By Dan Boudreau

For some reason many new start-ups think that professionals are great business people. This is not necessarily true. There is a tendency to want to shuffle off large tasks to the accountant, the lawyer or the bookkeeper. Not only are these folks busy, they are expensive for the average start-up budget. The challenges I see with relying on expensive professionals to solve ones problems are:

• They cost a lot of money and can deplete resources that could be used elsewhere
• They do not necessarily understand your business
• They are not accountable to the same degree as you are with your investment on the line
• They protect themselves from liable suits with contracts which you will need to sign
• They typically do not produce creative ideas for solving your problems, instead I have found most of them to wait for me/you to produce the creative ideas which they will then approve or disapprove
• At times a cannon is used when a small caliber handgun would do the trick. Example: an accountant doing work a bookkeeper could handle at 1/10th the price

Here are some guidelines for working with professionals.

1. Clearly identify the problem before getting in touch with the professional.

2. Do your best to clarify which questions you will ask.

3. Write out your plan and follow it.

4. Ensure that the level of expertise matches the degree of difficulty of the task.

5. Don’t set unrealistic expectations for your professionals; not only will it cost you a lot of money, it’s not all that comfortable for them either.