"One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever."

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...

1. What kind of small business consulting services does Aepiphanni provide?
2. I need to raise capital to start or grow my business.  Can you help with this?
3. What types of businesses do you work with?
4. What do small business consultants do?
5. How do I know I need a small business consultant?
6. Why would I bother working with a small business consultant when I can write a business plan or grow my business myself?
7. How do I know what I need a small business consultant to address?
8. How does Aepiphanni charge for services?
9. How can someone who does not know my business come into it and tell me how to run the business?
10. What would Aepiphanni’s role be?
11. What other consulting industry standards are there in place that might guide me on how to choose a consultant?
12. What unique benefits can Aepiphanni Business Solutions provide?
13. My business does not seem to be financially able to support a major small business consulting engagement.  Can you still help?
14. How do we get started?

Small Business Consultants are professionals who help business owners and organizational leaders define and achieve their goals, with the ultimate purpose of making the business more organized and profitable.  At Aepiphanni, our goal is not only to advise, but also to work along side you to help you and your business grow.

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• You are beginning to have questions about your business that you cannot answer.

• You find yourself unable to achieve your goals on your own.

• You feel like you are being run by your business or like you are at the end of your rope.

• You want to find a way to become more efficient but aren’t sure how to do it.

• You’ve identified some opportunities that you are missing and could use some assistance in getting them done.

• You need to address some organizational concerns but don’t have the time or manpower to do so.

• You just need a third party or another set of eyes to assist with decision making.

• You have an idea that you would like to develop, but are unsure about how to start or proceed.

• You need someone to come into your business for a short time to work with you and your team to address some ongoing internal concerns or interests.

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Often, a small business consultant will see and address things that you may not have had the chance to do.  Many people are hesitant to invest the money up front in anything in which they cannot see the immediate return, such as marketing or public relations.  However, those who have taken the plunge have succeeded in ways that are far beyond where they could have gotten alone.

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We will do a complete, in-depth business assessment, which will identify some areas of concern.  The assessment will help to identify and prioritize areas in the organization that we will need to address. 

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Your investment will be performance-based.  Our goal is to get you into business and keep you there.  Therefore, we charge what you can afford, throughout the engagement.

Several options you have include

• By the project:  Commonly used for projects such as business plans and websites within a specific scope. 

•  Hourly:  This is typical for advisory or coaching projects.  Most often, there will be a retainer.  Hourly rates are broken down in ten minute increments by Professional Service fees (the work that we have specifically been trained to do) and Administrative fees (work such as typing, mailing, etc).

• Budgetary Retainer:  This allows you to predetermine the amount of weekly, bi-weekly or monthly investment you would like to make in your project.  This is most appropriate for larger/longer projects.  The actual amount of work is tracked and submitted to ensure that you are receiving what you expected.

 

Click here for more information on our performance-based pricing structure.

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No one knows as much about your small business as you do.  We don't pretend to know more about your unique product or service than you do.  What we do is observe and analyze how you do what you do to help you do what you do better and help your employees become more productive.

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 There are a number of ways we can work together.  Our role as small business consultants could be any of the following:

We can do the work.

• We can lead the work with a team of your own or a team of  consultants for larger projects.

• We can mentor and advise you on how you might want to handle a certain situation.

• We can educate you by teaching you how to do something, such as a marketing or financial strategy.

• We can work within the organization, for a short time, to provide internal analysis of particular functions in the organization.

• We can act as facilitators by helping you get through a meeting or discussion while ensuring that all of the objectives have been met within the timeframe set up.

• We can manage your project and ensure that your project comes in on time and within budget.

• We can provide recommendations in a list of things that you can do to achieve your goals.

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 If you go to the articles section in Aepiphanni.com, there is a document there from the Institute of Management Consultants called “How to Hire a Management Consultant”, along with the IMC Code of Ethics.  These should be excellent resources.  If you chose not to go with Aepiphanni Business Solutions, I would take the time to make sure that the consultant you do engage does meet all of the criteria.

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Click here to go to our small business consulting contact page!

 

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