This archive report was first published on 10 June 2020.
How to Become a Successful Business Consultant ¶
With the ever-changing business landscape, the demand for skilled business consultants has never been higher. A business consultant can help a company turn a profit by providing expert advice on growth and overcoming internal and external challenges.
According to Ruth Wachira, founder of StopGap Consultants Kenya, a successful business consultant must have a natural passion for their area of expertise. Wachira, who has 19 years of professional experience in Kenya and Dubai, holds an MBA in Management Consultancy.
"There are many options for a consultancy, including strategy, management, operations, financial advisory, human resource, and IT consulting," Wachira says. "Define your target audience and decide what consulting style to use."
Wachira emphasizes the importance of taking professional courses to master how to set up a consultancy practice. She also stresses the need to consider factors such as setting up an online consultancy firm or establishing a physical location.
A business consultant should have inspiring ideas, skills, and knowledge that will support their clients. This is because business people pay for the expertise that should turn around fortunes for their businesses, and they will feel short-changed if the expertise they encounter does not match their investment.
"Aim at transformation and elevation of your business as well as your client's personal and business venture," Wachira advises. "Never take short-cuts in anything you do, and always do the right thing in the right way."
Wachira has also learned the power of networking and understands how to derive support from the network system. A consultant needs the clients just as much as they need the consultant.
"Really listen to the needs of your clients," Wachira says. "There is no one-size-fits-all solution in business consulting. Find that special niche that will set one's business apart from the rest and disrupt one's competition."
Published on June 10, 2020, by The Standard.
