Consultants cost

[sinistaiz]

Hi, all. I'm a x-pro dj who has lots of experience in the club buisness. Both in promoting and the running of a club. I now work a normal 9-5 but find my self wanting to own my own space. I've done a lot of research as far as funding, location and all the little things in between for my project. And now need to start on the writing of a biz plan. (which I can do on my own but the finacial planing is a pain in the ass to say the least.) I would rather hire a consultant to do the plan for me but would like to know what type of cost should I expect to pay out for a consultant to write my finacial plan alone and /or my entire plan. Some general ball park figures would really be helpful. I like to Thank you all in advance for any help you could provide.

[Joe]

It depends upon the amount of work that you need done.
If you've got nothing to go on and you're asking me to do all the research on your marketplace as well, it's gonna run you in the 3 to 4 thousand dollar range. If you simply need me to put pieces together and get you up to speed on how the blan works and can be manipulated, about a grand.

But that's just me.

[sinistaiz]

First i'd like to thank Jorge on his advice it did help. But I'm still very curious about consultants as i've never worked with them before. I've decide that it would not only be easier but more efficient to have someone who has some experiece in the matter to help me get to where I wanna go. So a few things that would be helpful, is to know, are consultants bound by any laws to keep and prospective ideas of clients to themselves? My worst fear is to have a project idea of mine taken from me before i could get it up and running being that i'm not at all a rich man I just have a talent for throwing good parties and picking excellent locations. Could they help in picking a team of lawyers, accountants,designers and architects? And in finding other forms of financing for my project? What qualifications should I look for in a consultant other than past projects they've worked on? I have many more questions but i think these would be a good place to start. Also does anyone have and recomendations of consultants in the NYC area. I did look at the SVC but you guys are not NY based. And i'm working with very limited funding for now as i'm sure most of us are. So for me to travel back and fourth or pay someone to come to me would be a waste of a very limited finacial pool. Anyway please forgive my ignorance in these matters any advice you guys can give will as always be greatly appriciated. Thank you.

[raypatel]

Have you thought about taking on an investor. Try it, there is someone out there that share your thoughts and would like to invest in your business. Try selling stock to your family or friends as investment in your business. There are more options for your to raise money for your venture than the bank. I am planning on opening up a teen dance club /nightclub in my area and have a couple of investors lined up. I found them here on this site.

Good luck
If you need any more information, let me know

Ray Patel

[wygk]

There is an organization called SCORE which is partly funded through the SBA (Federal Small Business Administration). The organization is made up of retired executives who provide free advise and consulting. SCORE is nationwide, but I think the quality varies a lot from city to city, depending on who is running the local SCORE office. If you really understand your business, but just need help "cranking the numbers" SCORE can be a great resource. Check out http://www.score.org/

Also: a friend of mine took a one-semester class from a community college on starting and running a small business. It covered business plans, budgeting and financial management, HR rules and regulations, etc. The class also provided tons of reference materials, pointers to web sites and other groups, and resources. Most of the people in the class were "wannabe's", so once it became clear to the instructor that my friend was very serious about her business, he spent a lot of extra time helping her with he plan. She ended up getting a $500,000 SBA-backed loan to help her launch. And she said that the class was a tremendous help in getting her business off to a good start.

Anyway, I just wanted to point out that there are some free or very low coost resources that can help with all aspects of business planning.

Hope this helps.

[Securitygeek]

I couldn't remember the name SCORE, but thats the org. I have mentioned in other posts. :)

[advancemellc]

my company, AdvanceMe, provides money. Up to $125,000 for qualified business's. Contact me for our program guidelines. advancemellc@aol.com

[Milk]

Make anyone you talk to sign a confidentiality agreement before talking to them. That's a MUST!!!

[David]

ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

[firewater]

I have found some great software from a consulting company at www.startabar.com. You should check it out.