#doingbusinessintexas

[melvinfeller]

Melvin Feller Business Group a Business Consultants Company Based in Texas and Why They Recommend Working with Consultants, Any Good Business Consultant.

Melvin Feller almost never uses the word “problem”; instead, he and his company talk about opportunities in order, Feller points out, to enhance value. Ask any consultant what they do, and they’ll likely say “I’m in the solutions business.” Despite criticism that’s sometimes leveled at business consultants, they truly can add value to company, but you need to know when and why to use them. In order to fully get value, you need to know the problems that need to be solved. There is a massive range of business issues that consultants can deliver solutions for, and different types of consultants bring different philosophies and concepts to the table.

It is interesting to note that, consultants come in many forms and skill sets. Here are just a few:

Types of Consultants

Business consultants can generally add value in five major areas of your business:

Management and strategy. Qualified consultants should have a deep understanding of your particular market and bring the best practices from your industry (or even other industries) to your company. If you’re looking to expand your markets geographically, extend your product portfolio, reorganize your middle market company to promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness, buy out a smaller competitor, or increase your overall capabilities, then hiring an experienced management/strategy consultant can make perfect sense.

Operations. Want to improve the quality and efficiency of your production processes? An operations consultant can help you create and implement a new way of doing just that. Many consultants specialize in business process re-engineering, meaning that they come in and map out your existing processes, analyze opportunities for reducing the number of steps in that process while maintaining quality, and re-engineer your processes in a way that reduces steps and costs. Other consultants are experts in quality control systems and can help you make changes that will reduce defects.

HR. If you’re a company needs to improve the overall satisfaction of your employees, recruit top talent, and retain your top performers? Many of these consultants specialize in developing compensation strategies that align with your overall business goals, training, and developing your people in areas such as business communication and leadership. They can help you improve performance-related feedback and evaluation to your team, making your employees work smarter.

Marketing. Whether you need a new logo for your company, a new market position for one of your brands, or a new social media strategy to interact with your customers, marketing consultants can help. Consultants can offer you a creative spark when your employees have run out of ideas, letting you see what other companies have done to attract more customers.

Reasons for Hiring a Consultant such as Melvin Feller Business Group

Now that you know the major types of consultants, why would you need to hire one? Here are five common reasons:

Rent a brain. You don’t have the human resources you need because some internal person has quit or your head count has been slashed, so hiring a consultant for a project or on a temporary basis can fill the gap until a full-time internal person is found. You won’t have to make a consultant a full-time employee, so breaking off the relationship is relatively easy and cost-effective.

Change Management. Many business consultants are experts at fostering change in organizations, so if your midsized company is extensive with internal squabbling concerning imminent changes, bringing in a consultant can break that logjam. The majority of consultants know that they’re often brought in for political cover and will often shoulder the blame for unpopular changes such as reducing head count and other cost-cutting measures. This is normal process.

Teach and Implement best practices. Often consultants are the leading experts in the fields they work in. They not only have academic and theoretical expertise, but they’ve also worked directly with leading companies to implement change. If you want best practices in areas such as IT and management, then consultants are the best source available. Why try to invent a best practice when consultants have already implemented with multiple clients?

Permeate Creativity. Consultants have a fresh perspective on your business, so having an outsider come in and offer ideas can be tremendously helpful. Sometimes your in-house people are too close to your company and don’t have the perspective to examine the bigger picture within your market, but consultants can share valuable insights that boost your internal creative thinking.

Training Deliver. You can hire a consultant to share knowledge about almost anything. Consultants are born trainers, so they’re a natural choice to do a training course or day-long presentation for your company in almost any area. A good consultant blends theory and practice, and this can deliver high value to your mid-market company.

Melvin Feller Business Consultants is also proud to offer this step by step checklist for becoming a business consultant.

Here is a list of things to consider when you are starting or growing your consulting business practice:

Start with your skills. You cannot be an effective consultant if you don’t bring value to the small business owner. Be relentless in your ongoing education. You become more in-demand and can charge higher fees based on the your wider the extent of knowledge and expertise.

Create and Maintain an experience level. It’s rare that a business owner will entrust their business to a business consultant who has never owned a business before, or to a consultant who doesn’t have a high level of expertise in a specific topic area. An expert is defined as having 10,000 plus hours of experience with the topic they claim as their expertise. If you use a traditional 40-hour workweek as your ruler, that means you need at least 5 years’ full-time experience with your business subject matter in order to call yourself an expert.

Always Know Your Why. Before you get down to the nitty-gritty of designing your business and getting clients, figure out why you want to be a business consultant, and why you want to help these owners. Why this specific target audience? What is your motivation? Knowing this will keep you going when you hit the inevitable speed bumps along the way to building your business and serving your clients.

Determine Your own Definition of Success. Keep your eye on the target. The definition of success differs from person to person. Take some time to visualize all the ways that a successful consulting practice will manifest in your personal and professional life.

Develop and Create a Business Plan. Go through all the same steps you would go through with a client, and work on your own business model design. Things to consider: what legal format you’ll use, what are your mission and vision statements, what are your offerings, your pricing and profit models. Include the resources you will need to succeed, like money, time, skills/knowledge, equipment, and people resources. Set goals and milestones for the next 1 year, 3 years and 5 years.

Develop and Create a Marketing Plan. There are countless consultants out there. How will you be remarkable and stand out from the crowd? How will you connect with your audience and build rapport and trust? Will you use traditional marketing techniques only, or combine traditional and internet marketing? Which of the 100+ available techniques will bring the best results? How much will you invest in marketing (in both time and money)? What are the goals of your marketing?

Study Coaching and Mentoring Skills. You will be working with human beings who have their own set of strengths and weaknesses. Learn deep listening skills and how to ask meaningful questions to get clarity and provide focus. Learn how to hold clients accountable for implementing their action plans, and how to deal with difficult client situations. You’ll find that you work as much with the business owner’s mindset as you do with the practical logistics of running a business.

Choose Your Niche. Determine if your specialty requires you to have a license or certification such as financial and tax advisors, legal advisors, insurance advisors. Will you focus on a niche area, like email marketing strategies, or will you be an expert who can help clients with a wide range of challenges and projects? Will you work with a particular size business based on number of employees or revenue? Will you work only with local clients, or will your consulting business be national/international?

Decide if you are going to advise them, or do the work for them. Some consultants are more like mentors and advisors, who work with the small business owner to do planning and strategy work. Other small business consultants provide a specific service as a sub-contractor, to augment the client’s staff such as part-time CFOs, website designers, and copywriters.

Learn the problems that most small business owners have and formulate a strategy to define and solve those problems. Use readily available strategies, tools and assessments to help solve these problems, or create strategies of your own. Consider putting together your own consultant’s toolkit.

Deeply understand the seven areas of a business model to help your clients in the areas that are causing the most damage or have the best return on investment if they make a change.

Systemize your own business so that you have maximum efficiency. Use templates, automation and sales scripts. Take time early in the setup of your business to create these systems to free up your time and attention for more important tasks. Hint: you’ll then teach these efficiencies to your clients.

Get help with the administrative and marketing work. Outsource the tasks that you do not want to do, that you are not an expert in, or that take away from your revenue-generating time.

Get your ego out of the way. While your work can and should be meaningful to you, you are not a consultant to pump up your own ego. You are a consultant to serve your clients. You are going to advise them, help them to determine the pros and cons of each course of action, and then allow them to make their own decisions. You cannot stop them from making unwise decisions or from not following through on an implementation plan. Equally, if your client has a big win, it may be partly due to your advice, but much of the praise needs to go to your client for making it happen. Decide in advance what a “successful client engagement” means to you.

Be honest about your own areas of personal development. No one is perfect. Sometimes we procrastinate. Sometimes we get distracted. Sometimes we let anger or fear get the better of us. Sometimes we don’t communicate as well as we could. Discover your weaknesses and either learn how to overcome them, or hire staff to help deflect them.

Choose marketing techniques that bring qualified leads to the sales conversation. Track your marketing relentlessly. If your marketing isn’t bringing the desired results, revamp it. Do not choose marketing techniques because they are a hot trend if they don’t bring in leads or help build your brand recognition.

Learn problem solving, decision making, project management, and time management skills. These four skills will provide the backbone of the assistance you will offer clients and help you run your own business successfully.

Learn from the masters. Why re-invent the wheel? You can discover savvy shortcuts by paying attention to the leading consultants in your industry. In any small business consulting niche there are always several people who have risen to the top of their profession. Study their offerings, their marketing methods, the way they run their businesses, and the way they work with clients. Determine if those methods would serve you and your clients, too.

The right background for the consultant you select depends on your industry and your needs. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that consultants can be management (business), scientific or technical. If you want someone to help your company develop new proprietary software or computer-based workflow, you may want to engage a technical consultant. But outside of specific needs, companies usually work with management consultants when they want to improve their bottom line, customer satisfaction or employee morale.

Regardless of the type of consultant you work with, their background is critical. It helps you understand how likely they are to improve your business. Here’s what to consider when reviewing potential consultants:

Do they have hands-on experience? This can be especially important in the business world. If someone came directly out of college labeling themselves as a consultant, do they really know anything more than you do? Consider looking for consultants who have successfully owned or run small businesses, enterprise organizations or specific departments.

Is their experience applicable? A former bank CEO may seem impressive, but do they have the knowledge and experience to turn your cupcakery into a profitable small business? They might, but if you’re also considering a former restaurant owner who now makes a living successfully helping small eateries grow, this consultant may be a better match for your business. Look for consultants who have worked in your industry and with businesses that match yours in style, size, needs and goals.

What’s their track record with consulting? You don’t just want a consultant who has the right experience; you want a consultant who has demonstrated success with companies like yours. Ask for a portfolio or list of brands the consultant has worked for, and request references. Look for a consultant who has helped businesses overcome the types of challenges you’re facing or who has grown businesses very similar to yours, and reach out to those companies to find out if they were satisfied with the services.

The bottom line is that you cannot depend on your consultant for ever, and, once they leave, your team members will need to take responsibility for the project. Your team members will be the ones fixing problems or making adjustments in the future, so they must understand the consultant’s work, and develop the skills that they will need to continue it.

Include developing a knowledge management plan in your consultant’s tasks, and involve members of your team to ensure that this plan is a success. Make sure that the consultant cross-trains the members of your team on their techniques and their approach.

Build a knowledge transfer process into the project, to ensure that you are not caught out when your consultant finishes. The earlier this process begins, the more questions your team members can ask, and the more skills and knowledge they will gain.

It is essential to remember that consultants are professionals who provide short-term expert help and advice in a particular fields or industries. They have high levels of expertise and they can work differently to the rest of your team.

The key to working successfully with them is to be clear about expectations and deliverables. This includes monitoring the scope of the project: be aware that projects and budgets can grow, and that consultants may encourage this!

Any time you find yourself working with consultants, you must give detailed instructions, clear feedback, and the resources they need to work efficiently. Always, work to maintain positive relationships between them and their permanent co-workers.

By following these guidelines, you and your company will continue to maximize every opportunity and employee to the maxim thereby increasing your brand awareness and your bottom line.

[melvinfeller]

Melvin Feller MA Discusses How to Start Your Own Business in Texas

Melvin Feller MA knows that there’s a lot to love about Texas. The abundance of Tex-Mex, Texas people, and the Texas Life-style. But one of the most important is the state’s staunch support of its business community. Melvin Feller MA points out that starting a business in Texas has the advantage of the nation’s second-largest population and a number of fast-growing metropolitan areas.

Melvin Feller MA asks “If you are new to business and wanting to start your own business in Texas. Do you know what you want to do?” Therefore, if you’re thinking of starting a business in a Texas location and a field of business that’s new to you. Melvin Feller MA believes that you will always be successful in a business that you have a passion for especially in a Texas friendly environment.

Texas’ support for small business is evident in its low business licensing fees, its lack of red tape, and a profusion of relatively low-priced real estate. Few states can boast a similar lack of regulation that lets businesses be born almost as soon as they are thought of.  Best of all is that starting a business in Texas can be done with a small investment.

Best of all you don’t have to go it alone in Texas. A number of state and federal resources, such as the U.S. Small Business Administration, offer business advice, low-interest loans, and grants. Their programs are geared toward helping veteran-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, and women-owned businesses, and they’re worth exploring if you qualify.

Melvin Feller MA, Educator, and CEO, states that during stressful times and times of distress and economic hardships, more businesses are created and more people are actually successful in rendering products and services that are vital to our economy.

In order to have a successful enterprise, you should address a number of topics. Many of these items will be incorporated into your business plan, so consider the use of this list as a preparation for business and market planning. In each of these topic areas, determine which apply to your enterprise and then address those issues. However, there are basic steps in starting a business that can make a positive impact. It is best to start by asking and answering critical questions pertaining to you, the business owner and your business concept. Melvin Feller MA goes on to state that these are the must have and hard questions to really ask yourself:

Have you determined what products and services you are going to offer?

Have you determined that a market exists for your offerings and is accessible to your selected location?

Have you determined if there are any names, logos, or other intellectual property that must be covered through patent or trademark registration?

What is the legal form of the business? (proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company)?

Have you registered your business name?

Have you determined a formation for your business (i.e. sole proprietorship, partnership, S-Corporation, C-Corporation, Limited Liability Company, etc.)?

If you have chosen your business to be a corporation, have you filed a Certificate of Incorporation?

Have you addressed, if necessary, a Partnership Agreement or Limited Liability Company Article of Organization?

Have you researched local, county, and state license and permit requirements?

Have you selected a physical site for your business?

Have you addressed local zoning regulations to see if your business conforms or if you will need to seek a variance?

Have you researched Federal, state and local regulatory agencies to determine what you need to address?

Have you determined your insurance requirements?

Once you have these questions answered and have a solid plan then it is time to think about your business location. There are many things that must be considered during this period. In fact, according to Melvin Feller MA, most of these things are never considered and could actually hinder a budding entrepreneur’s success.

Melvin Feller MA compiled this list of the key issues to keep in mind when you’re deciding whether a new city is right for you.

Workforce. In today’s labor-tight, knowledge-based economy, this is far and away the single most important factor to examine, according to relocation experts and several executives who have recently moved their companies. If the location doesn’t support your ability to recruit and retain a world-class workforce, everything else is secondary.

Will your company be able to offer employees’ salaries and benefits that are competitive in the region? If not, you may not be able to recruit the best talent. Remember that people often have families. Is the local economy deep enough and diverse enough to support careers for employees’ spouses? How is the quality of life in the area? How are the schools?

Sources of funding. “Venture capital is a contact sport,” according to Melvin Feller MA. “Be near sources of financing.” Is there a venture-capital or angel-investor community in the region? Is there a network of lawyers, accountants, or other professionals that can help you develop a business plan and market it to potential investors? Are there formal and informal networking opportunities in town? Are low-cost loans available from banks and other lending institutions?

 Economic-development incentives. Does the city or state you’re looking at have aggressive policies — including tax incentives and low-cost loans — to recruit and retain businesses in your industry or start-ups in general? Be on the lookout for places that have developed economic strategies for attracting the kind of business you’re in.

Transportation. Air service is particularly important in today’s economy. How many flights go into and out of the nearest airport? Is there a hub airport nearby, making it easy for customers and clients to get to you?

Manufacturers should check out trucking routes and other transportation needs that support their companies’ logistics. What will it cost to get the supplies you need to your new location and to ship your product to your customers? Will you be able to deliver your product at a competitive price?

Technology. How wired is the area you’re considering? Are broadband services available for Internet access? Such offerings are important both for web-based companies and for those that use the Web just to enhance their brick-and-mortar business.

Cost of living. This issue has major implications for both your employees and your company. Can your staff find affordable housing in the area? In terms of commercial real estate, Melvin Feller MA suggests that you look at both cost and flexibility. He recommends negotiating a short-term lease that gives you options to acquire more space as needed.

Universities. “All the hot zones have great universities,” says Feller, founder of Melvin Feller MA Business Group. Universities provide cheap but knowledgeable part-time labor (students), as well as readily available consultants (professors). When the students graduate, they help form a skilled talent pool from which to draw employees. Many universities also host small-business development centers and programs.

Character of the local economy. What sectors are strongest in the region? If you’re a manufacturer, for example, you probably don’t want to go to a tourist or service-oriented economy, since it might not have an appropriate workforce, essential suppliers, and other resources.

Personal preferences. Do you have friends, family, or professional contacts that keep you in one area or draw you to another? You want to be happy in the place where you do business. As your company grows, the personal aspects of running a business may have to give way to more practical considerations, so think about such factors now, while you are still in control.

Melvin Feller MA knows that opening up your own small business can bring a host of benefits — more freedom, flexible working hours, more career opportunities and many of your dreams realized.

 Statistics show small businesses started by women have a greater chance of success — experts think it’s because women plan more, and take things step by step. A recent study on factors influencing career success conducted by Accenture, a global management consulting company, found that women feel juggling family support, planning and ambition is important for them to advance in their careers.

 Melvin Feller MA also knows that planning is important? Because he knows and has proven that a great business starts with a great idea. But there’s so much more. Often, would be entrepreneurs get so excited about their idea that they forget to find out whether it’s viable or not.

Small businesses make up more than 99% of the businesses in Texas. Small businesses, in particular, rely upon funding and financing to get their new and current businesses off the ground.

The Governor’s Office of Small Business Assistance works closely with a variety of partners to highlight the various avenues for accessing capital. The Governor’s Office cannot recommend or suggest specific lenders but we invite you to visit the following nonprofit lenders and chartered banks. At this time, the Governor’s Office does not have a program for grants available to start-up businesses.

The partners included below have a state-wide presence, but there are many local options available depending on where you are located.

NONPROFIT LENDERS

ACCION ACCION is dedicated to providing the tools entrepreneurs need to operate, grow or start their business. They offer a community of support and are dedicated to increasing access to business credit, making loans and providing support.

BCL of Texas Established in 1990 as a statewide not-for-profit, BCL of Texas successfully promotes business and community development and provides business capital and commercial real estate loans throughout Texas. In addition to providing businesses with counseling and technical assistance, BCL of Texas originates, underwrites, processes, closes and services business loans for healthy, growing businesses.

LiftFund the mission of LiftFund is to provide credit and service to small businesses that do not have access to loans from commercial sources, and to provide leadership and service to the micro-lending field on a national level.

PeopleFund provides loans and technical assistance to people who are left out of the financial mainstream. PeopleFund provides flexible loans to small businesses, startups, and nonprofit organizations across Texas. They also provide business consulting, technical assistance, and a variety of other programs.

FINANCING RESOURCES

To find a Texas financial institution, visit the National Information Center’s website.

For international financial institutions in the state that enable international trade by issuing letters of credit, providing currency exchange, and making trade related loans, as well as financing projects in various countries, please visit Texas Bankers Association and the Independent Bankers Association of Texas.

Credit Unions: Cornerstone Credit Union League, a nonprofit that seeks to inform on the operating environment and strength of credit unions throughout the central southern U.S., provides information on the various chapters throughout Texas.

Banks: The Texas Department of Banking provides a list of Texas state-chartered banks and holding companies.

CROWDFUNDING AND EQUITY CROWDFUNDING

In the past few years, crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding have become very popular methods of raising capital. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two popular crowdfunding sites in which individuals are able to give small donations with the goal to partially fund a project. In exchange, the crowd receives different items depending on the size of their donation. Equity crowdfunding is when individuals invest in an early-stage company in exchange for shares in that company.

GRANTS.GOV:

A centralized location for grant seekers to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. The website houses information on over 1,000 grant programs and vets grant applications for 26 federal grant-making agencies.

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH/SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FUNDING (SBIR/STTR):

The federal government allocates over $2 billion annually to SBIR and STTR. These programs encourage small businesses to capitalize on commercialization opportunities.

The SBIR program is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.

The STTR program expands funding opportunities in the federal innovation arena. Central to the program is the expansion of the public/private sector partnership to include joint venture opportunities between small business and nonprofit research institutions.

To find local resources familiar with SBIR/STTR and can support small business commercialize, please visit their website.

With over 2.6 million small businesses, small business is big business in Texas. The Texas economy has continually outpaced the national economy in overall growth, low unemployment rates, and high consumer confidence. Highly ranked healthcare, exemplary education, low living costs, a strong heritage, and hundreds of miles of rivers and coast make Texas the perfect spot.

Small businesses make up 99.8% of the Texas businesses. Texas is consistently ranked at the top of business climates in America and has been ranked highly for over a decade. Texas is recognized for its strong economy, skilled workforce, low taxes and fair legal system, extensive infrastructure, and high quality of life. In 2019 Business Facilities recognized Texas as the #1 state for business climate and infrastructure. Area Development ranked Texas as #1 for overall cost of doing business, competitive labor market and corporate tax environment.

Out of the 2.6 million small businesses in Texas, more than 866,000 are women-owned small businesses and 1.1 million are minority-owned small businesses. The Texas Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Certification offers certification that increases the exposure of a business especially as it concerns supplier diversity programs in both public and private sectors. 4.6 million Texas residents, or almost half of the state’s private workforce, are employed by a small business. In fact, small businesses created 218,436 net new jobs in 2019.

All types of businesses flourish across Texas. Many regions in Texas boast large, existing concentrations of companies in a particular industry which creates a trained labor force from which other businesses can draw. As a result, regions with existing labor pools continue to spur new business expansions and relocations in those same sectors.

Cost of Doing Business

With no individual income tax, Texas has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country, ranking as a Top 15 Best State in the Tax Foundation’s 2019 State Business Tax Index.

Exports

Texas has been the #1 exporting state for 16 straight years. 93.1% of all Texas exporters are small firms and are responsible for 37.6% of all Texas export value.

Finally, Feller states, “Researching your idea or talking to a neutral business advisor keeps your goals on track”. However, Feller also says that when he first started, nothing happened so I got impatient. But Richard Branson’s book “Losing My Virginity” was inspiring, as he stuck it out and found opportunities where others said there were none.

It was through trial and error and lots of education, that he reached the pinnacle of success and was able to create a business which has gone on to help thousands of people to start the business of their dreams and fulfill their legacy.