Hiring a Consultant

[Bilgefisher]

I want to leave this question slightly open ended to fill questions in any industry. Have you hired a consultant. Have you found them to be valuable? Have their costs dissuaded you from obtaining their services? Have they paid for themselves through money and time saved? etc etc.


Here's my concern/fear. I don't know what I don't know. I fear making common mistakes that could turn extremely costly on what will be a shoestring budget.

Our particular situation will involve starting a self storage business. Neither of us have experience in building construction. I know there are consultants that assist the entire build up phase. I see major benefits by guiding us through zoning, permits, storm drainage, road access, security, construction etc etc. Atm the list seems daunting. Now I realize I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. At the same time, I'm not a big fan of spelunking without a flashlight.

 

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[Bilgefisher]

Small self bump. Curious if anyone here has used consultants when starting out?

 

[snowbank]

I know it's a totally different thing, but I used consultants(coaches) when I wanted to turn pro with poker, and it's definitely one of the best decisions I've made. I'll continue to hire people as well. I think if it's anything you're trying to make a good amount of money at, paying someone who knows what you want to know, and can teach you how to get where you want faster, is a good decision. I'd pursue it for sure if I was you.

 

[Peter2]

I hired a team of five consultants several years ago. It was very expensive, but well worth it. My company at the time had gone from $200k/month in sales to $200k/day in less than one year. I had focused so much on hiring and training sales people, that everything else was falling behind.

I had no real systems in place. My manufacturers could not keep up with product demand, and customers had to wait more than 2 months for their products.

After about 4 weeks of help with implementing sytems from consultants with a lot of experience, the company was back on track.

I ended up hiring one of them as the new CFO, but had to let him go a year later when he made a $700,000 mistake in the checking account. :smxE:

About 6 months after the consultants had left, I called up and offered another of them a 3 month positon that could turn in to a full time position if he did well.

That person ended up as the COO for that company. I also hired him for the COO position for a different company a few years later. Out of more than 1000 people that have worked for me, this guy was my very best, most loyal employee ever.

You can say that for me, hiring consultants was one of the best things I have ever done in business.

The most important thing I learned from this was, that in order to build a large company, you have to quickly build a team of experienced people around you.
If you try to figure everything out for yourself, you will make too many mistakes, and it will cost you more than it would cost to bring in people that know what they are doing.

 

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[Bilgefisher]

The most important thing I learned from this was, that in order to build a large company, you have to quickly build a team of experienced people around you.
If you try to figure everything out for yourself, you will make too many mistakes, and it will cost you more than it would cost to bring in people that know what they are doing.

This is my line of thinking right now. I know it will be expensive, but I know I will save/make by hiring them to help minimize my inevitable mistakes. Thanks for the input guys. I very much appreciate it.

 

[slim_jim]

I have wondered if AroundTheWorld would provide consulting services or be willing to partner a storage deal?

Seems like it would be money well spent.

James

 

[Bilgefisher]

I have wondered if AroundTheWorld would provide consulting services or be willing to partner a storage deal?

Seems like it would be money well spent.

James

This is certainly something that has crossed my mind. Where I currently sit with my idea, it wouldn't be fair to Sonya and Doug for me to present anything just yet.

 

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