Читать книгу The Consulting Bible - Alan Weiss - Страница 40

Many consultants either begin or move into running a firm. That means that every year the principal must reinvest in the firm, with the intent of expanding business, personnel, goodwill, infrastructure, brands, and other accoutrements of what the accountants like to call a “going concern.” That's because the ultimate aim is to sell the business at some point as a multiple of revenues or earnings.

This requires more than merely consulting skills. The firm principal must exercise people management skills, delegation, recruitment, legal discretion, compensation, defections, and so on. Many consultants are refugees from large companies and managing people (including me). To return to this as the owner of the firm doesn't make the obligations any less daunting, frequent, or critical.

In firms, the benefit programs must be inclusive, so that employees derive identical or proportional advantages to the owner. This vastly increases expenses. Salaries and benefits also must be set and adjusted frequently and with care about equity across the board.