|
Overview
Current
economic pressures are forcing government agencies and industry
to reduce technical and business management staff to the
absolute minimum. Downsizing  through
attrition, layoffs or termination leaves voids in the organizations.
When special projects, such as proposal preparation, business
plans, market analysis or contract phase-in/start-up arise,
the resources are not available to take advantage of these
opportunities. Management Consultant Services (MCS) provides
the solution to these short-term needs with experienced
technical and business management consultants who can fill
these voids by supporting your existing staff or providing
complete turnkey services.
Many
new business start-ups are craft-based or started by technical
professionals. Each type is highly skilled in their respective
profession and provides high quality products and services
to their customers. These new businesses are usually started
by a single individual or by a very small group of individuals
who are usually similarly skilled. Examples of these kinds
of businesses are machine shops, fabrication shops or small
engineering firms. Each individual in the group usually
brings some revenue generating function to the start-up
operation. In the beginning, the group relies heavily on
getting work from previous customers with whom they have
been acquainted. Typically, the business grows slowly remaining
within the niche market in which the founders are most familiar.
When the desire to expand or diversify the business arises,
technical and business management consultants are an efficient
and reliable way to implement the desired growth.
Frequently,
the founders of a small start-up business have all the financial
and management resources required to provide the limited
volume of products or services
to support their small customer base. However, when the
owners begin to try to expand their customer base and compete
for larger commercial contracts and contracts from government
agencies such as DoT, DoD, DoE, NASA, DARPA, etc., they
often lack the expertise to prepare the necessary technical,
management and cost proposals required to compete for these
contracts. They also often lack sufficient financial reserves
to support the increased cash flow associated with the increase
in business volume. Many contract opportunities come by
way of Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Grants.
These, too, require proposals with rigorous formats, which
can be intimidating, and costly, to those who are not experienced
in their preparation.
An observation
made by bankers and venture capitalists of craft-based businesses
and those started by technical professionals is their lack
of skill or experience in preparing a properly developed
business plan to support their request for a loan or an
extension of their line of credit. While the financier may
have confidence in the business and may be personally acquainted
with those seeking financial assistance, he requires a well-documented
plan to justify to the bank's board any loan or extension
of credit to the business. The properly developed business
plan should project, very accurately, revenues and expenses
by month for the following business
year and reasonably accurate estimates for the subsequent
two years. The plan should be based on well-documented expense
and revenue projections with revenue sources identified
through market analyses.
MCS
offers a broad range of technical and business management
services that can be provided by an experienced and dedicated
group of consultants whose profiles reflect careers of successfully
meeting the management challenges of today's business world.
The resumes of these individuals demonstrate their success
in growing small businesses to be leaders within their industry.
|
