Working with trusted advisors to achieve your business goals

By Joe Romeo, Senior Business Development, Hennessey Capital
 
Who are trusted advisors?  Trusted advisors include your banker, accountant, CPA , attorney, business coach, mentor, academic scholars and other experts in your particular field of interest

A trusted professional is someone you can rely on to give you straight answers and tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. Integral to the trusted advisor relationship is someone who places your interests first above all others and who will be there when you need them.  Trusted advisors are committed to your long term goals and successes and will have a deep understanding of those aspirations.  They exercise sound business judgment and will protect your assets and interests as if they were their own.           
                               
A trusted advisor is typically an  expert in his or her field and is able to offer solid advice and direction along with objective assessments and valuable input.
               
Advisors are an important part of managing your business because often we don’t know what we don’t know.   Entrepreneurs cannot be experts at everything and it is extremely valuable to gain a different perspective. Your valued consultants can help guide you in the direction of the best solution for your business and help you think critically about your vision and strategy.
                              
Selecting the right group of  trusted advisors is a significant undertaking and the old adage “you get what you pay for” is applicable in this case. It is important that you invest the time and resources to adequately research advisors and pick the individuals that will best complement your business. You are building a long-term relationship, so it’s critical that you engage with an expert who can offer professional counsel and you enjoy working with.

Business icons like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the like have put this concept into practice by surrounding themselves with the best professionals in various areas of expertise to provide guidance and complement their knowledge and skill set.
                
A beneficial way to engage your advisors is to utilize them as a “board of directors” of sorts. Share your business ideas, new concepts and key issues  with them on a regular basis to gain perspective and insight. Beyond benefitting from his or her expertise, it will also provide an opportunity for the advisor to better guide you business. The more your advisors know about the challenges and opportunities within your business, the better their ability to provide guidance.   In return, patronize and promote their business. In a relationship-based business world, there is no better gift and reinforcement of confidence in an advisor’s abilities than a quality referral.
Business Week articulated this concept in a recent article, “Your Competitor is your Customer is your Partner” 

Choose your advisor group wisely to include a mix of professionals representing the key disciplines for your business.
Bankers or other financial experts, legal for corporate structure, partnership agreements, industry documentation/contracts, intellectual property and other protections, CPAs  for accounting, tax and other financial support, academia for their connective value and as a wealth of information and prototype infrastructure you will need, marketing, advertising, communication, media, social networks, web site, internet and technology support, business coach and strategic planner, insurance for protection against risk and any industry specific specialists that apply to your particular business.
 
In summary, take advantage of the valuable resources surrounding your business and selectively apply what you glean from this group.  It can pay dividends in many ways including new business opportunties.