Services and goods › Business consultants
Business consultants for small businesses
Consultants and advisers who work with small and medium businesses: the business plan and the numbers behind it, tax and accounting set-up, pricing, marketing and first customers, systems, funding applications, and the due diligence when you buy. Find one in your country below — or, if that is what you do, list your services.
What a consultant does for a small business
- Before you start: a business plan and financial model you can show a bank or a grant committee; a check that the idea pays at the prices customers will accept.
- Setting up: the choice of legal form and tax regime, worked through with an accountant; the bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll set-up that stops the first year becoming a mess.
- First customers: positioning, pricing, a website that converts, the two marketing channels worth paying for, the sales process.
- Buying a business: due diligence on the accounts, the customer list and the contracts; a valuation you can defend in the negotiation. Start with the valuation calculator.
- Growing: hiring and delegating, processes and software when the spreadsheet stops working, a second location, exporting, or turning your own business into a franchise.
- Getting ready to sell: clean accounts, documented processes and a valuation that holds up, a year or two before you list.
Consultant, mentor or accountant?
| Mentor | Consultant | Accountant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Experience and a second opinion | A defined piece of work with a deliverable | The recurring compliance: books, payroll, filings |
| Format | A 30 or 60 minute call | An engagement of days or weeks | A monthly or yearly relationship |
| When | A decision you want to talk through | A decision that is expensive to get wrong | From the day you register |
| Find one | Mentors | Below | Accounting and tax |
Find a business consultant
All consulting servicesNo consultants are listed yet. Be the first — or ask the forum who founders in your country recommend.
For consultants: list your services in the directory
Why here
Your clients arrive by searching for how to start, buy or value a business in their country. Your listing sits on that country's page beside the registration steps, and on the businesses for sale pages where a buyer is about to need due diligence. They message you directly; there is no fee per lead.
What a good listing says
- The outcomes, not the method: "a bank-ready financial model in two weeks", "a price list that protects your margin"
- Industries you know and countries you cover
- Two or three anonymised examples of what changed for a client
- A starting price for a defined package, if you offer one
- A photo of you, and a link to your site
What it costs
A basic listing is free for as long as you want it. Showcase and Premium placement are optional, 30 days at a time. No commission, no fee per lead.
Add your registered company name and registry number in Settings for the verified badge.
The first clients usually come from being useful in public: a clear answer in the forum, a piece in the blog, a webinar under events, or a mentor profile that takes 30 minute calls on your specialism. The listing is where they go next.
List your consultancy
Free account, "Advertise a service", category Consulting. Ten minutes, no card required.
Common questions
What is the difference between a consultant, a mentor and an accountant?
A mentor takes a short call and shares experience; on FounderCroft that is a 30 or 60 minute session. A consultant takes on a defined piece of work with a deliverable: a business plan, a pricing review, a marketing launch. An accountant handles the recurring compliance: bookkeeping, payroll, tax filings. Many small businesses use all three at different moments.
When is a consultant worth paying for?
When a decision is expensive to get wrong and you lack the experience to make it: the financial model behind a loan or grant application, the price list of a new product, the due diligence on a business you want to buy, or the systems for a business that has outgrown a spreadsheet.
How do I choose a business consultant?
Ask for two or three comparable engagements and what changed for those clients, agree the deliverable and the price in writing, and prefer someone who has worked in your industry and your country. Verified listings on FounderCroft are checked against the business registry.
How do I list my consultancy?
Create a free account, choose Advertise a service, pick the Consulting category, and describe the outcomes you deliver, the industries you know, the countries you cover and your starting price. Answering questions in the forum and taking mentoring calls bring the first clients.
FounderCroft is a directory. Listings are written by the advisers themselves; the verified badge confirms a company registration, not a qualification. Agree the scope and the price in writing before any engagement.