FINANCE AT YOUR FINGERTIPS by Moses Ayiku, Jr. MBA OP/ED
Starting A Business: Part 11…Lessons From Starting A Management Consulting Firm!
Years ago, I was working with a large pension fund as an Investment Officer. My job was to review and appraise diverse investment proposals and recommend to management the investments that we should undertake. This was an exciting time! Our recommendations led to amazing new investments in real estate (both residential and commercial), financial institutions, hotels, manufacturing concerns and a range of other investments.
Initially, the work was quite exciting and fun. We could see our recommendations leading to amazing projects being set up! In some cases, we had the opportunity to sit on several boards and provide guidance as these new entities continued to grow and expand. After a while, I began to realize that I had so many ideas and wanted to try different things. Unfortunately, due to politics and political interference, I was left unfulfilled, professionally.
Around this time, I was offered a unique opportunity. An associate of mine had a consulting contract with a nonprofit organization. In the middle of the assignment, this person obtained an opportunity to travel to the U.S. and took it. As a result, I suggested to this associate that he should offer my name as someone who could complete the assignment for the nonprofit.
The nonprofit called me in for an interview and we successfully came to an agreement. My motivation was very simple. This could be my first foray into consulting! In addition, the pay was quite good. Given that my full-time employees did not pay well, this was a much welcome situation! The assignment involved traveling throughout Ghana, West Africa and interviewing various organizations about their investments into water delivery in Ghana. I traveled to all 10 regions of Ghana (at that time it was 10; currently the regions have been increased to 16).
To facilitate this contract, I obtained my annual leave and was able to successfully undertake the journey. Upon returning to Accra, I spent about a week collating all the questionnaires and developing what was to become the first major database on non-governmental water delivery projects in Ghana at the time. This database became the guiding resource that many nonprofits used to avoid duplication of efforts in the same regions.
By the time I had completed the assignment I was left with a desire to undertake more of such contracts! The assignment provided me with a lot of independence. It also allowed me to provide creative solutions to problems that occurred. As a professional, I could see myself gaining tremendous relevant exposure with such assignments!
Not long after completing the assignment, I came across a family friend who had just graduated from university. This young lady had a Bachelors in Agricultural Economics. At the time, the young lady was looking for a job to gain some experience. With support from a mentor, I set up my first consulting firm! Then I offered the young lady a position as a Research Assistant.
Initially, I continued to work for my employer and spent my evenings and weekends on the consulting business. The young lady was very helpful in setting up the firm. This person was able to make rounds during the day that I couldn’t do because of my full-time job! We started getting more and more contracts! Eventually, I decided to resign from my full-time job and focus on the consulting business. This was the beginning of an exciting time! We traveled and undertook diverse assignments for our clients as well as some amazing training programs that were quite well received.
Next week, I shall share some of the experiences we had running a management consulting firm. By sharing my story, it is my intention to encourage and uplift those of you who are close to starting your own business.
Please feel free to share with me your questions and experiences on starting a new business. I will do my best to respond, and, in some cases, I will write on some of these questions.
Your questions and comments can be sent to localtalknews@gmail.com.
