While any sort of project can be arranged, I’m often hired to deliver one of the following:
A big complaint about consultants is that they’ll write you a plan, but won’t execute. While I enjoy (and am quite good at) the analysis, I’ve also accumulated experience executing marketing plans. This is a win-win for you since the plans aren’t pie-in-the-sky speculation and you can use me to get you started while you search for a qualified, full time employee.
A high school friend of mine was finishing up Medical School and about to start work. During this transition, he decided that it would be a good idea to get a handle on his online image. Patients frequently search doctors by name and he was curious what they would find. Turns out, he shares his last name with a plastic surgeon in Florida who has posted up a variety of before-after images for breast augmentation. As you can imagine, this is not the image that he wants to project to his patients.
As a side-effect of my time in the startup community, I have been exposed to significant amounts of Grant Writing. I was tapped to manage a $15m Entrepreneurship Signature Program grant application as well as extension grants for several of those programs. In addition, I have assisted companies in seeking Ohio Third Frontier Internship Program and TechGenesis grants.
If you spend any time with start-ups, you see that their #1 problem is sales and marketing. Sales is probably the most important part of a business, but marketing makes the first impression. If you don’t send the right message from the beginning, you set yourself up for failure.
While I love the self-employed lifestyle, I always have to benchmark my earnings against a full time position. A jobs site recently asked me what title I’d be looking for in my “next” job. While the question had never occurred to me, “Director of Innovation” was the obvious answer. Two key skill sets make me perfect for this type of work.
Most people can fill out a business plan template. It can be tempting, therefore, to view a business plan writer as someone who saves you a little bit of time in the writing process. If you hire someone who is first and foremost a writer, that is all that you’ll get. However, you’re about to put then next three to five years of your life, some of your savings, and your reputation on the line for this business. I think you should be far more demanding when writing a business plan.