Wasatch Consulting

The strength of your business is you.  But quite frankly, it’s also your weakness.  Your unique experience and background give your business its style and flavor, and it means you see things in a special way.  But by definition, the way you see things leaves out the things you don’t see.  That’s where we come in.

We help owners and managers see new things about their business, or see old things in a new way.  This helps you see new opportunities or new ways to build on present successes.

From simple tools to help you gather and interpret business data, to complete business plans to take you to the next level; we can help you measure, interpret, plan and execute for a stronger future.

Services

Services are designed to be customized to what you need.  Below are some examples of where my expertise can help you.

Business Plan

I can help you write a business plan or evaluate an existing one.  If you don’t have a formal business plan I recommend one even if you are already in business.  It helps you see where you are and helps you see your potential and obstacles.

General Evaluation

I offer a quick review of your business for free at your location as an initial consultation.  I will sit down with you and discuss your business with you and evaluate how I might help you make cost effective improvements.  From this consultation we can decide whether my services are of value to you.

A deeper evaluation of any depth can be done to help redirect your business, find new opportunities for improvement or point out potential weaknesses or problems you could avoid before you face them.  Often the best result of an evaluation is a revised business plan, but it is not required.  We can put as much or as little into this as you want; keep it general or look at specific areas for you.

Buy or Sell

There is a lot involved in buying or selling even the simplest business.  You may need an attorney, and maybe an accountant to look over the numbers.  Beyond that there is a small mountain of things to consider that will affect your business directly and could make your decision a golden opportunity, or a very dangerous trap.  I can help you ask the right questions, and make sure you have reasonable answers before you move ahead.

New Measures and Analysis

If you don’t know how you are doing you can’t make effective changes to increase profit.  I can help you find ways to gather data, and help identify data that could help you in ways you haven’t thought of.

I can deliver methods and tools to you for the collection and analysis of information, or I can be involved on an on-going basis in the collection and analysis of information for you.

Profit & Loss Review

I will review your Profit & Loss Statement, delve a little into details, and go over with you points you might target for improvement.  A simple break even analysis is included in this review.

Customer Experience

What the customer experiences, in the physical, the emotional and the interpersonal directly impacts what they feel and think about your business.  I can help you ensure that the customer experience is highly positive, helping you create customers that identify with your business and return often.

Staffing

Some of the most serious issues for small business, and the most costly in the long term, have to do with employees.  I can help you evaluate not just your staff, but their rolls in your business and their relationship with you, and help you develop a more stable, loyal and effective team.

Training and Coaching

If you are not getting what you want out of your people, it may not be their fault.  One of the common reasons people fail to perform well is that they lack a good understanding of what they are doing; either the purpose of it, or just the mechanics.  I can provide training for individuals or entire teams, or coach and support individuals to make a change or reach a goal.

Develop Written Policies.

If you have employees, having written policies can save you a lot of headache.  First, they spell out expectations and standards so that everyone can understand better, and second they make a reference when questions of policy come up.  Written policies may also help you head off certain legal issues with employees.

Point of Sale System

A Point of Sale computer system can really help you track sales, inventory, customers, staff members and more.  It is really a part of your accounting system.  So if you are considering a Point of Sale system it is important to consider what you really want it to do both now and in the future.  The abilities and limitations of the system are going to affect you every day and how you set it up once you have it is a large part of that.  I can help you decide what kind of system you need, and help you deploy it and implement the changes it will mean to your business.  Once you have a Point of Sale system I can help you get maximum advantage out of the data it provides you.

Change Management:

If you are considering a significant change in your business, like a new location, or your first employee, or strategy changes I can help you evaluate the impact on your gross and net profit, and plan appropriate steps to make it happen.

Disaster Planning

Statistics show that small businesses without a disaster plan are much less likely to recover from a disaster like earthquake, fire or flood even if they have appropriate insurance.  Recovering from a disaster is about more than just the money.  Even snow or a significant wind storm can harm your business if you have not considered such things like who will be able to get to work, and how will you get supplies.  Getting the key parts of your business up and running quickly after a disaster can mean the difference between just a rough patch and never re-opening.  A disaster plan is a specialized part of your business plan, and helps you be ready for the unexpected.

Wasatch Consulting

Approach

I believe in the individuality of small business.  Your business is unique and strong because of you.  The last thing you need is someone coming in with a checklist telling you what you are doing wrong.  So I don’t do that.

What I do is consult.  That means I work with you to find ways to make things better, deal with a present or future crisis, or plan for a future opportunity.  I’m certainly not going to try to railroad your good sense.  That is not help.  If I (or anyone) cannot show you how you will get the results you need, then you should not take the advice.

To begin you and I will sit down and discuss your business.  I will ask some questions, and you will tell me what is on your mind.  We will probably physically tour your business and I may spend some time observing your operations depending on your specific needs.  This initial consultation is free and in most cases should occur at your location.

From that consultation we will decide what I can do for you, if anything.  We will work out what is to be done, both in scope and limitations, and discuss payment.  After that I will write up a proposal, which could be as simple as a few sentences, or a number of pages depending on how much needs to be specified.  It will include clear scope and limits of the work to be done and details of costs and payments for the services.  If necessary, we will discuss and clarify this further.

Once we agree on what we will be doing, I will get to work.  Often that will involve you, so we will likely be working together, or communicating often.  And I may be asking you to assemble information for me to work with.  You have a lot going on so I will make accommodation to disturb your operations as little as possible.

My services can take many forms depending on what you need and want.  Sometimes I will be delivering a report or a tool to you.  We may plan and implement changes to your operations.  I may be training you or your staff on new ideas or ways of doing things.  In all cases, I will make sure you are informed at each stage and we continue with agreed objectives and methods.

Once we have reached the overall objective of our agreement we will sit down for a wrap up meeting to ensure all goals are met.  Some projects will include follow-up work or a review after time.  If you want additional help beyond the scope of the agreed project we will set up a new agreement.

After the completion of a consulting project I will remain available to answer questions that you may have.

Affordable Help for Small Business

The strength of your business is you.  But quite frankly, it’s also your weakness.  Your unique experience and background give your business its style and flavor, and it means you see things in a special way.  But by definition, the way you see things leaves out the things you don’t see.  That’s where I come in.

I help owners and managers see new things about their business, or see old things in a new way.  This helps you see new opportunities or new ways to build on present successes.

From simple tools to help you gather and interpret business data, to complete business plans to take you to the next level; I can help you measure, interpret, plan and execute for a stronger future.