When it comes to hiring a business consultant to help you write a business plan, people take into account one of the two following scenarios: on the one hand, some business people strongly consider that hiring an external expert is extremely useful because he brings all his expertise to the table, while also offering new perspectives that can add value to the business plan. On the other hand, some entrepreneurs consider that hiring a consultant is an unnecessary cost when considering the benefits the expert offers. Moreover, they are not as familiar with your business, as you are for example.
In our opinion a business planning consultant can be a valuable resource when writing your business plan. At the same time, it is better for an entrepreneur to write his or her own business plan. However, in some cases this cannot be done because of time or knowledge constraints.
You can collaborate with a business consultant for the research stage, the writing and editing stage and for objective feedback. If the consultant does most of the heavy work, make sure that he or she is constantly consulting and communicating with you. Allocate some of your time to go over the business plan and familiarize with each stage of the business plan. This way, the consultant is able to explain in detail certain aspects so that you are ready if you have to present it to some potential founders or investors.
Hiring a business consultant can help you save up on time, which you can invest in managing your business. At the same time, he or she can offer you new and fresh perspectives on your business.
However, you have to remember that it’s more about using the business plan than it is about writing it so you need to make sure that the final documents corresponds with the actual needs of the business.