How Small Companies Should Handle Advisers

Because the environment for small business is more competitive and confusing than it was a decade ago, the need for sound advice from advisers such as accountants, lawyers, bankers, and other professionals is greater than ever. Always tough for the small company with limited resources, the task of obtaining timely and accurate advice is even more difficult than it used to be due to environmental factors in the advising professions. By creating a new managing relationship with outside advisers, the small company can increase its chances of obtaining sound advice. The new relationship consists of 2 key elements: 1. Seek out the best advisers or specialists and involve them more thoroughly in the business. 2. Be more skeptical of their credentials and their advice. A competent general practitioner who will gladly recommend specialists as needed is a real asset. The small business manager should ask questions rather than blindly accept advice he does not understand.