Small is Beautiful
/Ten reasons to choose the small independent company or freelancer for your next project
Every time you need outside help for your company or organisation, you should always consider a small company or freelancer.
That is the default position I would like to see, but many organisations have procurement procedures/preferences for larger companies and are missing out on the benefits from using the small independent company or freelancer.
Maybe the problem is size and hence perceived lack of resources. If you wanted to know whether to take the washing in before it rains you might be tempted to seek out the weather forecasting might of the Met Office. Its Cray supercomputers are capable of over 2million calculations per second for every person on the planet. However, a locally based nature guide will more accurately predict if rain is going to fall in your back garden using local knowledge, experience and basic weather patterns.
Maybe you want a one stop shop with everything under one roof. A recent project saw the client employing a large building surveying consultancy to put together a grant application for low carbon technologies. However, they used outside consultants for this type of work which delayed the timescales owing to internal procurement procedures, in-house processes and lack of technical understanding by the project director. The application was submitted but after all the grant money was allocated. A nearby client came straight to me as a low carbon specialist, we worked on the project together and got the full grant awarded.
So what should make you choose one of the small independent/freelancers that make up the Consult Yorkshire network instead? Here are ten things to consider:
Experience: most of us have started our own companies after years of experience gained within larger organisations. How often do you get the managing director working on your project?
Reputation: please look at my CV and those of any of the Consult Yorkshire network!
More Invested: when helping with proposals we have more invested in the end result and so will work twice a hard to ensure its success.
Continuity: we will not pass on the job to other colleagues at critical stages on the project
Reaction Time: we don’t need to consult colleagues or managers to react to an urgent request
Limitations:we are experienced and humble enough to know our limitations and the dangers of overpromising (but see Networking below).
Recommendations: the majority of our work comes from recommendations and not from expensive advertising. We therefore want every project to be a success.
Best Links: we have an extensive address book of other professionals, contractors etc built up over our careers which we can recommend based on first hand knowledge
Value for Money: It’s not just the cost but the value. With our experience we can complete the work more quickly and to a higher standard.
Networking: we use networks, such as Consult Yorkshire, to find solutions to a client’s problems and make use of an experience pool very rarely offered from a single company.
So if you need a consultant, remember the last time you looked out of your window at your dripping clothes line and cursed the national weather forecast.
Paul Redding
Redding Associates
m: 07950 344614
