EARLY-STAGE

CONSULTANCY

REVIEW

(for small boutique consultancies)

 

 

Crafting a Deliberate Pathway:

Ensure Your Consultancy's Performance from Early On.

Most consultancy ventures kick off with a handful of talented founders armed with specific expertise and a strong service delivery mindset. 

But here's the rub: while this focus fuels the initial growth, it can quickly lead to stagnation and internal misalignment. As a consultancy matures, it becomes evident that relying solely on service delivery is not sustainable for long-term growth. 

Owners and key stakeholders must broaden their horizons, emphasizing intentional strategic planning, positioning specificity, value proposition design, thought leadership, and expertise-led reputation-building. 

 

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The Critical Design Of The Practice

A critical introspection into the very design of the practice becomes paramount. This means deliberating on the consultancy's set-up regarding roles and responsibilities, ensuring clear demarcations and accountability. 

Additionally, addressing ownership structures and fostering a transparent and inclusive environment is essential for internal cohesion.

For the consultancy to thrive, there must be an unwavering internal alignment on the strategic agenda, ensuring every decision and action maps back to the consultancy's broader objectives and vision.

From Old to New Game

From Suffering in The Old Game: Relying on random evolution, many consultancies drift without direction, accept all sorts of work, and often find themselves entangled in market mediocrity, operational chaos, and existential health challenges.

To Designing The New Game: Intentional design of the consultancy isn't optional. It's essential. By deliberately crafting a consultancy's foundation, strategy, and positioning from the outset, owners can bypass common pitfalls and set a course for high performance. 

Navigate with intention, not on a whim.

Building the right foundation

In the early stages of a boutique consultancy, building the right foundation is everything. It sets the course, the momentum, and the direction in which the venture sails. 

It's not uncommon for consultancies to grapple with ambiguous or evolving business models, shifting markets, a lot of internal discussions and, most importantly, a lack of substantial historical data. 

In early-stage consultancies, the numbers don't tell the full story yet. There's not enough consistency, volume, or trend data in these initial phases to provide a comprehensive picture. 

Understanding the nuances of the early-stage journey

Therefore, the "Early-Stage Consultancy Review" is about recognizing the typical gaps and challenges and crafting an analysis that ensures you're laying the foundations for a high-performing future consultancy firm in the long run.

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The Early-Stage Review Agenda

1. Origin & Foundation

Diving deep into the very essence and raison d'être of the consultancy, capturing its founding spirit and inspirations.

   - History and ‘The Why’: Understanding the root motivations and inception of the consultancy.

   - Founders' Stories: Narratives of the founders/owners, capturing their passion and drive.

2. Practice & Structure

Unveiling the people, the competencies, and the structural backbone that give the consultancy its shape and operational dynamics.

   - Setup Details: Outlining who is involved, their expertise/background, and their individual roles.

   - Ownership Structure: Clarification of ownership stakes and decision-making hierarchies.

3. Consulting Business Strategy

Crafting the growth blueprint, setting the stage for the consultancy's journey ahead, and defining its unique market proposition.

   - Ambition: Setting the direction with a clear roadmap for the next 3 to 5 years.

   - Positioning & Focus: Determining the consultancy's place in the market and its primary targets.

   - Value Proposition: Articulating the unique value the consultancy brings.

   - Introductory Offer: Packaging initial offers to attract potential clients.

4. Client Management

Peeling back the layers on client relationships, understanding the clientele’s core, and sculpting the perfect customer avatar.

   - Acquisition: Insights into how clients were onboarded and the methods employed.

   - Client Data: Ratio of new vs. existing clients, revenue per client, and client concentration.

   - Ideal Client Profile: Characterizing the perfect clientele for the consultancy.

5. Operational Analysis

A magnifying look into the operational gears, revenue engines, and infrastructural elements that drive the consultancy's everyday rhythm.

   - Project Data: Total number of projects, average revenue, and duration.

   - Revenue Metrics: Analysis of current revenue & identifying trends.

   - Resource Utilization: Total FTE, freelance engagement, and percentage project hours from freelancers, utilization data (if available)

   - Infrastructure: Evaluation of CRM, PSA, and financial/accounting tools.

   - Pipeline Management: Review of forecasting stability and revenue growth potential.

6. Digital Footprint

A mirror to the consultancy's digital footprint, evaluating its online charisma, search presence, and trust-building endeavours.

   - Website Review: Comprehensive assessment of the consultancy's online home.

   - Google Signal Quality: Ensuring the consultancy's positioning aligns with how Google perceives and portrays it.

   - Social Proof: Compilation of achievements, results, and outcomes from previous projects to foster trust.

7. Thought Leadership & Branding

Unpacking the consultancy's voice in the industry, gauging its influence, and understanding its educational outreach strategies.

   - Content & Publications: Channels used and the educational quality of materials disseminated.

   - Business Development: Strategies and methods employed to expand the consultancy's reach.

8. Owners’ quality of life assessment

The well-being of a consultancy’s founders is paramount. Their energy, drive, and clarity directly influence the trajectory of the business, especially in its early stages.

   - Work-Life Balance: Are the owners finding a balance, or are they constantly overwhelmed by work? Are there signs of burnout, or are they feeling energized and motivated?

   - Professional Satisfaction: Determine whether the owners feel they are achieving their professional aspirations and if the consultancy aligns with their personal vision.

   - Decision-Making Alignment: Recognize any potential exhaustion from continuous high-stakes decision-making misalignment amongst owners, which is common early-stage.

   - Financial Stability: Gauge if the consultancy provides financial security for the owners or if monetary concerns are a source of constant anxiety.

Why choose me to review your early-stage consultancy?

Here's the thing: if your consultancy start isn’t damn right, this will echo for the years to come!

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Why me?

• Discovering consultancy setup imperfections is my bread and butter;

• I am brutally honest. I will provide you with straightforward and non-snarky can-do feedback, consulting-specific;

• I am laser-sharp focused. Assessing a consultancy requires deep knowledge of the functional domain and the current trends impacting consultancy growth.

My Bio, in short

Unlike many traditional consulting advisors (mostly with marketing or technical backgrounds), I’ve worked in the trenches of consulting at the intersection of consultancy leadership (EMEA CHRO at Nielsen Consulting), founding/growing a mid-sized consultancy myself (iNostix), and scaling this consultancy after acquisition by Deloitte.

Due to the reputational footprint, I was able to build with iNostix, we were acquired by Deloitte in 2016.

During my 4 awesome years with Deloitte, I was able to deepen my understanding of the drivers of consulting success in the fast-changing future of the consulting landscape.

Consultancy business reviews are at the core of my all-day work and expertise.

My  ideal clients  for the early-stage review?

My ideal clients? Small, early-stage (boutique) consultancies with these characteristics:

  • Min. of +/- 2-3 years in business 
  • A small group of consultants (<10)
  • Between 500k and 1M annual revenue (numbers in Euro)
Who OWNS the review? I am very clear about that: it's the owner’s (or partner/principal) baby. Period. If the owners/partners/principals don't buy into doing an early-stage review, this exercise wastes time and money.

 The early-stage review process

For every early-stage consultancy, the potential is waiting to be realized. My role as your advisor is to shine a light on that potential and help pave a clearer path toward your desired future. 

Here's how we will collaborate to elevate your consultancy to the next level:

1. External Visibility Assessment

I’ll commence with a thorough examination of what your consultancy portrays to the world. This involves a meticulous evaluation of your website, value proposition, digital presence, and any other publicly available content.

2. In-depth Questionnaire

To delve deeper into your consultancy’s inner workings, I’ll send over a comprehensive questionnaire. This tool is designed to extract nuances about your strategies, aspirations, and operational realities.

3. Clarifying the Details

We'll convene for a brief session to discuss your responses. It's a chance to clear up any ambiguities and ensure I fully grasp the intricacies of your consultancy.

4. Insightful Analysis & Reporting

Using the information gathered, I will analyze your consultancy's current position in the market and draft a detailed report. This will encompass your strengths, potential areas for improvement, and preliminary strategies for growth.

5. Strategic Workshop (virtual, 2 hours)

Our collaboration culminates in a hands-on workshop with your ownership team. Here, I'll present my findings and offer actionable recommendations tailored to your unique situation.

We will collaboratively discuss both short-term and long-term strategies, refining them based on your feedback and ensuring they align with your consultancy's goals.

Together, through this collaborative process, we'll work to not only understand your consultancy's current state but to strategically position it for future success.

 

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Pricing

The cost of the review: 4.950 Euro (ex. VAT) 

(new pricing as of January 2024: 7.950 Euro)

Upfront payment (invoice will be sent)

Unilateral NDA will be delivered by TVA