Are there any Business Consultants out there?

[bbar97]

Hey guys, so as I've said in one of my previous posts, I know that I want to start my own business, but I also know thats hard to do without start up capital. (Yes I know its not impossible without capital but I've heard the lack of start up capital is one of the biggest reasons for start up failure) So, I guess that means I need a job when I graduate. I've been thinking of what jobs would best prepare me for owning a business and ones that I would also enjoy, and I'm considering business consulting. Has anyone here had or still have a job in business consulting? If so what advice would you give me and could you provide me an example of day to day tasks for that kind of job? Also I know business consulting is generally done by people with experience but I was hoping for a job maybe as a trainee or assistant until i can build up some experience. I am currently working for the SBDC which does a lot of consulting so I'm already getting a good amount of experience while in college.

Thanks guys!

 

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[Deleted50669]

Current a management consultant. Specifically in strategy and change management (the 10th and 11th circles of hell, respectively). Feel free to direct specific questions my way, will answer later.


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[maverick]

Was a consultant for many years. You will spend your time doing the following:
- Building powerpoint presentations for other people without actually being able to constructively add value yourself
- Build massive excel models; crunch data
- Build more slides
- Weekly commute looks something like this: airport => office => hotel => office => hotel => office => hotel => airport => home
- Build slides in the airport, office and hotel
- Be sold on "international travel" but really be sent to the industrial parts of all cities i.e. "travel to london!" => end up in Luton

Have an end goal in mind and work backwards.

 

[Deleted50669]

Was a consultant for many years. You will spend your time doing the following:
- Building powerpoint presentations for other people without actually being able to constructively add value yourself
- Build massive excel models; crunch data
- Build more slides
- Weekly commute looks something like this: airport => office => hotel => office => hotel => office => hotel => airport => home
- Build slides in the airport, office and hotel
- Be sold on "international travel" but really be sent to the industrial parts of all cities i.e. "travel to london!" => end up in Luton

Have an end goal in mind and work backwards.

[emoji33]


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[Rockford]

I've been a business consultant for many years, mostly around change management, marketing technology and process improvement. One of the first things you'll want to think about is what kind of problems you can solve and what types of clients you want to work with. "Consulting" is a broad term that covers countless specialties and industries.

As @maverick said, there can be a LOT of travel required and you'll be dreaming about spreadsheets and PowerPoint decks.

Having said that, I've been fortunate to work on long-term assignments and I rarely travel these days -- most of my work is remote.

Again, consulting can vary widely. It's best to define what you're looking for before you get elbow-deep into something that you dread. After all, consulting is often just trading time for money.

EDIT:

PS - Happy to answer any specific questions.

 

[bbar97]

Thanks for the replies, I think I have a semi-specific question for all of you who responded. Do you think your job would be a good incubator for someone who wants to start a business (specifically product commercialization/ inventing a new service or product) why or why not, and if not do you have any ideas for a job that would be better?

I'm a very analytical thinker, I do well working by myself or in groups, I don't mind traveling, and I just love inventing/improving things and looking at problems from a broad strategic perspective. I like a lot of areas of business like marketing, finance, accounting, economics, management, etc, but I don't like any one of them individually enough to want to focus specifically on one. Thats part of why I want to start a business, I like having the broad perspective and looking at problems from all angles.

Thanks!

 

[Rockford]

In my experience, consulting can give you a basic toolbox for problem-solving and it definitely exposes you to a lot of different personalities and environments.

You'll learn how to ask questions that elicit meaningful answers.
You'll learn how to frame customer challenges in a way that allows you to find suitable answers.

This is the good.

The bad? Consulting can also be very rigid and you can end up solving the same problems over and over again for different clients. Also, most junior / entry level consultants end up doing grunt work and often are not client-facing.

IMO, I think you'd be better off reading through this forum (especially around your areas of interest) and bootstrapping a small business for yourself.

Find a problem to solve (people to help) and act on it.
Start building a network now.
Move quickly and act on the feedback you receive from your customers/market.
Iterate and act again.

As I said above, consulting has many benefits but it's generally a slowlane vehicle. You'll trade lots of your time for money. Consulting is a J-O-B unless you own the firm and hire others to do the consulting. Even then, most firms are not CENTS-compliant and the owners end up working long hours.

This is not to say that consulting is a bad career; it just seems like it's not a vehicle that meets your stated goals and interests.

 

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[silvergirl]

Hi there, I just saw this thread. I was in management consulting for over 10 years with one of the large global firms, left last year to start my own consulting firm.

First of all, I think there are many different types of consulting careers, depending on the firm you join, which area of work, and also luck when you start.

I don’t think consulting is for everyone, but it can be a really great start to you career, as an opportunity to learn. I was lucky and had a career in consulting that allowed me to work across several countries and continents, work with some great people and learn a lot. Whilst the rewards were also great, I stayed so long because I felt I learnt something new every day.
Consulting can also be incredibly demanding, and requires long hours, travel, working away from home etc - so it’s not for everyone.

I think at entry level it can be a good jump start to an entrepreneurial career to give an opportunity to learn about a certain industry, learn about its problems, opportunity to learn how to deal with business clients, develop some business acumen, find out what you are good at and to build a network.

Make sure you find the right mentors and sponsors - number 1 advice for anyone getting into consulting.

Just don’t end up getting too busy and get sucked into the ongoing carrots presented along the way that you forget what you wanted to do in the first place (like I did!).

 

[Rockford]

Just don’t end up getting too busy and get sucked into the ongoing carrots presented along the way that you forget what you wanted to do in the first place (like I did!).

Agree with this 100%!

 

[bbar97]

Thanks guys for the advice! I'll do my best to implement it into my future decisions.

 

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