Business plan of the consulting company Full Elite Consulting. Encyclopedia of Marketing Business plan for a consulting firm from scratch

Western small business consulting company business plan

This business plan is about starting a consulting company that offers a wide range of services, primarily for small businesses.

The main specialization of the new agency is advising on business planning. This plan provides the main directions of the agency's work, an analysis of the situation in the consulting services market, an overview of competitors, business strategies and implementation, as well as the necessary financial information.

The company plans to provide comprehensive advice to business communities. Particular preference is given to small companies with a staff of 25 to 175 people. The list of services provided includes seminars and workshops on the preparation of business plans (from development to writing), financial analysis and balance sheet restructuring, evaluation of purchase or sale contracts, analysis of working capital, analysis of computer software and equipment, as well as their installation, updating and training of personnel to work with them.

In addition, the company develops video courses on writing business plans and updating software. As marketing tools, it is planned to use direct mail, advertisements in specialized magazines, as well as distribution of the company's products at seminars held by the company.

The consulting agency has one founder and a small staff of qualified consultants. A $65,000 loan is expected to be used as start-up capital, in addition to $17,000 in tangible assets and through grants received.

It is expected that the revenue for the first year of operation will be more than $288 thousand, and net income after payment of all taxes - $6,143.

By the end of the second year of work, according to the business plan, revenue could reach $970,000, and net profit - about $110,000.

The third year is estimated to bring about $1.9 million (net profit - $260 thousand).

High profit in the third year of operation is due to the company reaching a certain level of development, winning and retaining new and old customers, high demand for seminars and master classes and sales of audio, video courses and books.

Profitability calculator for this business

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Today, every second person who has their own financial resources wants to open some kind of business. But often these people are not savvy in many of the issues necessary for organizing a business. Therefore, more and more often you have to turn to consulting organizations. Are you interested in such a business? Then this article is for you!

Consulting organizations provide services in the field of legal, accounting, economic, technical and other assistance. That is, this business consists in advising manufacturers and buyers, legal entities and individuals. These companies can be both widely specialized and provide assistance services in some specific issues.

The popularity of the services of such companies is growing every day more and more. If earlier organizations that were on the verge of bankruptcy applied for help, now, on the contrary, “newly minted” firms apply. This is dictated by the instability of the economy, constant crises and changes in legislation.

The specificity of this business is that it is purely intellectual. This means that your success directly depends on your employees. Currently, there are practically no good specialists who have a broad outlook and knowledge in various fields. Your main task will be to find such valuable personnel. The advantage of a business lies in the fact that its organization requires small financial investments. According to statistics, the profitability of a business reaches up to 150%. It pays for itself in about six months. Legislative registration does not differ from any other form of ownership.

For successful and effective business development, you must first draw up a well-planned business plan. You can see such examples below.

perspective directions of business development - contains the business plan of the consulting company "Acme Consulting". The mission and goals of the company are presented. The key success factors of business in the field of consulting services are described. The table provides a summary of initial (start-up) costs. A plan for the initial formation of the statutory fund has been developed. The market of potential competitors is analyzed, their strengths and weaknesses are highlighted. The list of services provided by the organization is considered and the volume of sales is analyzed. Organizational and financial plans have been developed. The results of the market analysis are summarized.

Marketing policy - the business plan of the consulting firm "Modeler" is presented. Contains a list of services provided by the organization. Calculations of the main economic indicators have been made. Among them are sales volumes, revenue, production and sales costs. In addition, an assessment of the sales market was made, its segmentation according to various criteria (income level, commitment, age). The table contains an assessment of competitors and their comparative characteristics. Much attention is paid to marketing policy, its goals and objectives are highlighted.

Calculation of the main technical and economic indicators - contains a business plan, which describes in detail all the organizational stages of the business. The chart provides a summary of initial (start-up) costs. A complete and detailed market analysis has been carried out. All participants are selected: competitors and consumers. The main economic indicators of the project efficiency are calculated. A graph has been constructed that shows the break-even point of the business. In addition, a financial report has been developed, which presents indicators of income and expenses, the planned movement of liquidity. All costs are shown.

Justification of the feasibility of creating enterprises - a business plan is presented, which contains a theoretical description of the activities of a consulting company. Possible difficulties and nuances of business, which need to be paid special attention, are presented. Contains the development of the organization of the activity of the enterprise "Style". Possible competitors in the market are identified. Tips are given to eliminate the complexity of management. From this business plan, you will learn how to make your organization a leader, promising areas for further development and how to find an individual approach to each client.

Promising directions of development — a business plan was developed for the High-Tech Consulting organization, which is engaged in the marketing of high-tech products. A brief description of the market was made, possible keys to success were found. A marketing research of the market is presented with the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Particular attention is paid to the issue of pricing, in the tables the cost is calculated. Developed a sales strategy and a calendar plan for the organization. The organizational structure is presented, which contains the staff list of employees.

Tagged

Nechaev Kim Vyacheslavovich brand manager of a major Western publishing house, kim@nechaev.ru

Marketing management in a consulting company

  • enterprise characteristic
  • situational analysis
  • organization of marketing activities of the enterprise
  • the current system of planning and financing the marketing activities of the enterprise
  • project of reorganization of the marketing management system at the enterprise

Part one: Characteristics of the enterprise

Description of the enterprise

Let's consider a company engaged in the establishment of Russian-German relations between client companies and consultations within the framework of these relations. We will conditionally call it “East-West Connection”. The organization has a head office in Hamburg and representative offices in Moscow and Celle, and each of these structures has a business center. The main service of the company is the opening of representative offices of Russian companies in Germany [registration of a legal address, recruitment and training of personnel, legal advice on German tax legislation] and assistance to German companies in their introduction to the Russian market.

As part of the core business, companies allocate an additional service structure called the “East-West Connection Business-Center”. The main task of the business center is to provide services related to holding presentations and meetings on the projects of the parent company [rent of conference rooms, meeting rooms, booking air tickets and hotel rooms, using the services of the secretariat, etc.]. Since at present the company's consulting projects do not ensure 100% utilization of the business center's capacities, the company carries out a number of independent events to promote the business center's services on the market.

Additional services for East-West Connection customers are provided by partners [multiplier companies]. The diagram below describes the flow of information between the functional elements of a company's business.

SCHEME 1. The structure of information flows and communication of the company.

Diagram 1 shows two types of customers, the first of which is attracted and cooperates with the organization on its own, and the second interacts through an intermediary [multiplier company]. Part of the functions within the framework of any project "East-West Connection" may shift to other organizations [multipliers], for example, this concerns the production of advertising materials or a website, as well as transportation and hotel services.

Composition of the business portfolio

Consulting services:

  • search for partners and representatives in the foreign market
  • marketing research of European markets as part of expanding the geography of the client's business
  • advice on doing business in Germany and Russia
  • selection and training of personnel for the implementation of the company's activities in the foreign market
  • organization [registration, business planning and support of activities] of firms and representative offices of companies in Germany, Austria and other countries of Western Europe
  • organization and support of information and business trips
  • planning, organizing and conducting presentations of projects or a product line of a client company in Germany and Russia [as a rule, clients are manufacturing companies interested in developing their business in a foreign market]
  • attracting investments and launching venture projects in the field of high technologies

Services of business centers in Hamburg and Moscow to support the activities of companies:

  • adaptation of advertising and information materials of the company for doing business in the international market
  • adaptation of the company's existing Internet solution for a foreign audience
  • design and development of a corporate Internet solution in English, German and Russian
  • direct marketing services
  • provision of reference information from data banks on state and commercial structures in Germany and Russia
  • professional interpretation and translation [German, English and Russian]
  • virtual office and secretarial services
  • provision of premises and equipment for negotiations, presentations of client projects and other events
  • visa support in Germany and Russia
  • transport service and courier services

Positive and negative aspects of the structure and composition of the company's business portfolio:

The ability to vary prices for services depending on the solvency of a potential client; a wide range of services that allows the consumer to receive a “full package of services from one source”; a positive image of the company as an organization with great opportunities; minimum maintenance of permanent staff and ease of coordination between projects in the current scheme of work

Lack of a formed image of the client and, consequently, a clear positioning of the company's services in the market; high risks [quality of service] and the complexity of project management associated with the transfer of part of the work to external execution

The main indicators of the company's economic activity:

  • the growth rate of the company's business profitability [according to the company's business plan, an annual growth in the profitability of the enterprise should be observed]
  • project throughput of the company [number of projects completed by the company per year, taking into account the cost of each project] - this indicator should not decrease
  • an indicator that characterizes the company's costs - the growth rate of the costs of maintaining a business should not exceed the growth rate of business profitability

With such performance indicators of the company, the so-called “client bias” often arises, when it is “more profitable” for a consultant to work with a certain type of client and at the same time avoid communicating with other clients. A practically fixed budget for the costly part of marketing does not allow you to actively develop your business, since marketing expenses are “cut” in the first place in the event of unforeseen circumstances. This strategy does not allow the company to develop intensively, grow along with the market, the increase in the level of sales of services occurs due to sales of a chaotic personal nature, which is not effective. Despite this, the company occupies a certain niche in the consulting services market, which allows it not only to survive, but also to bring profit to business owners.

The company's services are designed mainly to work with small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, the company is trying to work with large oil and metallurgical companies.

The market as a whole can be assessed with the top number of companies in Russia and Germany [regardless of the industry] interested in developing their business in the international market. The size of the market on which East-West Connection operates, in monetary terms, the author of this article does not undertake to estimate due to the lack of unambiguous data at the moment. The order of magnitude of the total cost of these services is hundreds of millions of euros per year. It should be noted that at the moment there is an active growth of the market, due to the fact that the strengthened Russian enterprises are actively entering the markets of Europe. The share of the market occupied by the company is growing more slowly than the market itself, which may lead to its loss in the future.

There are about two hundred competing companies in Russia. Most often, these are consulting centers at various chambers of commerce and industry, manufacturers' unions and entrepreneurship support funds.

To identify a long-term trend in the development of the company, we apply the method of assessing the survival of the business. The method is subjective [method of expert assessments], so the probability of the correctness of the judgment will depend on how correctly the individual evaluates certain characteristics of the company's business.

Benefits of Marketing Planning [M]

Sum of points

Marketing planning at the enterprise provides a high level of coordination of various types of marketing activities

The marketing planning process enables enterprise managers to anticipate unexpected behavior in the business environment.

The presence of marketing planning increases the readiness of the enterprise for changes and reduces possible losses

When an enterprise encounters surprises in the external environment, the marketing planning process minimizes the risk of wrong actions.

Having a marketing plan reduces conflicts between managers about “where the business should go”

The marketing plan improves internal communications, evaluation of the company's performance in the market and the degree of achievement of goals

The marketing planning process forces management to systematically think about the prospects of the enterprise.

The presence of a marketing plan makes it possible to correlate the resources of the enterprise with the opportunities in the market in the most effective way.

The marketing plan provides a clear understanding of the opportunities for further development

Marketing planning allows you to determine the most profitable development strategies

In the table, each characteristic is evaluated from 0 to 10 points, with 0 corresponding to a negative assessment, and 10 - the highest possible rating of the indicator. Similarly, fill in the table characterizing the effectiveness of the company in the field of sales.

Sales Advantage [S]

Sum of points

When a company recruits sales representatives, we try to choose the best in the labor market

Training of sales staff is a necessary condition for their work

Our sales representatives consistently exceed their targets

Compared to our competitors, our sales representatives have a better image

We always have a sufficient number of sales representatives for the required sales volume

Our sales staff is very clear about their role in the enterprise

Our sales staff is well motivated

Territorial planning is the strength of our sales efforts

The sales force has a good score for estimating the number of contacts per order

Our sales staff has no staff turnover problem

Summing up the data of the tables, we can conclude that the company is in the area of ​​"uncertainty", which most of all belongs to the "business survival" sector. The boundaries of the “survival” area are different for different industries.

Part Two: Situational Analysis

Let's analyze the main factors that characterize the potential of the enterprise using the SWOT method. Based on the table below, we will form the directions in which it is necessary to move in order to overcome the negative aspects of the company's activities. Below are the main factors affecting the company's business as a whole, although a detailed analysis requires the compilation of SWOT tables for individual areas of activity.

Strength [benefits]

  • a wide range of connections of the company's management in business and political circles
  • distributed business geography
  • opportunities to raise capital for projects
  • mobility and flexibility of the structure

Weaknesses

  • lack of clear positioning of services
  • decentralized decision making
  • lack of a unified information system

Opportunities

  • expanding the package of services and capturing additional niches in the market
  • strengthening the position of the company's brand through recommendations from customers
  • expanding partner network
  • growth of the company together with the market of consulting services

Threats

  • consolidation of competitors' business [pattern work and economies of scale]
  • standardization of the process of entering the European market in connection with the introduction of uniform procedures for registering enterprises, visas, etc. within the European Union
  • dependence of the company's business on the economic situation in the foreign market and on political factors
  • unpredictability of the behavior of the external business environment [a large number of competitors and the unpredictability of their behavior in the market]

The table shows that there is some dualism regarding the organizational structure of the company. On the one hand, flexibility and adaptability is a strength of the company, but on the other hand, it is a weakness in terms of decision making. To strengthen the company in the market, the following measures are necessary: ​​to clearly position its services to the consumer, having only the necessary margin of flexibility to manipulate the composition of the business portfolio, to optimize the flow of information within the company through a single information system based on intranet and internet, to resist the enlargement of competitors' businesses through an individual approach to to the client and the mobility of the company's structure, continuous improvement of the quality of the services offered and the search for additional competitive advantages in the market.

Using the PEST analysis methodology, we will identify the factors that affect the company's activities from the macro environment. It is worth noting again that the company is considered here as a whole without dividing the business into components [consulting and business center services].

Policy [political factors]

  • protective measures of the government [protectionism] in relation to representatives of foreign business
  • strong state influence on the activities of commercial structures on the territory of the Russian Federation
  • Economy [economic forces]

  • economic stability in the country is a factor on which the process of business development in the international market depends
  • activities of transnational companies and globalization
  • social factors [social factors]

  • historical hostility between the peoples of some countries is a barrier to the development of international economic relations
  • Technology [technological factors]

  • finding competitive advantages in the market through the development of the company's technological base
  • inconsistency of standards and different certification processes for products of companies in different countries
  • "East-West Connection" operates on the international market and, therefore, there is a strong dependence on external, macroeconomic factors. During the period of economic instability in Russia, there was a decline in demand for the company's services to almost zero, both from the Russian and German sides. In this regard, the risk of losing the entire business of the company in times of instability must be minimized by having an additional backup package of business center services and a consulting unit that is not directly related to operations in the international market.

    It is also worth noting that the global environmental current generates additional demand for the company's services from client companies interested in “cleaning up” their production and bringing it to international environmental standards to enter the European market. For example, East-West Connection is working with a major Russian oil company on a project to set up a network of gas stations in Germany.

    Factors such as the economic unification of Europe, business consolidation and global technological growth must be taken for granted by the company, and the company needs only to adapt to the rapidly changing business environment.

    Matrix of ETOM-analysis of the macro environment of the company:

    Factor weight

    Factor Importance

    Impact on company strategy

    economic

    economic stability in the country

    common currency in the countries of the European Economic Union

    activities of transnational companies and globalization

    social and cultural

    features of mentality in different countries

    historical enmity between the peoples of some countries

    political

    integration of Russian business into Europe

    government protective measures

    strong state influence on the activities of commercial structures in the territory of the Russian Federation

    technological

    finding competitive advantages in the market through the development of the technological base

    worldwide struggle for environmental cleanliness of production

    inconsistency of standards and different certification processes for products of companies in different countries

    competitive

    consolidation of competitors' business

    fierce competition in a growing market

    The sum of the positive component of the assessment:

    The amount of the negative component of the assessment:

    Summarizing the data in the table, we can conclude that negative factors predominate in the macro environment of the company's business. At the same time, the company can only adapt to external conditions, but not influence them in any way.

    Consider the factors of the company's microenvironment using the Porter model. Here we will describe the impact of the business environment on the entire service portfolio of the company without dividing it into components.

    Analysis of the competitive environment

    Regarding competition in the Russian market, it is worth saying that there are still many free profitable niches that are very difficult to “process”. For example, registration and sale and purchase of ready-made companies [legal address + bank account] in small towns in Germany. As practice shows, there are quite a lot of orders of this nature. It is also interesting to note the “Information trip” service, which, as a rule, is of interest to representatives of business or science for the initial acquaintance with the country where it is planned to conduct foreign economic or scientific activities in the future. Travel agencies offering such a service are not able to provide the flow of necessary business meetings for a client without an appropriate base. This is where the East-West Connection enters the fight for the market.

    Part three: Organization of the marketing activities of the enterprise

    The current organizational structure of enterprise marketing

    Firstly, it is worth noting that each employee of the marketing service directly reports to the director of the representative office, which helps to quickly make and approve decisions aimed at promoting the company's services on the market.

    Secondly, from the negative points there is the absence of a separate position of marketing director. This leads to conflicts within the marketing group and the lack of centrally coordinated work due to the periodic unavailability of the director.

    Another problem in the structure of the company is the combination of the duties of a consultant, sales manager and marketing manager in one person, while the sale of services is not divided into packages. Often this “universality” of the staff leads to duplication of functions and “split personality” of the marketing [consulting] staff. Despite this, each employee of the marketing department is responsible for a specific direction or project. In the supervised direction, the consulting manager reports directly to the director.

    DIAGRAM 2. Organizational structure of the company

    The main problems of the organizational structure of the marketing department:

    • lack of a coordinator and controller of the activities of the marketing group within the department
    • lack of specialization of sales managers, consultants and marketers
    • lack of specialization in the components of the business portfolio
    • lack of specialization in the components of the marketing mix

    Marketing Service Goals:

    • ensuring stable sales volume
    • meeting the needs of the consulting services market
    • analysis of consumer requirements to maintain the competitiveness of the company's services
    • formation of needs for company services

    Organization of marketing-mix management elements

    • Product policy management

    At the moment, the range of the company's services is replenished only by collecting and processing customer requirements, that is, in the marketing department, the mechanism for implementing the function of constantly developing new services works very poorly. A new service in the company's business portfolio arises only under the pressure of an active client and, as a rule, is attached to a package of additional services. The focus is not on the needs of the market, but on what the company can offer the client, in other words, there is an “imposition” of services.

    The life cycle of the company's services has a long period, and as far as the author knows, there has not been a repositioning of the business portfolio components in the entire history of the organization's existence. In the development strategy, the company adheres only to the direction of promoting its brand [brand strategy].

    • Pricing policy management

    When setting prices for services, the company adheres to the influence on the price of the cost of the services offered and the cost of similar services from competitors. Orientation to demand, strategies "profit on price" and "profit on turnover" are not expressed in any way.

    • Distribution system management

    The process of production of a service is directly related to the so-called moment of truth [the service can only be provided directly by the manufacturer, although intermediaries can participate in the sale of the company's services]. Therefore, the distribution channel [for the basic package of services] can be characterized in most cases as a direct channel, that is, without the participation of any intermediaries. Sometimes there are situations when multiplier companies participate in the distribution [Scheme 1].

    • Promotion system management

    To promote its services on the market, the company actively uses the tools of personal sales and public relations. Of the advertising tools, it is worth noting the use of Internet advertising. A number of events are being held to attract customers through various associations of manufacturers and chambers of commerce and industry of Russia and Germany.

    Let's highlight the main problems of managing the company's marketing activities.

    First, as noted above, the process of developing new services is not permanent - there is no explicit focus on the needs of the client. Secondly, due to the low priority of financing marketing expenses, there is a strong narrowing of opportunities for promoting the company's services, which negatively affects the growth of the company's profitability. The lack of a clear positioning of services for various consumer groups also introduces negative aspects into the organization's marketing management system.

    Part Four: Planning and Funding Marketing Activities

    At present, the planning of the company's financial indicators is carried out on the basis of previous experience and expected profits for the current year. There is no rigid focus on market demand. Marketing is financed from the profits received and is a percentage of the profits. At the same time, the percentage may vary from season to season, depending on the flow of customers. Such a system makes sense when an enterprise has one or several owners who, in principle, are satisfied with a lot of the company's work.

    Part Five: Marketing Management System Reorganization Project

    In the light of the problems identified above in the system of organization and management of the company's marketing activities, it is proposed to take a number of measures to improve the efficiency of the organization's activities in the market.

    Measures of the project of reorganization of the company's marketing management system:

    • Separation of the consulting and marketing department into separate structures with the introduction of the positions of director of marketing and sales, director of the consulting department, as well as a consultant, sales manager [contract manager], marketing manager, advertising manager, marketing analyst and PR manager
    • Creation of the position of Director of Marketing and Sales, subordinate to the director of the representative office, as a person who coordinates, plans and controls the activities of the marketing and sales departments
    • Separation of responsibilities between marketers and sales managers [contract managers]
    • Specialization within the marketing and sales department for the components of the service package and marketing mix
    • Creation of a unified information system within the company, in particular for coordinating work between consulting and marketing departments

    DIAGRAM 3. The structure of the company after the reorganization

    When carrying out reorganization measures, the following problems of the enterprise are solved:

    • there is a coordinator and controller of the activities of the marketing and sales department, which increases the efficiency of labor within the group in achieving specific company goals
    • specialization in the areas of “marketing and sales” and “consulting” eliminates conflicts of interest among company employees and reduces stress levels
    • specialization in the components of the business portfolio and the marketing mix will also increase labor efficiency by eliminating duplication of functions, reduce the difficulty of finding new employees to fill any position, and will also allow you to work in several areas of the company

    Since the company is private, the main directions for planning the marketing mix are dictated directly by the owner in accordance with the business plan of the company and the experience of past years of activity in the market. It is not possible to offer anything new in this area, since the company takes into account only the interests of the owners. The only thing that the author could suggest in the light of the identified problems is the division of marketing complex planning into two areas - consulting and business center services. Regarding financing, I would like to note that it is worth having a certain pre-projected budget and a reserve of funds for carrying out specific programs and activities, secured by the results of the previous year, and not the current one. At the same time, within the marketing budget there should be flexible boundaries between marketing areas [research, development of the business portfolio, brand promotion, etc.], regulated by the director of the unit, depending on the priority of the direction at a given time.

    Consulting occupies a leading position in the market of providing services for business.

    For entrepreneurs who are interested in how to open a consulting firm from scratch, and how profitable this field of activity is, a detailed business plan is drawn up with a profitability calculation.

    What is consulting?

    Consulting is the provision of consulting services to firms, enterprises, individuals on business development. The consulting agency employs specialists in analysis, finance, marketing, management, personnel, and IT technologies.

    The organization can hire a permanent consultant on issues of interest. Then it will be internal consulting.

    External consulting is the conclusion of a service contract with a consulting firm. Most requested consulting services:

    1. Business process analysis and performance evaluation.
    2. Suggestions for improvement.
    3. Training and selection of personnel.
    4. Activity audit.
    5. Credit advice.
    6. Development of tactics and strategy.
    7. Assessment of activity risks.
    8. Registration, certification, licensing.

    Advice on organizing and conducting business activities is required for representatives of both small and large businesses. Therefore, the consumer audience of consulting agencies is huge:

    • trade enterprises;
    • light industry;
    • heavy industry;
    • building sector;
    • financial sector;
    • energy;
    • mining and processing enterprises;
    • the field of telecommunications.

    There are main types of consulting:

    1. Financial.
    2. Managerial.
    3. For tax matters.
    4. In the field of design work and medicine.

    The work of the agency is usually organized according to the principle of sending specialists to the enterprise with which the contract is concluded. Consultants collect information, delve into the business processes of a particular organization, then to draw conclusions and provide recommendations to increase productivity and profitability.

    Business plan

    Before you open a consulting firm, you need to draw up detailed instructions for launching a project, calculate the amount of initial investment, plan expenses and income.

    • business registration;
    • office location;
    • equipment;
    • staff;
    • advertising;
    • financial calculations.

    One of the areas of consulting activity is assistance in starting a business for novice entrepreneurs, which includes the development of a business plan and assistance in its implementation.

    Download for free as a sample.

    Registration

    Experts recommend opening a consulting company in the form of an LLC. A legal entity inspires more confidence in clients than an individual entrepreneur, and reputation is the basis for successful business in the consulting business. Another argument in favor of an LLC is that the legislation for individual entrepreneurs provides for restrictions on the number of employees, taxation and types of activities.

    It is more difficult to register an organization than an individual, you need to collect a package of documents:

    1. Charter.
    2. Memorandum of association.
    3. Establishment decision or protocol.
    4. Confirmation of payment of the state registration fee.
    5. Certificate of legal address.
    6. Statement.

    The statutory documents contain the name of the company, its choice must be approached with all responsibility - this is not as easy as it seems. Firstly, given the huge number of already operating enterprises, it is difficult to choose a unique name. Secondly, the name should correspond to the direction of the agency, be not too long and easy to remember.

    Legal entities operate by bank transfer, so you need to open a current account in a reputable bank with more than a five-year history of existence, which will also positively affect the reputation.

    Starting a consulting business does not require special permissions and licenses. You need to register with the tax office and choose the optimal taxation system.

    room

    You can open a consulting firm without an office space. In conditions of shortage of funds, the best solution would be to organize work over the phone and on the territory of the customer.

    If you immediately put the business on a high level, then a spacious office in the business district of the city will give additional weight to the company in the eyes of wealthy clients. When concluding an agreement with the landlord, it is necessary to stipulate the possibility of redevelopment of the premises. Each employee will need to allocate a separate office, as well as organize a large meeting room and receive visitors.

    A reputable company will always offer drinks and snacks to its customers, so it is necessary to provide an area for storing kitchen utensils and making tea.

    The premises in the office center are most likely already prepared for work and equipped with electricity, heat supply, water supply and sewerage. It is enough to make cosmetic repairs in a strict business style, bring in furniture and appliances.

    Equipment

    The main criteria for choosing office furniture are practicality and comfort. Since the work in a consulting agency is mostly sedentary, it is better to take care of clients and employees, purchase comfortable chairs and armchairs.

    The list of necessary furniture, equipment and materials includes:

    • computer tables;
    • large table in the common room;
    • cabinets and racks for documentation;
    • computers;
    • office equipment;
    • means of communication;
    • blinds;
    • lighting;
    • Electric kettle;
    • microwave;
    • stationery.

    In consulting, the client and the customer often correspond by e-mail, so it is necessary to ensure constant access to the Internet.

    Employees

    Consulting as a form of business is completely based on the professionalism of employees. The company's income and the success of the entire project depend on the qualifications, experience, knowledge, and communication skills of the staff.

    You can open a small agency with 2-3 generalists. This will cost less than hiring an employee for each consulting area.

    To provide consulting services on a wide variety of business issues, a consulting firm must have experts in:

    1. Financing.
    2. Lending.
    3. Accounting, tax, production and management accounting.
    4. Property appraisal.
    5. Business analysis.
    6. Enterprise management.
    7. Legal issues.
    8. Selection and training of personnel.
    9. Marketing.

    To confirm the qualification, the applicant must have diplomas, certificates, recommendations, evidence of work experience in the consulting field.

    At the initial stage, the founders of a consulting firm can invest in specialists with high salaries or hire employees through a recruitment agency, where the rates will be at the average level for the industry.

    It is almost impossible to open a consulting company and attract clients without advertising. In order for potential customers to decide to contact the agency, you need to place information about the services provided on the Internet, business magazines, catalogs, on the streets.

    The internet is the best place to find clients. You need to create a website, fill it with quality content, pay for promotion to the first lines of search engines. You can use social networks and banner ads.

    At first, the cost of promoting a business is up to 50-70 thousand rubles a month, which pays off in the first half of the year.

    Video: how to open a consulting company?

    Economic calculations

    To draw conclusions about the profitability of the consulting business, a calculation of initial costs, planned income and expenses is made. For example, a mid-market company with an office in a business center is taken.

    Starting investments:

    expenditures Amount, rub.
    1 Authorized capital (minimum according to the legislation) 10 000
    2 Registration fees 5 000
    3 Room rental for 2 months 40 000
    4 Remodeling and renovation 100 000
    5 Equipment and materials 115 000
    6 Salary for 2 months 120 000
    7 Advertising 60 000
    8 Other costs 50 000
    Total 500 000

    Monthly expenses:

    With the development of the company and an increase in the volume of orders, expenses will increase due to the costs of staff development, bonus payments and other motivational activities.

    The agency's income in the first months of its existence depends on the advertising campaign and employees who have their own experience and client base. New customers are easy to find among start-up entrepreneurs. Pricing policy is developed on the basis of the average cost of services in a given market sector. Clients are offered several types of payment:

    • hourly;
    • fixed;
    • each service is priced separately.

    Permanent cooperation will become more attractive to customers if discounts are provided depending on the volume and time of work.

    The average profitability of the consulting business is 25%, the payback period is 1 year. For this, the agency must receive 220,000 rubles per month. income.

    Consulting is a low cost business based on the intelligence and professionalism of consultants. The more clients apply to the agency, the higher the income and profitability of the enterprise.