Consulting on a Budget
…..quickly effectively
target and solve your problem
A business advisor for small to midsize owners, without a fortune to spend on problems that need to be fixed right now
Hourly… monthly… by the incident… on retainer… what works best for you?
Our clients use us on an emergency basis, as a monthly review of business progress, on a per diem basis, or per incident. We even have a “contingency plan”—the money we save you pays our fee.
.
Do you….
…need to cut operating expenses without cutting
sales or quality?
…need to create a Business/Marketing/Sales Plan?
…need to review your personnel needs
…need to edit your business documents to
communicate your ideas better?
…face an important contract negotiation that can
make or break your company?
Are you….
…a new mid-level manager in need of coaching on
common (or uncommon) business situations
…a new or experienced senior manager facing new
strategic problems
…facing a critical problem that must be solved
the right way the first time?
…being asked to solve seemingly unsolvable
problems
…establishing an exit strategy
Contents
Overview
John Murray
An international speaker and published author who has served as a Board member and CEO for public and private companies, from traditional to hi-tech endeavors. As the principle partner for Consulting on a Budget, he is skilled at hiring and honing senior management teams, recruiting, training and motivating a winning sales staff.
The number one reason why clients call us: operational problems that threaten to doom a struggling business. Mr. Murray can address operational quandaries, garner corporate-wide support for structural changes, blend the myriad personalities and strengths associated with growing companies, cleanly and professionally present your company infrastructure to financial institutions or potential investors/clients, reorganize sales structure to take advantage of the current business climate. When facing questions of planning, strategic vision, sales, marketing, operations, personnel, turn-around tactics, exit strategies, take advantage of his thirty years of experience from all sides of the table. This should be your first call.
J. M. MacCrossen
Twenty-five years experience training and motivating, and fine-tuning corporate communications both verbally and written. Expert trainer for all employees in speech-giving, client presentations, trade-show work, and the art of client meetings, as well as professional correspondence. We can assist in preparing written materials, or edit existing marketing brochures, websites, business letters.
Computer business programs are an essential skill every employee must understand and use like a front door—an entry point to building business from wherever they are positioned in the management structure. We provide expert guidance to develop employee confidence in common software such as Excel, Word, Explorer, PowerPoint, as well as more advanced applications such as photo-editing and video production, enabling your business to take advantage of the tremendous professionalism as well as cost-savings associated with savvy employees preparing their own presentations. It is no secret that a business’s most valuable asset is their employees—unleash the power of metacommunications
The Consulting on a Budget Team
…will
define and solve issues of strategic planning, business editing, employee computer
training, motivational meetings, contract/lease review and negotiation. Services include:
Interim management
Development of long- and short-range plan
Write Business, Marketing/Sales Plan
Review personnel needs, qualifications and
address downsizing needs
Solve previously unsolvable problems in the
areas of operations and financial controls
Executive coaching for new midmanagement executives, unsure of their new
responsibilities
Executive coaching for new or experienced CEO’s
facing new problems that threaten their business future
Business document editing, including web pages,
marketing materials, business letters, and trade show materials
Lease review, prior to or in conjunction with
legal advise
Project consulting or General consulting
By the hour… by the month… by the incident… on retainer… whatever works best for your needs
Our clients use us on an emergency basis, as a monthly review of business progress, on a per diem basis, or per incident. All are affordable. We even have a “contingency plan”—the money we save you pays our fee.
Theodore Roosevelt once said that nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time. Many times, the difference between success and failure is movement. There are many paths to success, but to reach it, fearlessly take the first step. What awaits you?
Services
Development
of long- and short-range plans. You may
require a one-year, or ten-year plan, to continue a current trend, or adapt to
changes in your industry. Strategic
vision is the cornerstone of any business success, and we’ve mapped the process
for small and midsize businesses, from partnerships to corporations.
Write Business,
Marketing/Sales Plan. Banks,
investors, shareholders—all require a document spelling out your strategic
vision and how you’ll get there. We’ll
write it for you, based on your input.
Review personnel
needs, qualifications and address downsizing needs. We can train sales and marketing staff, as
well as review existing staff for overlap or holes in coverage of critical
tasks.
Solve
unsolvable problems in the areas of operations and financial controls. Fresh eyes, trained to know what to look
for: We can fix the unfixable in record
time.
Executive coaching for executives
unsure of their responsibilities. If you
have mid-management personnel, diamonds-in-the-rough, who need hand-holding in
the areas of business sense, computer skills, or adapting their creative
talents to the business environment, we can evolve them from
brilliant-but-bumbling to invaluable.
Executive
coaching for CEO’s facing problems that threaten their business
future. If you’ve been promoted and need
a mentor to discreetly discuss your business issues with, a friend who has the
right answers based on experience and knowledge, call us. This is a private, individual relationship,
available telephonically or in-person, to insure that you always have the
answers.
Business
document editing, including web pages, marketing materials, business
letters, and trade show materials. Your
web presence and written literature is often the first and only chance you have
to impress clients enough to contact you.
It should communicate your ideas without grammatical and syntax
errors. Leave it to us—we’ll find them
all and fix them for you.
Lease
and contract review, prior to or in conjunction with legal advice. We bring the common sense to legal
negotiations. Your attorney can tell you
what the law requires, and we’ll make sure any lease or contract is good for
your overall business process.
Project
consulting or General consulting. The nuts and bolts of running a profitable
business. What works best? What path should you follow? Experience clarifies the answers, and we’ll
share ours with you.
Computer
training. This includes the basics
of computers to specific business software.
Yes, many employees aren’t familiar with and are still deathly afraid of
computers. Whether they tell you or not,
your business suffers if they can’t use your technology correctly and to its
fullest extent. We can train any
employees in the basics of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Windows, in groups or individually. They’re probably afraid to tell you they
can’t use their computers, but we know from experience that it’s a well-hidden
secret of many otherwise highly competent employees.
Back to Top
Client Testimonials
“I’m a new business owner.
I didn’t know much about developing sales or controlling the bottom
line. My monthly meetings with ConaB
made sure I was always on target and didn’t get myself in any holes I couldn’t quickly
and efficiently get out of.” --
“When we purchased the new division, there was a lot of
overlap in services that ConaB helped us to identify and resolve, efficiently
and painlessly, while retaining the goodwill of both employees and
customers. And his years of experience
negotiating leases and contracts really paid off for our needs.” --Midsize
“John is very effective…particularly in critical vendor/customer relationships, he senses who the real decision makers are and what the critical issues are that must be addressed…” --Interim management customer
“John continually demonstrates his leadership strengths by keeping the employees informed and focused on the company’s goals. John’s excellent communication skills and his ‘open-door policy’, helped mold a cohesive team… He is a good listener and is not afraid to make the tough decisions … a confident, positive, hands-on problem-solving individual, be it a small or large problem, a serious or minor event. –Current customer
“His innate approach is to see through confusion to the truth, state that, and lead those around him to the successful end.” --Current customer
Current Projects
Developing a long- and short-range business vision
for a $10-million company. They have
grown exponentially in the last 5 years, and have not yet invested in the road
map that will move them from small to mid-size.
Their bankers require it to increase their funding, and their
infrastructure demands it to accommodate the growing pains of the expanding
sales.
Reorganizing the personnel needs of a
manufacturing company to realign the balance between management and line
worker, and redistribute the control so
more money is available for employee needs and services, and less required to
fund over-inflated management levels
Rewriting the sales and marketing literature for
a service-oriented company to energize their sales pitch and more clearly
define their service offering.
Biographical Information
·
CEO/President of
public and private companies
·
Interim senior
manager, contracted to solve particular problems, such as build net worth
·
Board member for
public and private companies, serving as either caretaker or strategic
redirection
·
Successfully acquired
funding for various telecommunications and high-tech companies, allowing them
to expand into new markets
·
Developed strategic
plans to redirect sales efforts, reinvigorate management team and establish
effective communications with senior management and employees
·
Executed exit strategy
to sell division and return profits to original owners
·
Developed key
strategic partners and licensee relationships worldwide, including
·
Published author and
successful public speaker both nationally and internationally
·
Sound fiscal acuity
and financial analysis skills--allowed for above-plan sale of company in two
cases
·
Hands-on leadership,
facilitating creation and bonding of strong senior management team
·
Problem-solving skills
that allow for quick changes in a start-up environment
·
Effective contract
negotiator and closer, deals ranging from $10 million - $50 million
E-mail address
Office phone
949.643.0221
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