Do You Use Consultants? 6 Out of 10 Brain Squad Members Say No

question:

Do you use consultants in any area of your business?

Yes: 38%

• As a young business, we didn’t have the budget to hire anyone. Now that we are larger, our needs are greater. We are beginning work with a marketing company to develop a consistent look and feel across all platforms. — Debbie F., Ventura, CA
• Accountant for financials and business advice/sounding board. Jewelry consultants have been brought in in the past. — John C., Uniontown, PA
• Two or three heads are better than one! — J. Dennis P., Johnstown, PA
• It’s important whenever you have diminished skill set in a certain area to reach out to professionals to teach you a new way of doing things or to improve the status quo. Know there are times to take your business and your team to the next level — you need to find “the one” who knows how to build a better wheel. Always worth the investment! — Denise O., La Grange, IL
• More mentors in the industry. We love to pick the brains of those outside our four walls. — Christina B., Glastonbury, CT
• We need all the advice we can get. — Brenda H., Hickory, NC
• Sometimes you are so bogged down in the thick of it that you cannot see things clearly. Having someone come in with fresh eyes is what you need to get back on track. Also, making big decisions can be scary and hard. Having someone there to give you the confidence to jump can make all the difference in the world! — Melissa Q., Chicago, IL
• Best to learn from someone who has the answers than make all the mistakes myself. — Rich B., Mundelein, IL
• I joined the Edge Retail Academy and work with a mentor once a month. She has helped me grow my business. — Sue P., Excanaba, MI
• David Geller has helped us tremendously over the last few years. — Cliff Y., Lowell, MI
• I belong to a couple of online paid coaching groups. I find the instruction/interaction with the hosts/moderators to be informative and helpful, and the group atmosphere, with everyone participating and interacting, is inspiring. — Janne E., Cocoa, FL
• We started working with Focus Business Management in 2012 and it changed our business! While we don’t work with them now, we do work with a business coach that we see once a month. It’s great to have an impartial person look at things or talk you off the ledge (like she did while were shut down for Covid for over three months). — Sandra L., Vulcan, AB
• An outside perspective keeps me working on my business instead of working in my business, provides another training perspective for my team, and keeps me on track. — Heather W., Des Plaines, IL
• Has changed my life and increased profits beyond anything I would have thought possible. — Don B., Roswell, NM
• Best part of being old — we realize we’re not experts in everything! (Nor do we have to be.) We use a digital marketing company as well as accounting and financial planning companies. — Beth C., Fairlawn, OH

No: 62%

• No, we don’t. However, I would like to start. There is always room for improvement. — Lyla I., Oak Lawn, IL
• Have used in the past. I blamed them for unpopular (but necessary) decisions that I knew I should have done earlier but lacked the will. — Bill E., Terre Haute, IN
• We’ve managed to stay successful for 43 years and I suspect I should go into the consulting business. — Robert B., Centereach, NY
• Don’t wanna pay the money. — Dave F., Bountiful, UT
• I have found that the fees are too steep for a single store operation. — Donnie B., Gainesville, FL
• In my limited experience with consultants, hiring an “expert” that turns out to know less about my business and/or industry than I do to tell me how I should do things hasn’t proven to be productive in any sense of the word. I’ve tried consultants a few times in the past, and it has always been a disappointing waste of time and money. In every instance so far, with marketing consultants anyway, eventually I’ve found that they are much better at marketing their own business than they ever could be at marketing mine. — David P., Durham, NC
• No reason, just don’t … I like to learn my own lessons, lol often the hard way. — Sherrie S., Tigard, OR
• Haven’t put much thought in to it. And I feel like I run a pretty tight ship and have control issues. — Marc M., Midland, TX
• I haven’t yet, cuz I’m too arrogant to believe they can help. — Peter T., Show Low, AZ
• I have yet to hear anyone with novel ideas. Most have no experience in the diamond and jewelry business. I pay for performance and results. Show me a consultant that ties their paycheck to actual results. — Jeremy A., Los Angeles, CA