Firm, 22, Seeks Road Map for Next Life Stage

Roger K. Curtis isn’t worried about his Los Angeles computer consulting company’s short-term prospects. It’s the five-year point and beyond that has him thinking about new directions for the 22-year-old firm.

From his roots as a part-time consultant in the 1970s, when he had one computer software language to learn and only one computer to master, Curtis has built a small but profitable systems consulting business.

Sitcur Analysis specializes in business-to-business systems that allow its clients to transmit purchase orders, invoices and inventory information to customers and suppliers. It’s been a healthy niche, but Curtis knows that fast-moving computer technology will leave the complacent in the dust.

“I sense that now is the time for us to move into new areas,” he said.

Several years ago he hired a part-time administrator to help with marketing. He has dabbled in Web site development, using subcontractors to do the work. And he has explored a strategic alliance, possibly even a merger, with a larger consulting company.

It’s not enough to help him reach his goal of tripling revenue over the next year and a half, Curtis said. He knows he needs to hire new creative talent and set up an infrastructure to expand beyond the $154,000 in revenue he brought in last year, which was less then he had expected.

“The thing we are lacking is a plan, is a model, is a method to identify new markets, new customers and new areas to enable us to grow,” Curtis said.

That’s the cue for business consultant Pauline Field, founder of International Fieldworks Inc. of Los Angeles. Several years ago she made the switch from sole practitioner to a full-service consulting firm that now manages more than 70 independent consultants. The consultants are not on the payroll. Instead, if accepted by Field and her business partner, they pay her company to drum up business, match them with clients and track and bill projects.

It is the kind of change in scope she recommended that Curtis consider.

“As long as he is doing all the consulting work, he has no time to run his business and grow his business,” Field said.

Many sole proprietors eventually run into that problem, she said.

“At some point you have to stop being the doer, whether in a high-tech company or a window-washing operation. You have to stop doing the tasks and start running the company,” she said.

The decision is not easy for people who love their work, she acknowledged. But Curtis has several things in his favor for making the transition, particularly his openness to change, Field said.

“I can’t tell you how many small-business owners moan about how they want to grow their business, but when they find out what they’ve got to do, it’s like, ‘I don’t want to do that,’ ” Field said.

Curtis’ skills and the company’s profitability give the business owner a solid base from which to launch a change, Field said. He has built lasting relationships by taking care of customers, paying attention to detail and keeping up with what’s going on in his field. The company has also done a good job of controlling costs, she said.

Field wants the company to spend more money, at least in the short term, to get its expansion plan off the ground. She recommended that Curtis hire a talented young computer expert immediately.

He’s ready to do so. In fact, Curtis has his dream candidate in mind. He’d like to hire a young computer whiz he can groom to some day take over the business.

That’s unrealistic, according to Field. In today’s fast-paced computer world, Sitcur Analysis should be happy to hang on to a new hire for a single year. The company should plan for that, she said.

At the same time, Curtis should get busy on the business plan he knows he needs. As part of that plan, he should decide how to narrow his marketing efforts and target only a few select industries, Field said.

Finally, the company should put any plans for a merger or strategic alliance on hold, Field recommended, until Curtis is satisfied that such a deal fits with his long-term goals.

She wants Curtis to hire at least one computer person he can quickly bring up to speed and assign most of the work to, as soon as possible. Her reasons are two-fold. First, once there is that much money going out in salary, it will be strong motivation to finish the business plan, the foundation for future growth and revenue. Second, it will show that Curtis is serious about making a change.

“That’s the biggest step for a sole proprietor--hiring that first person to do his or her job,” Field said. “Once you’ve taken that first step, then the others are much smaller steps in comparison.”

She had several suggestions for how Curtis, or almost any sole proprietor, could successfully integrate such a new hire.

First, hire carefully. Then orient the new person to the company’s culture, the way you like to do business, the way you treat your clients. To be successful at that, she said, “You have to know what is it the client likes about us, why he keeps using us. Then that has to be passed on to your employees.”

In the next stage, Curtis should work in tandem with the new hire. Depending on the job to be done, that could mean watching over their shoulder, not the best arrangement, or dividing up the work.

Client introductions should be handled carefully, she said.

“You never, ever want the clients to think you are the least bit nervous about this person,” she warned. That can be difficult for some sole practitioners who may think they are the only ones who can truly deliver what the clients want.

Management skills will also be required to monitor the new staffer’s work, Field said. Curtis should decide what the key activities will be for the new person, what results he wants and how those results can be measured.

Daily reports in the beginning might make sense, Field said. Later, depending on the complexity of the projects, weekly reports might suffice.

But as Curtis hands over more of the consulting work, he should be careful not to lose touch with his clients, Field said. Obviously, he doesn’t want them to feel as if they have “just been pushed off onto the help, so to speak,” she said.

Speaking of communication, it’s also important for the new person to serve as the company’s eyes and ears when on site at a client company. That’s where many consultants find new leads, and Curtis should not let that part go untended.

Field also recommended that the company start on its business plan right away. She suggested Curtis set a three-month deadline to complete the project and that he spend at least eight hours each week on it, putting the time on the calendar as if it were a client meeting.

The plan should cover three to five years. The first thing to consider is where Curtis wants the company to be at the end of that time.

“If somebody could wave a magic wand, what would they like to look like then?” said Field. “That gives them the backdrop for the whole plan.”

Curtis will then need to work through the parts that make up any business plan. Those include marketing, management, the financials and the infrastructure needed to reach the goals.

There are several ways to get a plan written, Field said, including buying business plan software, hiring someone to write it, or taking a small-business class that covers business plans.

“It’s always tempting because writing a business plan is hard work,” said Field. She recommended that software, a consultant or a class be used as guidance only. The hard part--the thinking--must be done by Curtis alone.

Once he has decided how he wants to position the company, he can use the marketing section of the business plan to address how he will narrow marketing efforts and focus on a few industries.

“They’ve been doing mostly horizontal marketing, but they have no real focus,” Field said. That’s a tough way to be successful, unless a company has a lot of money to throw into marketing, she said.

It would be more effective for Curtis to target three to five industries, Field said. That would make it easier to learn who the decision makers are, how an individual industry might use Sitcur’s services and whether the industry even wants or needs the type of service Sitcur offers.

“Until they have their marketing plan as part of the business plan, they won’t know where to go,” Field said. “It’s just close your eyes and put the pin somewhere.”

At this point, Field realizes she has put a lot on Curtis’ plate, but she’s confident that he has the skills to tackle the job.

Curtis says he’s ready.

“We see there are opportunities,” he said. “We see there is good talent out there. We see the pieces.

“Without a formal business plan, we won’t know how to bring it together and achieve the growth I want.”