A small business consultant can also serve as a brand strategist. One of the most challenging aspects of owning your own business is knowing exactly how to help your business grow, develop, and mature. For example, should you expand your business domestically or go beyond that and set up shop in other countries? Does it make sense to add more product lines or partner with another brand? These are the types of questions a business consultant can help you answer. Beyond helping you map out your small business growth journey, a consulting firm can recommend specific tactics to achieve those objectives.

A consultant who specializes in small business marketing and sales can provide direction on creating a marketing plan, including how to approach social media, influencer marketing, SEO practices, sales tactics, and content marketing. It helps if the consulting practice is knowledgeable about your industry or niche and understands which tools, platforms, and tactics work for your target audience. They should also have a successful track record in campaign creation and management.

Talent acquisition and human resources issues have become more complex and critical to a business’s success. The talent pool isn’t always as big as you might desire, so it helps to work with a business consultant with the connections and talent referrals to fill your organizational gaps in skills and experience. These days, HR also must contend with other complex issues, including how to correctly address inclusion, diversity , sexual harassment, and new types of benefits, plus new workplace policies involving remote work, telecommuting, and freelance talent. Since this function of a small business has become increasingly complicated, a consultant adept at understanding the issues and potential solutions helps your company manage with much-needed efficiency.

Some of the most experienced small business owners I’ve known weren’t prepared for all the unexpected (and even expected) situations and problems that arose over time. The pandemic is a dramatic example of the kinds of situations that may appear out of nowhere, leaving you at a loss about how to properly manage the crisis and sustain your business. Other examples might involve a security breach (more on that below), a natural disaster, an industrial accident, customer injuries or illnesses from your product, and more. While you will never be fully prepared for every possible crisis, a business consultant who specializes in crisis management can help you address the issue. If nothing’s happened yet, count yourself lucky but know it’s only a matter of time. A business consultant can also help you address contingencies by preparing a business continuity plan, noting your vulnerabilities and suggesting ways to address them before disaster strikes. This type of proactive help will better position you in the event of another year like 2020 (not that we want one!).

From small business accounting processes to high-level financial and cash flow analysis, business finance can be a complex topic. Many small business owners tend to wing it when it comes to this part of their business. That’s what I did until I realized I needed to hire a certified public accountant because I was spending more each month than I was earning. But I didn’t have the perspective to make smarter business decisions while spending less overall. Adding a CPA removed many of those headaches. Certification provides the necessary credibility so you can trust a consultant to delve into your financials. They can point out where you may need to rethink spending while also providing tips on creating an emergency fund, retirement accounts, and better tax planning processes.

Another critical area of your business is information technology and security management. From an expansive online presence to the need to do remote work — combined with an increase in data breaches — it’s more important than ever to be aware of your IT systems. You and your business can incur considerable fiscal responsibility should hackers steal customer data. You also need to know new data privacy regulations, including those from the European Union, since your business could attract customers from around the world. A business consultant who specializes in IT and security could help you fill the knowledge and skills gaps you have in this area and assist you in protecting your own data and that of your customers. In the process, you can ensure your hard-earned revenue doesn’t go to fines, penalties, and lawsuits over security breaches.