{"id":65664,"date":"2024-01-29T10:23:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T14:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/?p=65664"},"modified":"2024-01-29T10:23:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T14:23:52","slug":"should-your-small-business-hire-a-consultant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ronellsmith.com\/blog\/should-your-small-business-hire-a-consultant\/","title":{"rendered":"Should your small business hire a consultant?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why hire a consultant?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small businesses of all sizes can benefit from hiring a consultant, in large part because of the wealth of experience, industry knowledge, and problem-solving ability consultants bring to the table. Consultants, because they have often worked with dozens\u2014if not hundreds\u2014of similar brands, are a force multiplier<\/a> for small businesses, allowing them to grow faster, make better decisions, and access expertise typically not found on staff or in any one person.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a consultant with nearly 15 years of experience<\/a> under my belt, I enjoy sharing my expertise from more than two decades of working in media, editorial, communication, product marketing and strategy, content marketing<\/a>, content strategy<\/a>, and branding<\/a>. My clients hire me for help in at least one of those areas, but they end up getting a consultant who can\u2014and often does\u2014provide help in a broad set of areas. I\u2019ve seen firsthand how struggling small businesses quickly scale up and grow their revenue thanks to having me as an objective outside advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it comes as no surprise that I was annoyed when a friend sent me the video of Shark Tank’s O’Leary misrepresenting the role (and true value) of consultants. In the video, O’Leary, speaking to what looks like a group of grad students, says consultants “never make any decisions of consequence” and “you will be irrelevant.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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