tell you the unvarnished truth under any circumstance.
Consider only people to whom you are not related.
Once you’ve got a compatible, compassionate helper on board, use him. My ol’ uncle Ollie used to warn: “good advice costs the most when you don’t take it.”
Q: I just read an article decrying the passing of the “mass market.” What does that mean for someone, like me, who serves the consumer market?
A: Tough times ahead. Even the heavy-hitters like the soap, auto, and food companies are going to have to pinpoint their target markets more narrowly and precisely.
Years ago, when a company wanted to hawk its new line of refrigerators it simply bought time on one or more of the TV networks or space in one of the general appeal magazines and - presto - they were able to quickly tap enough customers to justify the enormous costs of product development and introduction.
Today, the growth of discrete racial and ethnic groups, the “graying” of America and the dramatic difference in generational attitudes and tastes, the growth in immigration, the expanding presence of women in the workplace, and the proliferation of media have resulted in the emergence of a host of smaller, specific markets.
Each of these unique consuming units will require a tailored appeal, differentiated product or service characteristics, and specialized post-purchase attention. Your challenge will be to define the market “niches” that you can serve effectively and profitably and to carefully focus your primary efforts on them. Gone are the days of being all things to all people.
The good news is that this type of approach tends to level the playing field for small firms that, heretofore, were at a distinct disadvantage in battling the big boys for the mass market.
Now, it’s incumbent on the huge companies to act “small” in order to reach these critical market segments. In his book Future Shock, Alvin Toffler referred to this phenomena as “demassification.” It would be worth your while to dig out his tome for a re-read.
xxxx Paul Willax is the Sandifur Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at Eastern Washington University.