What kind of consulting services do you offer?

We offer a wide range of general, business and management consulting services for start-up and small businesses. This includes business planning, strategic planning, organizational issues, sales and marketing development and a host of other services. You can read more about the specific services offered under our Services link. We have worked with many small and start-up businesses and can address most needs except for legal, accounting and investment-related issues.

I just have a quick question; can I still use the service?

Absolutely, in fact, this virtual environment is fantastic. Instead of paying a traditional consultant $150 an hour for a site visit to answer you question, you can now submit the question electronically. Most questions only take about 20 minutes to respond too so your fee is only $20 instead of a $150 one-hour minimum. For example, suppose you have a marketing idea and you want to know if it sounds like a viable approach before writing that $800 check for advertising. You can send the idea to us for review and we can respond with feedback before you make your final decision.

I need a business plan but that can take several hours, can you complete longer-term projects on a virtual basis?

Yes, we can work on any project that can be completed in a virtual environment. Business and strategic planning can be completed virtually. Our approach is to help clients help themselves. So, we can address this issue one of two ways. We can provide you with guidance so you can complete some of the work, keeping your consulting fee to a minimum. Of if you don’t have the time to work on the plan; we can gather basic information from you and write the plan for you. 

How can you offer consulting services at a rate that is 60% less than most consultants?

There are several factors. First, many of the issues you face, we have address before. Therefore, we have the background and experience to quickly respond to your needs without completing hours of research. In many cases, we have your answer when we receive your request, we simply need to consider your particular circumstance and tailor it to your specific environment. Because our requests come in virtually, we can group them together to address similar responses as one time. For example we can address all marketing questions at one time. This helps us manage time as it is easier to respond to like-minded questions. We can also keep the consulting rate low because we can schedule your engagement during the best time of the day. Unlike traditional consulting in which set hours have to be established, we can optimize our scheduling to better suit your needs. For example, by grouping human resource questions together, we can estimate the time of each response and schedule them to best maximum the time, passing the savings on to the client. Finally, because we operate in a virtual environment, we don’t have any travel time, travel expenses or per diem rates. We only charge for the actual time used. So, if it only takes us 12 minutes to respond to a question, we only bill for the 12 minutes.

How do I get billed for service?

After we complete an engagement, we bill the credit card on file. Generally, unless agreed to in advance when a project is broken into stages, we charge for assignments upon completion. Many consulting firms charge a percentage of the fee up front, a percentage at mid-term and the final amount upon completion. We normally charge the credit card when we complete the assignment.

Clients are only charged for consulting that is authorized by the client at an agreed upon rate before the assignment begins.

What is the MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™?

Every client automatically is granted access to our MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™.  This is our internal database that we offer as an Extranet to clients on a subscription basis. The general public can sign-up for access to the database at a rate of $12.50 per month. The $20.00 retainer for virtual consulting includes access to this database. Consequently, the $20.00 per month retainer provides 20 minutes of consulting and access to the MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™ database.

MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™ is a compilation of thousands of resources that our consulting team uses on consulting assignments. Why is this important to you? Suppose you want to hire a new employee and you want a list of quality interview questions. You could send us a consulting request and we could supply you with a list of questions to fit your needs for about $45.00. Or, you could simply log in to your MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™ account and conduct a search for interview questions. You will be provided with access to 2,000 interview questions that are commonly asked during the interview process.   

I get 20 minutes of consulting each month as part of my package, what kind of services can I receive?

The 20 minute consulting session is great for asking and answering quick questions. On average, it takes approximately 20 minutes to answer a question in which we readily have a response, a little more if we have to conduct some research or if the question is complex. This means that each month every client has the opportunity to ask a business or management question and receive an answer as part of the consulting package. The $20.00 retainer is non-refundable as it includes access to the MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™ so each client should utilize the service and ask a question each month.

How should I set the budget?

This is a great feature to help new and small businesses control cash flow. You are in charge of the budget. As part of the Scope of Work, the client gets to establish a “not to exceed” budget. When establishing the budget, keep in mind that the fee should include time for research, applying the response to your organization, and responding to your response. Therefore, the “not to exceed” budget should take all of the above into consideration. When we receive your request, if we believe we will be unable to complete the assignment to your satisfaction given the budget, we will respond and let you know and offer the client the choice of proposing a larger budget or not moving forward with the project. If we believe the project can be completed within the budget limitation, but not to the fullest extent possible, we will respond and provide the deliverable but then indicate that additional information can be made available if the client wants to enter phase 2 of the assignment. For example, suppose someone wants a business plan and submits a budget of $90.00. We obviously cannot research, design and write a complete business plan in an hour and a half; however, we can provide a basic business plan that would include all of the major elements, but would not include any specific industry or competitive analysis, even though those headings would be part of the deliverable. If the client wants to move forward with the development of the basic business plan we can proceed. The client, who knows the major competitors anyway, could then write this section or submit a phase 2 budget for enhancement of the strategic plan. 

In other instances, we may not need the amount indicated in the “not to exceed” submission. For example, suppose a clients wants a basic outline of a policy and procedure manual and has established a “not to exceed” budget of $35.00. If we already have an outline that available and simply needs to be modified for the industry of the client, we may be able to provide the deliverable in 20 minutes for a consulting fee of $20.00. The client’s credit card is only billed for the 20 minutes of actual consulting time required to complete the assignment.

How do I sign up for consulting services?

Simply go to www.virtualbusinessconsultant.com and select the Sign-Up link. You will be taken to an electronic form to complete. This form includes a brief questionnaire regarding your organization with questions that will help us better understand your organization. Simply complete the form, agree to the Terms of Use and provide a valid credit card that will be used to charge your monthly retainer as well additional consulting fees that you authorize.

Once the form is completed and you select the “submit” button, you will receive a response within 48 hours that will include additional information, including instructions on how to sign up for the MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™ site. That is all that is required for signing up. The entire process, including the questionnaire, takes about ten minutes to complete.

Once I have signed up, how do I order the consulting services?

Submitting an engagement is an easy process and you can complete it 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. There is a form on the www.virtualbusinessconsultant.com website that you simply complete that asks you to describe what you need, any special circumstances related to the issue and a “not to exceed” budget. Once complete, you simply send the form to us and we will begin working on the assignment in the order received. It’s that easy. You will want to regularly check your email during an engagement in case we have additional questions or need additional information that was not provided. Although we try to complete all assignments within 48 hours, slow responses from the client could delay the process.  

What is the Virtual Board of Advisors™?

Large companies have a Board of Directors of experienced individuals across many industries who offer advice and counsel to the organization. Unfortunately, new and smaller organizations do not have the luxury of hiring 15 Board members at $24,000 each per year to provide that needed guidance. Using a unique, virtual approach, we have created a Virtual Board of Advisors™ that can serve as your “virtual board” each and every month. For $537.30 you are entitled to 4.5 hours of time from our consulting team. This might include one or more individuals on any given month, depending upon the issues your organization is facing.  Not only does this include email and web-based virtual consulting, but teleconferencing and telephone support as well. You can even hold a monthly board meeting in which we participate on a regularly scheduled basis via conference calling. This unique service enables start-up and small businesses the opportunity to have an engaged participant actively working with management on a constant basis. This program also includes access to the MANAGEMENT-TOOLKIT™ site.    

What about confidentiality?

It is not unusual for clients to submit confidential or proprietary information as part of a consulting engagement. For example, an organization may want assistance in establishing a marketing budget and might submit financial statements for the company. We hold all information that we receive marked “confidential” or “proprietary” as such and only disclose the information to those entities that need to have the information to complete the consulting engagement. Upon a client’s request we will return or destroy any confidential or proprietary information once a project is completed. Our website is secure as indicated by the SSL certificate on the site. Additional information can be found in our Terms of Use section as well. 

How do I submit additional materials for an assignment?

All engagements begin with the submission of the Scope of Work form. If you have additional or supporting materials that are required to complete the assignment, you can simply email those documents in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Project or pdf format to admin@newhorizonconsulting.com and the materials will be directed to the virtual consultant working on your assignment.

How do I cancel my service?

We hope that you find our consulting services to be of value and that you will be with us for a long time. However, should you wish to cancel your service at any time, you can simply send an email to admin@newhorizonconsulting.com and request your service be canceled as indicated in the Terms of Use. Should you cancel and find that you still need our services you can still engage our services at our usual and customary consulting rate of $150.00 per hour.

What if I do not like the service I receive?

There are really two answers to this question. If a client does not like the answer because it is not what he/she wants to hear, that is different than receiving consulting services that are of lesser quality. There are many instances in which the answer to a consulting question is not what a client wants to hear. We once had to recommend to a CEO that an organization needed a new CEO whose management style and approached better matched the culture and environment of the organization. In this case, the consulting advice is of sounds quality and the client is billed.

On the other hand, if a client believes that the level of quality or service provided by the assigned virtual consultant is less than acceptable, we will either offer to complete the engagement again at no cost, or simply not charge the client for the services rendered. 

How long does it usually take to receive a response?

We know that it can take days, if not weeks, sometimes to get traditional business consultants scheduled for an engagement. Because our work is completed virtually, we can greatly reduce that time. We strive to complete each engagement within 48 hours. This of course depends upon the number of requests received and the nature of the project. If we can’t complete the assignments within 48 hours, we notify the client and provide regular progress reports.

How do you select consultants?

We seek consultants who have extensive background, experience or education in a certain business or management discipline as well as general knowledge of business practices. Our virtual consultants must submit extensive background information related to their past experiences as well as respond to hypothetical situations. Once selected, we offer a mentorship program, even to traditional consultants with years of experience, because consulting in the virtual arena is different than traditional consulting. Finally, even though our consultants are experienced, we have a quality control program in which we regularly and randomly select engagements and assess the quality of the service provided.

What is a Small Business Specialist (SBS)?

In some instances, you may have signed up for our services through a Small Business Specialist or SBS. These are individuals who are authorized to represent us in specific geographic areas. They are trained on the services we provide and can work with you to help ensure that you are receiving full benefit from your virtual consulting experience. While the SBS is not a consultant and does not provide consulting services, he/she can serve as your liaison and your point of contact. While our form is virtual, it is sometimes nice to be able to communicate with an individual who you have met.