We are different in several key ways:
1. Unlike most other business consultants, we specialize in solving problems (or growing a business) by working directly with the business owner, examining the big picture and drilling down from there to identify priorities and actions that will result in meaningful change.
2. We don’t just ask questions and give advice. We work with our clients, hands on, to help them get things done that they have had trouble doing on their own. We know that making things happen requires real work beyond studies, advice, binders, and recordings.
3. We belong to a network of over 4,000 experienced, senior business people who help each other when additional skills or knowledge are needed. This phenomenal resource gives our clients access to a vast pool of experts including people from just about every kind of businesses and with just about every kind of skill.
4. We don’t use any “cookie cutter” approaches in our work. We have some tools that we use for certain things to help us work more efficiently, but each and every engagement is tailored specifically to the individual client.

Only in the sense that we help small businesses. SCORE is a free resource funded by the government. Some business owners have told us they had excellent experiences with SCORE, while others have said it wasn’t right for them. We recommend that any business owner who wants to know more about SCORE go to their local SCORE office and see whether the services offered are right for them.

The advisor you will be working with at Pooth & Associates has worked with many types of businesses, but may not have direct experience with yours. However, the fundamentals that are key to business success are quite similar across all businesses. In addition, our network of thousands of experienced business people includes experts from just about every kind of business you can imagine. So when answers are needed that are specific to a certain industry or sector, we have the resources to get them.

Your advisor at Pooth & Associates doesn’t know everything and will never pretend to. When we need additional knowledge or skills, we look first in the local business community for help. If the necessary expertise is not available locally, we reach out to our network of over 4,000 senior business people around the world, which includes people with just about every type of skill or experience that might be needed. This is a phenomenal resource that sets us apart from most other consulting firms.

Carena Pooth is one of over 4,000 Accredited Associates of the Institute for Independent Business. We refer to the members of this network, along with local business partners, as our associates.

The Institute for Independent Business is a not-for-profit organization founded over 20 years ago with the specific goal of helping small businesses. There are currently over 4,000 people around the world who carry the Institute’s accreditation, and they are all senior business people who have real executive experience. In addition, they have all been through a rigorous training program and they all abide by a strict code of ethics including complete confidentiality for their clients.

It’s true that results will occur sooner if we work more hours per month. However, some small business owners cannot initially afford to pay for an intensive program. We tailor our program to the means as well as the needs of each client. Even a few hours each month makes a difference if the business owner is able and willing to put the time into it, and to do some “homework” when we are not together. And remember that our untimed telephone hotline support service is a free added benefit for all of our Business Support Program clients. Many clients have told us that our hotline support service is very valuable to them in keeping them on track and moving forward.

You’d be surprised how common this is. There is a great book called The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber that explores this and explains what small business owners need to do to overcome it.

There are several kinds of money problems that we can help with:

1. A business can have cash flow problems, which means that the flow of money into the business isn’t timed right in order for the business to pay its bills. Serious problems can occur in this situation, such as not having enough cash on hand to pay employees on time. We help business owners learn how to manage cash flow properly, so that cash shortfalls occur less frequently and eventually are eliminated. The work involves documenting every transaction, developing and tracking budgets, financial reporting, and discipline.
2. Sometimes a business has a more fundamental money problem – there is simply not enough money coming in to pay the bills, ever. This requires an evaluation of the options available, primarily funding (of various kinds) and cost reduction. We work with these businesses to come up with the most realistic approach that will not further endanger the business by either incurring excessive debt or cutting costs too radically. We follow this work with helping the business owner identify and implement the necessary strategies to tip the balance and improve profits through planning, marketing, or whatever other steps need to be taken.
3. Some businesses are in extremely serious debt that may be putting them in danger of closing down. In these cases, we work to understand what, if anything, can be done to save the business (if that is desirable), and help the business owner pursue that option. If the business needs to be closed, we help the business owner do so in an orderly way. In some cases the business can survive as long as the debt is restructured and fundamental management and/or administrative system changes are implemented. We help with those things, too.

Yes, we can help you interpret your financial statements, or we will help you get an accountant to do so.

Yes, we work with business owners to develop whichever type of business plan they need:

1. An internal business plan. This usually takes only a page or two, but normally it takes 8 to 16 hours of meetings to work through it and get it documented. Once it’s written, this type of plan is used by the business owner to make sure that everything done in the business helps move it closer to its goals. This means the plan must be shared with all employees, and it becomes a valuable tool in building teamwork and motivating individual employees by identifying their own contributions to the success of the business. We recommend that a marketing plan be developed also, aligned with the goals and strategies listed in the business plan. We also recommend that business owners continue to meet with us monthly after these plans are in place, just to checkpoint and make sure the business is on track, the way a board of directors does for a big company.
2. An external business plan. This is used to explain the business and its prospects for stability and success to outsiders, usually when the business seeks funding of some kind. This kind of business plan is the traditional detailed plan that explains to an outsider why they should be confident in the business. It includes pro forma financial statements (which project future income and expenses) as well as management summary, marketing strategy, competitive analysis, and operations information.

Yes. Small businesses often have a very small marketing budget, so we help them identify the most beneficial ways to spend those dollars. Those who can afford to spend more may be interested in a higher end marketing package, such as those offered by some local businesses. We help business owners make the right choices and we work with the marketing vendors if the business owner wants us to. In some cases, business owners want to learn about marketing, and we can help them with some basics or recommend the appropriate type of external training for their needs.

Yes. We have good knowledge of what is involved from both a technology standpoint and a marketing standpoint. We refer clients to local web providers and help them navigate the waters when they feel the need.

Yes. We have extensive experience in managing projects involving up to several hundred people across up to 5 companies at the same time. Because of this experience, organization and prioritization of projects and tasks is second nature to us. Carena Pooth is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), certified by Project Management International, the largest and most widely recognized organization of its kind.

Yes. We will create an employee handbook from scratch, update an existing one, or customize a standard handbook (such as those provided by some payroll service companies).

Nearly every one of our clients has used us to create or edit documents for them, in order to make them sound polished, professional, and businesslike while at the same time conveying the desired tone (warm and friendly, or matter of fact, or appreciative, or disappointed, or excited, or whatever other tone is appropriate). We have even helped attorneys reword passages in business contracts.

Yes. It would be counterproductive to work with only one partner. We recommend working with all partners together, and in that setting we serve to facilitate discussions and bring the group to consensus in order to reach necessary decisions and move the business forward.

Yes. We have worked successfully with businesses in every phase of the business life cycle.

At Pooth & Associates we fully respect our clients’ right to privacy and we adhere to a strict code of ethics including complete confidentiality. At the very first meeting with a prospect, we sign a one-way confidentiality agreement stating our commitment not to divulge any confidential information.

The client selects the number of hours per month that we will work (telephone hotline support time will not be taken out of this allotment) and the length of the engagement (usually 12 months). We then work with the business owner to evaluate the business situation, prioritize action items, and get things done to move the business in the right direction. This work is highly customized to meet each individual client’s needs, so it is impossible to give a more detailed description here.

Telephone hotline support is a free bonus service for all of our Business Support Program (BSP) clients. Throughout a BSP engagement with Pooth & Associates, the business owner may call us at any time to discuss anything at all about the business without incurring billable time (unless the call is used to replace a planned meeting, of course).

The cost varies according to the amount of time we will be working with or for the client. The retainer arrangement we use results in a predictable monthly fee, and there is no huge down payment so that cash flow is impacted as minimally as possible. In most cases, the more pertinent question is, can they really afford not to work with us?

Our clients may cancel our services at any time without penalty.

We work with each client to make an arrangement that works best for them.

Yes. We accept payments in cash or by check or credit card.