Business Support Programme

The Institute of Independent Business ongoing research into methods of improving the delivery of information, advice and managements skills to the SME sector has led to the development of the Business Support Programme. Research has shown that to improve the performance of the SME, it is necessary to facilitate incremental improvements in all aspects of company activity rather than concentrating on any one single aspect. In traditional consultancy, which is usually project-based, it is acceptable to address single issues in isolation. This is both impractical and unwise for an SME.

As an example, to undertake a project in Marketing for an SME without providing hands-on help in such matters as Finance, Personnel, Production and Quality, etc is likely to cause imbalances and hinder rather than expedite improvement.

Under a Business Support Programme (BSP) a lead Adviser is appointed to you. Over a period of time and using standard analytical techniques, the lead Adviser would become fully familiar with your business. Their duty and responsibility to you is to recognise your ambitions, your vision and your challenges, and where necessary bring in appropriate Associates from the Institute's network to provide specific expertise.

It has been statistically found in 95% of small companies, that the Managing Directors/Owners are really first class in their own area. However, they cannot possibly be expected to be an expert in every aspect of business. This is where the Business Support Programme comes into its own. In reality it means that you have immediate access to a full palette of skills so that improvements to all aspects of performance may be achieved in a co-ordinated manner.

This would mean that part of your hours would probably have, in effect, a Financial Director write up your business and financial plan. They could then present it to the bank for you to either raise extra finance, or negotiate whatever your needs be on the financial side.

The Business Support Programme has been designed to deliver tangible benefits to your business and is paid for on a monthly retainer basis. This allows you to draw on a consultant's time as and when required. The focus, of course, will be on your 'Agreed Areas of Need' with the result that for a fixed and known cost you would have access to the full range of skills that would normally only be available from the Board and senior management of a large company.