Small Business Management Consulting helps established Small Business Owners improve the way their business performs, operates, is managed and grows. Your Small Business Consultant can review the areas relevant to your current challenges or future plans, help you identify what needs attention, develop practical solutions with you and provide implementation support where you want help putting those changes into practice.
Key Takeaways
Small Business Management Consulting is designed for established, owner-led businesses dealing with financial, operational, management, structural or growth issues.
Your Small Business Consultant can look across profitability, cash flow, management, staffing, systems, operations and growth where several areas of the business are connected.
Blaze Business & Legal can help you implement agreed changes as well as assess the business and develop practical recommendations.
We generally use our Small Business service for established businesses with turnover of around $500,000 to $5 million, although team size, management structure and operating complexity are also relevant.
Rachelle Hare and Shannon Drew bring complementary strategic, commercial, financial, operational and business management experience to the same engagement.
About this Article
This page is for owners of established Small Businesses who are considering engaging a Small Business Consultant to improve profitability, cash flow, management, systems or operations, resolve a business issue, restructure part of the business or prepare for future growth.
It explains what Small Business Management Consulting involves, how Blaze Business & Legal defines a Small Business for these services, the types of business issues and opportunities our Consultants can help you work through, and how we can stay involved to help implement agreed changes.
What Is Small Business Management Consulting?
Small Business Management Consulting is professional business advice and implementation support for established Small Businesses that want to improve performance, resolve financial, operational or management issues, strengthen the way the business is run, or prepare for change and growth. It can include reviewing profitability, cash flow, management, staffing, systems, processes, structure, capacity and future plans, then working with the business owner to identify priorities, develop practical solutions and implement agreed changes. Rachelle Hare, Blaze Business & Legal
The areas reviewed will depend on how your business is structured, its day-to-day operations, your future goals and current challenges. Some engagements focus on one defined issue. Others require a broader review because financial, operational and management issues are connected.
Small Business Management Consulting also needs to reflect the resources and management structure of a smaller business. Small Business Owners are usually much more involved in day-to-day decisions than the directors of larger organisations, and there may be fewer specialist managers available internally to analyse or implement change.
What Do We Mean by a Small Business?
For Blaze Business & Legal’s Small Business Management Consulting Services, a Small Business is generally an established, owner-led business with annual turnover of around $500,000 to $5 million. Turnover is a guide rather than an absolute cut-off. We also consider the size of the team, the number of locations, the management structure and the complexity of day-to-day operations. Rachelle Hare, Blaze Business & Legal
This is our service definition rather than a legal, tax or regulatory definition of Small Business.
An Allied Health business operating several clinics with a large practitioner team, for example, can have significant management complexity even while remaining within the Small Business turnover range. Another business may have higher turnover but a relatively simple operating structure.
Our Small Business Consulting Services are intended for established businesses that have moved beyond the startup stage. You will generally already have regular revenue, an operating history, customers, clients or patients, and employees or contractors.
If your business is larger, has a developed management team or has more complex financial and operational requirements, our broader Management Consulting Services may be more suitable.
When Should You Use a Small Business Consultant?
Small Business Owners come to us for different reasons. Sometimes there is a specific issue that needs to be resolved. Sometimes performance has changed and the cause is unclear. In other cases, the business is performing well and the owner wants to improve it, restructure how it operates or prepare properly for future growth.
Turnover Is Growing but Profit Is Going Backwards
Higher revenue can hide falling margins. Wages, contractor costs, purchasing, rent, software, marketing and other overheads may have increased faster than prices, or some services and customers may be generating plenty of work without producing enough profit.
Your Small Business Consultant can review pricing, gross margin, labour costs, utilisation, purchasing and overheads with you to identify where profitability has changed. You can then decide which changes are commercially appropriate, and we can help implement those changes where required.
Cash Is Tight Even Though the Business Is Profitable
Profit and available cash are not the same thing. A business may appear profitable while slow-paying customers, tax obligations, debt repayments, owner drawings, high finance costs, stock or growth place continuing pressure on cash.
This is often where Shannon’s financial and operational experience is particularly useful. He can review cash flow, working capital, debt commitments and financial reporting while also considering what is happening in the day-to-day operation of the business.
You Do Not Have the Reporting You Need to Run the Business Properly
Some Small Business Owners have good bookkeeping but very little useful management information. They know total revenue and expenses, but cannot easily see margins, cash forecasts, utilisation, performance by service or location, or whether particular parts of the business are commercially worthwhile.
The information you need will depend on how the business operates. Your Consultant can help determine which reports and measures are useful, remove reporting that serves little purpose and help put more practical financial and management reporting in place.
The Team Has Grown but Everything Still Comes Back to You
Employing more people does not solve owner dependency if responsibilities remain unclear or important decisions still come back to you.
The business may need clearer management roles, better delegation, more useful reporting or different operating processes. In some cases, the issue is not that another person needs to be hired. The people already in the business may need clearer authority, better systems or a more workable management structure.
Growth Has Made the Business Harder to Run
The systems and informal arrangements that worked when there were three or four people in the business may become unreliable as the team grows.
Approvals can become bottlenecks, information can be held by the wrong people and different staff may follow different processes. Your Consultant can help you and your team work out where more structure is required without burdening the business with unnecessary corporate processes.
The Same Issues Keep Coming Back
Repeated cash shortages, staffing problems, administrative errors or operational bottlenecks may indicate that the immediate issue is being fixed without addressing what keeps causing it.
Your Small Business Consultant can review the relevant parts of the business with you and work out whether changes are required to systems, management responsibilities, financial controls, processes or another area. If you decide to proceed, we can also help put those changes into practice.
Something Has Changed and You Cannot Work Out the Cause
Small Business Owners are usually close enough to their businesses to notice when performance or day-to-day operations have changed. Profit may be lower, costs may be rising, staff may be frustrated or the business may simply require far more of your time than it used to.
You do not need to work out the cause before coming to us. We can start with what you are seeing and review the areas that are most likely to help explain what has changed.
In my experience, Small Business Owners usually know when something in the business is not working properly. What is much harder when you are inside the business every day is working out where the issue actually starts. The effect you see in your bank account, staff or workload may have been caused somewhere completely different. Rachelle Hare
You Want to Grow and Put the Right Foundations in Place First
Growth is easier to manage when the business has suitable systems, reporting, management responsibilities and financial controls in place before the workload increases.
You may want to strengthen the existing business before increasing sales, employing more people, opening another location or adding new services. Rachelle and Shannon can review the current structure with you, identify areas that need strengthening and help implement the changes before you commit to the next stage.
You Are Considering a Major Growth Decision and Want to Test Whether It Works Commercially
A specific growth decision may need a more focused review.
If you are considering another location, a larger team, a new service or significant additional expenditure, your Consultants can look at the financial, operational and management implications with you. This can include expected revenue, costs, working capital, capacity, staffing and the management resources required to support the change.
Small Business Issues Often Cross Several Parts of the Business
Small Businesses do not operate as separate financial, operational and management functions. Decisions in one area can affect several others.
Cash flow is a good example. The immediate concern may be that there is not enough money available, but the contributing factors could include weak margins, expensive debt, high overheads, poor debtor collection, excessive drawings or the amount of working capital required to support growth.
Staffing issues can work the same way. An employee may appear to be underperforming when the underlying cause is an unclear role, inconsistent processes, weak supervision or an unrealistic workload.
Our Consultants review the areas relevant to what you are trying to resolve or achieve, then work through the findings with you. You remain involved in deciding what changes are appropriate for your business, and we can help implement the decisions you make.
Are You Fixing the Cause or Only Responding to the Immediate Issue?
Small Business Owners often need to make decisions quickly while continuing to run the business. That can lead to time and money being spent on a solution before there has been enough opportunity to work out what is driving the issue.
Increasing sales will not resolve low margins if the extra work is not sufficiently profitable. Hiring another employee may add cost without improving poor workflow. New software will not resolve unclear management responsibilities, and cutting minor expenses will have limited effect where pricing is the main concern.
The decision itself may be reasonable. The question is whether it addresses what is actually happening in your business.
From Assessment to Implementation
Our Small Business Management Consulting Services can extend beyond the initial review and recommendations.
Once we understand the issue, opportunity, proposed change or future goal, we work through the available options with you. You decide which changes you want to make and how quickly you want to make them.
Implementation support means helping you put those agreed changes into practice. Depending on the engagement, this can include changing management responsibilities, establishing new reporting, setting up cash flow forecasting, restructuring day-to-day operations, documenting policies and procedures, improving internal processes, developing management controls, working through changes with staff or reviewing progress after implementation has started.
Some clients want advice and prefer to implement the recommendations themselves. Others want Rachelle, Shannon or both Consultants to stay involved because the business does not have the internal management capacity or specialist experience required to carry out the work.
What Small Business Management Consulting Services Do We Provide?
The right Small Business Management Consulting Services depend on what you are trying to resolve, improve or achieve. Some engagements focus on one defined issue, while others require several financial, operational and management areas to be considered together.
Small Business Performance Reviews
A Small Business Performance Review can examine revenue, margins, costs, staffing, utilisation, systems, workflow, reporting and management information.
For example, revenue may have increased for two years while profit has fallen. The review can help you identify whether pricing, labour costs, overheads, service mix or several factors are contributing to the change.
Small Business Profitability and Margin Improvement
Your Consultant can review pricing, gross margin, wages, contractor costs, purchasing, utilisation, overheads and profitability by service, product, location or client type.
For example, one clinic may appear to perform well because revenue is high, but practitioner costs and unused room capacity may mean it contributes much less profit than expected.
Small Business Cash Flow and Financial Management
Cash flow pressures can involve profitability, debt, finance costs, debtor timing, drawings, overheads and working capital.
For example, a business may be struggling with cash flow while paying high interest across several loans. It may need to understand its debt position, speak with its finance advisers about consolidation options and introduce regular cash flow forecasting.
Small Business Systems and Process Improvement
Your Consultant can review how work is performed, where delays or duplication occur, and whether processes depend too heavily on particular people.
For example, staff may be entering the same information into several systems while routine work still requires owner approval. The business may benefit from simpler processes, clearer authority levels and better allocation of responsibility.
Small Business Management Structure and Delegation
Rachelle and Shannon can help clarify management responsibilities, reporting lines, decision-making authority and delegation.
For example, a business may have grown to 18 staff, but every leave request, supplier issue, customer complaint and spending decision still comes back to the owner. The business may need a clearer management structure rather than simply more employees.
Small Business Strategy and Direction
Rachelle can work with you on higher-level strategic, commercial, structural and management decisions, with Shannon contributing financial and operational analysis where relevant.
For example, an Allied Health business considering a second location may want to understand whether the existing clinic is sufficiently profitable, whether the management structure can support another site and how much additional working capital may be required.
Small Business Growth and Scaling
Rachelle and Shannon can help you strengthen the foundations of the business before growth or assess a specific expansion proposal.
For example, a business planning to recruit another six employees may first want to review margins, supervision, systems and cash flow to determine what needs to be put in place before the additional team starts.
Small Business Operational Restructuring
Shannon can help review how the business operates day to day, including staffing, responsibilities, workflow, costs and management processes.
For example, a business may have added people whenever workloads increased and now have duplicated roles, inconsistent processes and too many employees reporting directly to the owner. Shannon can help redesign the operating structure so responsibilities and workflow are clearer.
Where the issue involves legal Business Structuring, including companies, trusts or legal relationships between owners or entities, that sits within our separate Business Structuring Services.
Blaze Business & Legal does not provide taxation advice. Where specialist taxation advice is required, we can refer you to or work alongside an appropriate Accountant or specialist taxation lawyer.
Small Business Governance, Policies, Procedures and Compliance
Rachelle can help established Small Businesses strengthen governance, management responsibilities, policies, procedures, processes and business compliance.
For example, a family business may have grown to 25 employees while important decisions remain informal and few procedures or management controls have been documented.
If Legal Services are required, Rachelle must be separately engaged as your Lawyer. Unless she is engaged in that capacity, her work under the Small Business Management Consulting engagement is Business Advice.
Small Business Implementation Support
Implementation Support is available where you want our Consultants to remain involved after you have decided what changes to make.
For example, you may decide to introduce a new management structure, cash flow reporting process and operating procedures. Rachelle and Shannon can work with you and your management team while those changes are introduced, review how they are working and help adjust them where required.
How We Work With You
Our Small Business Management Consulting work is scaled to what you are trying to resolve, improve or achieve, and to the amount of support you want.
Start With a Strategy Session
A Strategy Session is usually the simplest place to start when you have a business issue, opportunity or decision to work through.
A one-hour Strategy Session with either Rachelle Hare or Shannon Drew costs $650 + GST. A Strategy Session with both Rachelle and Shannon costs $750 + GST.
There is no obligation to engage us for further work after the Strategy Session. You can pay for the meeting, leave with a preliminary plan and implement it yourself.
The Strategy Session does not include written advice. If you want written recommendations, further analysis, implementation support or ongoing Small Business Consulting, we can quote for that work after the meeting once we understand what you need.
Our Small Business Consulting rate for ongoing work is $350 + GST per hour for each Consultant.
Book a Strategy Session with Rachelle or Shannon for $650 + GST
Book a Strategy Session with Rachelle and Shannon for $750 + GST
Prefer to speak with us first? Call Rachelle or Shannon to talk about what you are considering or what is happening in your business.
We Review the Relevant Parts of Your Business
The areas reviewed will depend on how your business is structured, its day-to-day operations, your future goals and current challenges.
This may include financial information, costs, pricing, staffing, management structure, systems, processes, policies, procedures, capacity and other information relevant to the engagement.
We Work Through the Findings With You
Rachelle and Shannon bring different perspectives to the review. Financial information may identify an operational issue, while a management or process issue may be affecting financial performance.
We work through the findings with you so you understand what is happening and can decide which issues or opportunities you want to address.
You Decide What Needs to Change
You remain involved in deciding what changes are appropriate, what should happen first and how much change the business can realistically manage at one time. Our role is to give you the information, commercial perspective and practical recommendations you need to make those decisions.
We Develop the Solution With You
The solution needs to work in the business you actually have. Our recommendations take account of your people, resources, management capacity, financial position, future plans and the way the business operates day to day.
We Can Help Implement the Agreed Changes
You can implement the recommendations internally or engage us for further support. Where you want implementation support, Rachelle, Shannon or both Consultants can help introduce the agreed changes, work through them with your team, establish new systems or management processes and review how they are working.
Why Work With Rachelle Hare and Shannon Drew?
Rachelle and Shannon have both owned and operated bricks-and-mortar Small Businesses as well as advising other Small Business Owners. They understand what it means to make decisions while managing staff, paying overheads, dealing with customers and keeping the business operating day to day.
Their strengths are different and complementary.
Rachelle Hare
Rachelle has more than 25 years’ experience across Business Advisory, Commercial Management, legal practice and business ownership.
Her Small Business Consulting work is particularly strong in higher-level strategy, commercial issues, business structure, governance, policies, procedures, processes and compliance. She also works with owners on management structure, decision-making and the changes required as a business becomes larger and more complex.
Where a client requires Legal Services, Rachelle must be separately engaged as their Lawyer. Her role as a Small Business Consultant does not itself create a legal engagement.
Shannon Drew
Shannon has more than 25 years’ experience across Management Accounting, Cost Accounting, Virtual CFO work, operational management, commercial advice and business ownership.
His work goes well beyond financial reporting. Shannon can help analyse how the business operates day to day, identify inefficient structures or processes, work through staffing and cost issues and help restructure operations so the business operates more smoothly.
His financial expertise also means that operational changes can be tested against the numbers rather than considered in isolation.
Rachelle and Shannon Together
Some business issues and growth decisions benefit from both perspectives.
Rachelle generally brings the higher-level strategic, commercial, structural, governance, compliance and process view. Shannon brings financial, operational and day-to-day business management depth.
Together, they can look at how your business is structured, how it operates, what the numbers are showing and what you want to achieve. They can then work with you to develop and implement the changes you decide to make.
In my experience, Small Business issues rarely fall neatly into one category. A financial issue can start in operations, a staffing issue can come from management structure, and growth can make weaknesses in existing systems much more obvious. Shannon and I often look at the same situation from different directions, which helps us give the owner a much fuller picture of what is happening and what their options are. Rachelle Hare, Blaze Business & Legal
How Much Does Small Business Management Consulting Cost?
A Strategy Session with either Rachelle Hare or Shannon Drew costs $650 + GST..A Strategy Session with both Rachelle and Shannon costs $750 + GST. You choose which you prefer – if we think you could benefit from speaking with our other Small Business Consultant, we will introduce you.
There is no obligation to continue after the Strategy Session. You can take the preliminary plan and implement it yourself.
The Strategy Session does not include written advice. If you want written recommendations, further analysis, implementation support or ongoing consulting, we can quote for that work once we understand what is required.
Our Small Business Consulting rate for ongoing work is $350 + GST per hour for each Consultant, but we prefer to give you a fixed price quote as soon as we have agreed the scope for our services with you.
Small Business Consultant Brisbane
Blaze Business & Legal provides Small Business Management Consulting Services to established Small Businesses across Brisbane and South East Queensland. Our offices are located at Suite 8, Level 7, 154 Melbourne St, South Brisbane in Queensland. However we are more than happy to visit your offices or meet with you over Teams.
We also work remotely with Small Businesses elsewhere in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and across Australia.
If you are looking for a Small Business Consultant in Brisbane, you can work directly with Rachelle Hare, Shannon Drew or both Consultants together depending on what you are trying to resolve, improve or achieve.
FAQs About Small Business Management Consulting
1. What is Small Business Management Consulting?
Small Business Management Consulting is professional business advice and implementation support for established Small Businesses that want to improve performance, resolve financial, operational or management issues, strengthen how the business operates or prepare for growth. Your Small Business Consultant helps you assess what is happening, identify priorities and develop practical changes that can be implemented in the business.
2. What does a Small Business Management Consultant do?
A Small Business Management Consultant reviews the parts of your business that are relevant to the issue, opportunity or goal you are working on. Your Consultant may look at financial performance, costs, pricing, systems, staffing, management structure, processes, capacity or growth plans, then work with you to develop and implement practical changes.
3. What can a Small Business Consultant help with?
A Small Business Consultant can help with profitability, cash flow, rising costs, reporting, systems, owner dependency, management structure, staffing, operational performance, restructuring and growth. The work depends on what you are trying to resolve, improve or achieve.
4. When should I hire a Small Business Consultant?
You may consider hiring a Small Business Consultant when your business has become harder to manage, profitability has fallen, cash is tight, recurring issues are not being resolved, reporting is inadequate, systems have not kept pace with growth, or you want to strengthen the business before making a significant change.
5. How much does a Small Business Consultant cost in Brisbane?
A Small Business Consultant at Blaze Business & Legal costs $350 + GST per hour for eligible Small Business Consulting work. You can also start with a Strategy Session for $650 + GST with either Rachelle or Shannon, or $750 + GST with both Consultants.
6. What size businesses do your Small Business Consulting Services work with?
Our Small Business Consulting Services generally suit established, owner-led businesses with annual turnover of around $500,000 to $5 million. Turnover is only a guide, and team size, locations, management structure and the overall complexity of your business are also relevant.
7. What is the difference between Small Business Consulting and Management Consulting?
Small Business Consulting applies Management Consulting to the size, resources and operating realities of an established Small Business. Our broader Management Consulting Services are generally more suitable where the business is larger, has a more developed management team or has more complex operational and financial requirements.
8. What is the difference between a Small Business Consultant and a Business Coach?
A Small Business Consultant focuses primarily on the business, including profitability, cash flow, operations, systems, management, restructuring and growth. Business Coaching generally focuses more heavily on the owner, including goals, personal development, accountability and individual decision-making.
9. Can a Small Business Consultant help improve profitability?
A Small Business Consultant may assist by identifying the factors affecting profitability, including pricing, gross margins, labour costs, purchasing, utilisation, service mix and overheads. Your Consultant can also help implement agreed changes to pricing, reporting, processes or cost controls where further support is required.
10. Can a Small Business Consultant help with cash flow?
A Small Business Consultant may assist with cash flow by reviewing profitability, working capital, debtors, expenses, debt, finance costs, drawings and growth requirements. Where relevant, Shannon can also bring Management Accounting and Virtual CFO experience into the wider consulting work.
11. Can a Small Business Consultant help me grow my business?
A Small Business Consultant may assist you to strengthen the business before growth or assess a specific expansion proposal. This can include reviewing profitability, working capital, people, systems, management structure and operational capacity, then helping you implement the changes required before or during growth.
12. Do you provide Small Business Consulting outside Brisbane?
Our Small Business Consulting Services are available to established Small Businesses in Brisbane, throughout Queensland and across Australia. Many consulting engagements can be conducted remotely where face-to-face meetings are not required.
Need Help Improving or Restructuring Your Small Business?
You do not need to have all the answers before speaking with us.
Rachelle Hare and Shannon Drew can help you assess what is happening, work through your priorities and options, develop practical solutions and stay involved to help implement the changes you decide to make.
Book a Strategy Session with Rachelle or Shannon for $650 + GST
Book a Strategy Session with Rachelle and Shannon for $750 + GST
Prefer to talk first? Call Rachelle or Shannon directly to discuss what you are trying to resolve, improve or achieve.
Small Business Consulting Glossary – Blaze Business & Legal
Small Business Management Consulting
Small Business Management Consulting is professional business advice and implementation support for established Small Businesses that want to improve performance, resolve financial, operational or management issues, strengthen the way the business is run, or prepare for change and growth.
Small Business Consultant
A Small Business Consultant is an external adviser who works with Small Business Owners to assess business issues and opportunities, develop practical solutions and, where required, help implement agreed changes.
Management Consulting
Management Consulting is professional advice designed to improve the performance, management or operation of a business. Our broader Management Consulting Services are generally more suitable for larger or more complex businesses.
Business Performance Review
A Business Performance Review examines financial, operational and management information to understand how the business is performing and where improvement may be required.
Gross Margin
Gross Margin is the amount remaining from revenue after the direct costs of providing a product or service are deducted. It can help show whether the work itself is being priced and delivered profitably before overheads are considered.
Profit Margin
Profit Margin shows how much profit remains from revenue after relevant costs are taken into account.
Cash Flow
Cash Flow is the movement of money into and out of the business. A profitable business can still experience cash flow pressure if the timing of receipts and payments does not align.
Working Capital
Working Capital is the short-term funding available to operate the business and meet everyday obligations. Growth can increase working capital requirements even when the business is profitable.
Utilisation
Utilisation measures how much of an employee’s, practitioner’s or other resource’s available capacity is being used productively or generating revenue.
Owner Dependency
Owner Dependency occurs when too many decisions, relationships, approvals or operational tasks still depend on the owner personally.
Management Structure
Management Structure describes how responsibilities, reporting lines and decision-making authority are organised within the business.
Delegation
Delegation involves giving another person responsibility and appropriate authority to make decisions or carry out work while maintaining suitable oversight.
Business Systems
Business Systems are the processes, tools, information and routines used to carry out recurring work consistently.
Business Improvement
Business Improvement involves making practical changes to how the business operates, manages resources or makes decisions to address identified issues and improve performance.
Implementation Support
Implementation Support is continued consulting assistance after changes have been agreed. It can include helping management introduce new processes, reporting, responsibilities, systems, financial controls or operating changes, working with staff and reviewing how the changes work in practice.
Virtual CFO
A Virtual CFO provides outsourced senior financial management support, which may include management reporting, forecasting, budgeting, cash flow management and financial decision support.
Strategy Session
A Strategy Session is a focused advisory meeting with Rachelle Hare, Shannon Drew or both Consultants to work through a specific business issue, opportunity or decision, identify preliminary priorities and determine practical next steps.
