THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410190401
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEIGH ANNE LARANCE, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Consulting may conjure images of a basement office and business cards printed at the corner copy shop. But experts say changes in corporate America have made consulting big business.
Management consultants - the most common variety - received about $17 billion for their services in 1993, up 10 percent from 1992, according to James Kennedy, publisher of Consultants News in Fitzwilliam, N.H.
With downsizing, slow economic growth and a fast-changing marketplace, some experts say it makes sense for companies to hire consultants for specific projects, rather than add them as full-time employees whose skills may not be transferable once a specific job is complete.
Management is only one line of expertise. Many businesses are looking to consultants to fill in the gaps in knowledge of international markets, to help them adapt to changing computer technology or set up human resources programs.
``The definition has been elasticized in the past few years,'' Kennedy says. He estimates that 100,000 people nationwide call themselves management consultants, but the number of consultants in other fields is growing.
Among the consulting specialties are graphic design, computers and workers' benefits administration.
Jean Dunbar of Lexington, Va., was a college English professor specializing in 19th century American literature. Now she's a historic-design specialist - ``an interior designer in a time machine'' - who helps clients make historic property look as it might have during the 19th century.
Priscilla Richardson in Cloverdale is just starting out in consulting in her field - writing. She hopes to train companies' employees in writing techniques that will help them be better communicators.
One counselor has seen people leave financial institutions to advise businesses how best to obtain venture capital or lease financing. The list goes on.
CONSULTANTS COME IN TWO TYPES, says John Jennings, director of the Blue Ridge Small Business Development Center: One group voluntarily enters consulting for the opportunity and for the independence - and can be very successful at it, he said.
Other consultants would rather be working for a single company full time, but for whatever reason find themselves without a job. They use consulting as supplemental income or for networking, hoping a client might become an employer.
For those who try it, independence, solid nerves and meal money are a must.
BILL MILLER AND CATHERINE COOK got into consulting because they relished the challenge.
They had 30 years of combined experience as Roanoke College administrators when they decided to turn their academic know-how into a salable commodity.
For more than five years, Miller/Cook & Associates has been helping colleges across the country recruit and retain students.
Through consulting, Miller and Cook more than doubled their effective income, and their five-person company billed $900,000 in business in fiscal 1994 alone.
They also found it invigorating to tackle admissions and retention problems at other schools.
``Bill was fundamental in the development of some admissions strategies that proved successful at Roanoke College, and I was in charge of the learning center and retention strategies,'' Cook said.
Colleagues from other institutions were calling for advice on how they could improve their own programs. Miller and Cook's work takes them from New York to Florida to the Midwest. They work with about eight institutions a year, and their fees to manage a program range from $1,000 a day to $15,000 a month.
CONSULTANTS, LIKE MILLER AND COOK, want to be their own boss. They want the variety of working for a range of clients. Others find themselves the victims of layoffs, restructuring or business closures and turn to consulting as a way to bridge the gap.
``There's always a wave of that,'' said Kennedy, publisher of Consultants News. ``People sometimes use it consulting as a parking space until they find something else.'' ILLUSTRATION: LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE Color photos
Catherine Cook and Bill Miller, above, had 30 years of combined
experience as Roanoke College administrators when they opened their
own consulting firm, Miller/Cook & Associates, to help colleges
recruit and retain students. At left is their office, which they set
up as a model to show their clients how their admissions offices
could look.
by CNB