Beat The Recession – Invest In Consulting

The economic recession may be the best time to invest in consulting, if you do it the right way. Most people are not looking to spend additional money now, but if you hire a consultant who gets paid when you get results, you have absolutely nothing to lose. In fact, you could end up a winner, by creating a lean, mean business machine which can react quickly to new opportunities as they arise. Here are some of the ways in which investing in consulting can help you to ride out the recession.

Don't Flash The Cash
There's never been a better time to control your cash flow. Is the right amount of money coming in each month? Have your expenses spiralled out of control? Are your suppliers being less flexible than they were, putting the squeeze on your bottom line? Hiring a business expert who offers consulting services will help you to identify strengths and weaknesses. The consultant will review your business and will help you to see where you can improve. Even better, the consultant will give advice on how to make those improvements, making your business much more efficient.

Promote Yourself
When you hire a  consulting service, you may learn new ways of promoting and marketing your business. The consultant has worked with many businesses and has picked up information on best practices. That means there's a shopping list of options for you to select. Perhaps there are networking events in your niche that you should be attending. Maybe you need to make contact with new suppliers or potential customers. It could be that your website and sales brochure need an overhaul. All of these are services that a consultant can provide. They will expand your market reach, boost your market presence and give you a new look that will appeal to your customers.

Plan Ahead
Perhaps your competitors are being short sighted in closing down some services. This could be a good time to snap up a bargain so you are ready for the upturn. One of the advantages of consulting is that it helps you to plan for the future, starting from where you are now. You will end up with a feasible plan for the development of your business which will make it stronger and more effective. There are always new opportunities around; your  consultant can help you to identify the right ones so that you can gain the most value for your business.

Summary: Is the recession getting your down? Inject some new life into your business by investing in consulting services

Posted in Feb. 2009  by GiztheBiz http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619

Who's Kicking Your Cat

The master motivator, author, and speaker Zig Ziglar came up with this wonderful analogy years ago. Here is our paraphrased version of his great work.

Mr. B was the top dog in a very large company. Every morning, he met some of his cronies for breakfast. On this particular morning, he lost track of time. He looked at his watch and realized he was going to be late for work.


He left the restaurant and jumped in his car. He barely had the engine started when he threw it in reverse to back out. He burned rubber leaving the parking lot. As he got on the freeway he put the gas to the fiberglass.


As he sped down the highway, he looked in his rear view mirror. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the flashing lights. He pulled over and rolled down his window.


“Where are you going in such a hurry,” the officer asked.


“I’m needed at work,” he replied abruptly, “I’m a very important man!”


“Well, you’re not above the law.”


“I didn’t say I was … but shouldn’t you be chasing real criminals and leave me alone?”


“I’ll leave you alone in a few minutes. Let me see your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.”


Mr. B handed him the requested information. Then he sat there and stewed. As the minutes passed by, he got more and more angry.


The officer came back and handed him a ticket, along with the rest of his documents. He grabbed them out of the officer’s hand, rolled up his window, and took off down the road.


He finally arrived at work. He was really late now. When he got to work, the first person he saw was his sales manager.


“Good morning, Mr. B” said the sales manager with a smile.


“There’s nothing good about it,” barked Mr. B, “I want to see you in my office NOW!”


The sales manager followed him into his office.


As Mr. B threw his coat down on the couch, he yelled at the sales manager, “You fell short of your goal last week for the second week in a row. I want to know what you’re going to do to get back on track and I want to know now.”


“Mr. B,” the sales manager objected, “We just talked about this yesterday. We have four big deals. Any one of them will put us over the top and I’m sure we’ll get at least one of them.”


“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Mr. B blurted out while looking at some papers on his desk. “You’re dismissed.”


The bewildered sales manager walked back to his office. When he got there, the first person he saw was his assistant. He screamed at her. She screamed at someone who screamed at someone else.


And so it went for the rest of the day.


Eventually the receptionist got yelled at. When she got home, the first person she saw was her twelve-year old boy. She yelled at him and sent him to his room.


On the way to his room, the family cat walked in front of him. He kicked the cat!


So here’s the question –


Wouldn’t it have been much better, for everyone involved, if Mr. B had just gone directly to the receptionist’s house and kicked her cat himself?

And here’s an even more important question –


Whose cat are you kicking?