A consultancy business can be incredibly helpful to many industries. While you will have a specific industry and specialization that you fall back on, there are some choices you can make while setting up your business and office that could make the process that little bit easier. Here is the guide you need to read before starting your consultancy business.
Look for Templates
Templates are a great way to get a structure in place if you do not have a great wealth of items to fall back on. There are so many free templates out there that you could grab. With some quick and easy changes, no one could know that the item was once a template.
For example, you could look into free HTML email templates. These would be incredibly useful for a multitude of reasons. However, you could primarily set them up to be used for automatic replies. When someone initially emails you, an automatic reply gives them the reassurance that their message has been received, and gives you a little breathing space before you are ready to jump onto their case.
There are so many different templates out there that can be used for a lot of things. Whether you are building your website yourself or trying to find a template to use for a certain type of letter that you have never had to send before, they could be some of the most useful fixes you find when setting up the business.
Flexible Leases
Many leases run on certain contracts. When you hire out office space, it may be for a year at a time, or some other set period. You need to make sure that you truly like a space before you move into it, simply because you will otherwise be stuck there. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will be able to cope with one rickety lift serving a whole building. Chances are that you are going to get annoyed with it faster than you might think.
A way of getting around this is to instead try to find a flexible lease. This might allow you to rent the office space on a month-by-month business. If you aren’t too sure about a space, or you are looking for more of an interim office that you might not be in for too long, trying to find something with this flexibility could serve you well.
The Right Software
Nowadays, there is software out there that can help you with all aspects of running a business. You need to make sure that you are able to find the right software to help you out, no matter what. For example, if you do not yet have an accountant helping you out, you could find an accountancy software that will help you manage things until you find the right person.
If you can think of an aspect of running the business, you will find a software that can help you run it. Try to find options that fit together seamlessly into one working suite. This means that you will not have to worry about files getting lost or not being compatible with different systems. Instead, everything should be stored in the one place and super-easy to manage.
Go to One Place for Printing
If you are investing in business cards, letterheads, and many of the other stationery items that are needed when setting up a consultancy business, you might want to think about finding a company that will print it all for you.
Many of the best printers are able to handle plenty of different styles. You should be able to order everything you need from them. On top of this, you should then be able to grab a discount of some sort for a bulk order, especially if they are used to dealing with corporate entities such as yourself. On top of this, you might even be able to set up an account with them for future orders. This could be very helpful in the future, especially if you intend to send out many letters to your clients.
Set Up Basic Responses
Even in the early days, you might not be able to answer every phone call and email directly. Phone calls can often be handled by the right employee. With a little training – and potentially a script – an employee will be able to answer the phones and organise your incoming calls as best they can. If you give them access to your daily schedule, they may even be able to make appointments for you. If you are exceptionally busy, this is a very helpful way of keeping on top of things.
The harder one to deal with can be emails. The last thing you want is for your emails to sit in an inbox just gradually multiplying. With a consultancy business, you need to be seen as quick and responsive. As mentioned above, automatic replies can be a great option here!
Finally, you may also want to add a small chat function to your website. If you do, it could be able to speak directly to your customers and answer any questions they may have. Their query could even be solved by the AI instead of having to speak to a real member of your team. A function like this could be more valuable than you could initially think.
Be Prepared
In any business, be it in consultancy or some other industry, you need to make sure that you are as prepared as you can possibly be. You never know what might be thrown at you as you set up your business. Luckily, there are some smart and efficient choices you can make at the start that will help to balance things out and everything so much easier to manage.
Being prepared will be one of the most efficient things you can do when setting up your own business. Take a look at some of the things you need to do when trying to launch your consultancy brand. Is there a more efficient way of doing things?
