Many small businesses are experts in their field and know their own business inside and out. However lots of small business owners lack the time or expertise required to implement certain projects. That’s where a small business consultant can step in and help.In order to achieve a successful project it’s important to be clear about what you want your consultant to be able to do for you. Just as important is selecting a consultant with the right skills for the job, but how do you make sure you don’t get off on the wrong foot?Here are some things to consider:1. Are you looking for a research/diagnostic approach or do you need help with implementation?Firstly are you looking for someone to take a diagnostic approach to a business problem you are facing? For instance, which market segment should you enter? Or what product line should you sell? Or is your business need about implementation? For instance, you’ve identified that you need to be on Social Media and need a marketing consultant with the expertise to make this happen.The two needs are different and some consultants are better in one area than the other. To find out whether your prospective consultant prefers to work on implementation projects or research projects ask them. Don’t be afraid to ask them for specific examples of projects they have worked on and how they have tackled projects similar to yours in the past.2. Ask prospective consultants how their clients are better off after they leave.What sort of outcomes were they able to achieve for their clients? Look out for wishy-washy answers. Look for specific examples and outcomes. Does this fit with the sorts of outcomes that you would like for your business? Where they able to increase website traffic by a certain percentage, reduce staff turnover by a certain amount or generate more business for the client?Picking the wrong person for the job might end up feeling like you are pushing water up a hill with a rake. Not only will the results be less than optimal but it may end up being a costly and stressful experience also.3. Be careful of wanting champagne on a beer budget.Do you want fast, cheap or talented? You must pick two out of the three. There is a triangle trade off here. You can get premium talent, faster results or a cheaper cost but Taylor Swift won’t teach your team how to sing tomorrow for free if you see what I mean.Often a small business owner will set a budget and then begin the search for the best talent and/or fastest result within that budget. From my experience a budget-driven approach can often compromise results. Your best approach is to establish your desired outcome, then judge each potential candidate by how likely they are to be able to achieve that outcome.4. Look for a solid “About Us” page.Ask consultants about their qualifications and their approach. With so many so-called ‘experts’ out there it’s really important to identify who is qualified and able to do the job for you. Ask prospective consultants questions about their skills and experience to determine whether they are fit for the job. Are they methodical in their approach? Do have a history of achieving quality results for clients? This will help you to avoid being mislead by organisations with few processes, a glossy website and no real qualifications or experience.5. Ask yourself whether you think you will be comfortable working with the consultant.Do you think they are going to be the right fit for your business? Can you see yourself and your team working well with them? Sometimes it’s less about the exact industry experience they have had and more about their ability to get results.6. Think about goals and outcomes first.Don’t pick a technical specialist to do a job when you really need someone who can deliver a sales outcome. Think about your goal first, what are you trying to achieve? For instance, if it’s conversions and leads from your website then perhaps what you really need is a marketing consultant to advise on the layout of the website rather than just a technical person to do the build. A technical person can definitely build the website for you, it will function beautifully, but will it achieve your goal of converting traffic to sales?7. Be wary of small business consultants who are all things to all people.A good consultant will be honest about what their speciality is and will not simply be a ‘yes’ man or woman. They will push back on projects, ideas and suggestions that they don’t think are right for your business or are beyond their area of expertise. Look for a consultant with backbone not someone who lets you steer the project without alerting you to the danger that lies ahead because they are too afraid to question your judgement or afraid they will upset you. I’d rather have an expert question me and make suggestions than sit back and watch me sink the ship!So whether it is a marketing consultant or a small business consultant you are looking for, many of the same rules apply. Identify what you need and look at it from an outcomes perspective, work out who has the expertise to help you achieve your goals and whether or not you are comfortable working with them. Look for someone who is genuinely interested in working with you and passionate about what they do.

Achieving a successful home based business stands out as the goal of any home business entrepreneur. One can find numerous tips, ebooks, and websites that provide advice regarding how to do it. But I believe that all this information, as important and as required as it is, can be grouped into five broader categories. You need a purpose, passion, a plan, persistence in carrying out that plan, and patience to wait for the plan to work.Purpose- The first step is easy. It’s the reason you went looking for a successful home based business to start with. Write down the reasons you want or need to work from home as well as what you will do with the extra income you make. Read these reasons aloud first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. You may even put pictures on a poster board to remind you of what you will do with the extra income and place it somewhere in the house where you will see it regularly. Think of them during the day. Doing this will lead naturally to the next step, which is passion.Passion- Napoleon Hill said, “Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” When you develop a strong purpose or desire to work at home, it will lead to a deep, burning passion to succeed. That desire will carry you through failures, by people who tell you can’t do it, and it will help overcome your own doubt. One thing that is hardly ever mentioned to those who are starting their home based business is the need for personal development. A person needs to grow just like their business grows.Plan- Everyone knows the saying, “He who fails to plan, plans to fail.” That holds true for a successful home based business. I don’t know how many people, including myself, have started a home business opportunity without having any idea, or attempting to get an idea, of what to do to be a success. The way to develop a plan is beyond what I will attempt to say here but I will make 4 points. First, the plan needs to written down. A written plan holds a person accountable and gives you a track to run on. Secondly, utilize a mentor, if possible, that will help you come up with a written business plan. A mentor can be someone involved your home based business, someone who already has a successful home based business, or it may be someone that will do it for a fee. Thirdly, the plan should be goal oriented. Goals need to be specific and have a definite date for completion. And finally, be fairly flexible with your plan. You may need to make some modifications to it especially if something just isn’t working. But the main thing is to keep a written plan in place at all times.Persistence- My favorite way to describe persistence is sustained effort. Once a plan is in place, it must be carried out, continually. Create a schedule to carry out your plan and do your absolute best to stick with it. Treat your own home based business like a full time job and eventually you’ll harvest the rewards of a full time occupation. Get the mindset that just as you have to go to your regular occupation on certain days at certain times, you need to work at your home based business on certain days at certain times.Patience- Finally, after the plan is created, and the schedule is laid out and you become persistent in carrying out your plan, you must be patient. This is a world of instant gratification. We want and can get most everything quick. But a successful home based business is not going to happen overnight. It has been said time and again that creating a successful home based business is really a marathon, not a sprint. Too many people quit just before they’re about to see results. Be prepared to stick it out for the long haul.I don’t know of a magic way to make money online. But I definitely believe that one can achieve a successful home based business by having a stated purpose, developing a burning passion to succeed, setting up a firm plan, being persistent in carrying out that plan, and by having the patience to wait for it to achieve its potential. And although there are hundreds of more detailed tips on creating a successful home based business, these are five easy ones to keep in mind.

In order to answer that question, it is important to determine what is unique about a Christian home based business. What would make this different from any ministry a person might become involved in? An obvious answer would be that a primary objective of any business is making money. A ministry, such as operating a food pantry, teaching adults to read, or any number of other activities might be developed purely to meet the needs of others, alleviate suffering, and glorify God.Asking a clarifying question, like the familiar, “What would Jesus do?” can be helpful in determining whether a business opportunity qualifies as Christian in your understanding or not. Obviously, you will not be considering anything immoral or unethical. You would also not be involved in something that takes advantage of or exploits someone else.Have you ever gone online to look for a Christian home based business? Discouraging, isn’t it? Maybe even scary! How do you navigate through all the offers out there and determine which ones are legitimate and which ones are just an attempt to separate you from your money? I think the phrase,”Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves,” Matthew 10:16, describes the narrow path we have to walk in establishing a Christian home based business.I imagine you have heard the statistics that 95-98% of people who start a home based business, let alone a Christian home based business, fail. Like most of us, you have more than likely either failed at a home based business or know someone who has. With all those things stacked against you, why would you even try? That gets back to the single most important question to ask yourself,”Why am I considering this?” What do I want badly enough that I am willing to do whatever work is necessary and assume whatever risks are required to reach my goal.In planning to start a Christian based home business the “why” should definitely be more significant than making money, paying off bills or even living a better lifestyle. As a Christian our motivation should be grounded in our faith. That gives us an extra level of stability since it moves our motivation and resolve from simply something in our own self interest to meeting the needs of someone else.It follows Jesus’ words when he was asked what the greatest commandment is, “And he said to them, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and the first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39. Blending these two should be our ultimate goal in a Christian home based business.It sounds like a tall order, and it is, to combine total love of God, ourself and others, but the right Christian home based business can accomplish exactly that. If we do nothing that we would not want to share openly with God, then we know what we are doing will glorify Him. In a way our business becomes a standard by which others evaluate us. That becomes even more significant when we attach the standard of our faith to the performance of our business. We are actually inviting people to include this in their evaluation of us.If we endeavor to create only “win-win” scenarios in our relationships, we know that we are placing the best interest of others at least on a par with our own. With this foundation, your Christian home based business can really be a ministry that will bless you and others and glorify God. Combined with that, it can be the source of financial reward, allowing you to meet your own needs as well as the needs of others.