Our ultimate goal is customer satisfaction. So while we strive to provide what our clients ask for, we also present them with what they need, as opposed to just what they want.
Task 1: Getting Started
Task 2: Action
Task 3: Delivery
Whether you're a start-up, a small local or national services or product company, a large corporation or non-profit organization, or preparing to go public, research and planning are the keys to success. You have to know your market, your competitors, the opportunity for growth and market penetration, and your own scalability.
Every entrepreneur has to be a jack-of-all-trades but usually excels in a particular area -- whether it be vision, sales, marketing, or operations and management. Our consulting team brings expertise to the gaps: we are entrepreneurs first, who have launched and run companies consisting of a wide spectrum of industries, and we too have areas where we excel. This includes accounting and finance, contract development, vendor management, marketing, and operations. We can assist with pre-launch preparations, growth strategies, or even going public. Our turnkey knowledge is invaluable.
OUR SERVICES
What We Do
"Accounting is the language of business." - Warren Buffett
Our team members have worked for, and with, Deloitte, and Ernst Young, serving private and publicly traded companies alike. They've also served as Controller and CFO for international organizations.
Whether you need assistance with setting up billing departments, accounting systems, protocols or preparing annual reports or filings, we can handle it.
Moreover, others on the team have launched and run companies, including restaurants, logistics companies, entertainment and media companies, magazines, and publicly traded enterprises.
From the intense preparation to raise investment funds, coordinate with bank loans, manage finances, our mission is to help you set things up correctly, and achieve your goals.
- Business consulting
- Sales and marketing
- Inventory and distribution
- Systems & technology
- Fund-rasing and financing
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." --Robert McKee
With decades of experience, A2Z Business Consulting has been been involved with designing content strategies for websites, magazines, brochures, investor decks, and social media. We'll identify and develop an authoritative voice for your organization, and build the implementation schedule to present it.
Like anything that is done well, success requires a plan, resources, and time.
While campaigns and roadmaps can vary from one client to another, our goal is to achieve results with what you have to work with, rather than attempt to pigeonhole you into a preset program.
Everybody loves a good story, and no matter what you're selling -- product/services to customers, vision to investors --, recognize the power and importance of great storytelling.
“If you don't establish yourself as an authoritative voice, why should anyone listen? .” – Bruce T. Dugan
Process
- Establish client goals
- Research market, and then define tactics
- Craft a unique voice
- Budget & Implementation
- Reporting, assessment, and adjustment
"If you want to create new markets, or disrupt old ones, you create ubiquitous infrastructure." - David "Doc" Searls
Infrastructure is the foundation you build on -- corporate structure, mission statement, people, processes & protocols, and systems technology,
If your business was a car, your infrastructure is the engine and electrical system that makes it work. It is the blueprint for the systems you install, and protocols your team follows to operate efficiently, and profitably.
Regardless of whether you are a start-up deciding what incorporation structure to use, or an existing company developing investor materials, a sales, or a marketing campaign. or integrating your technology systems and operating protocols, an infrastructure plan is essential. Our team has been innovators in the time-critical logistics space, so we have a deep understanding of building a plan that can manage processes and any crisis mitigation necessary.
We Define & Develop
- Incorporation (and structure)
- Information pipelines/ protocols (sales, marketing, operations)
- Technology & workflows
- Special project road maps
- Business expansion
"Without data, you're just another person with an opinion." - W. Edwards Deming
To be successful in any endeavor requires research!. If you don't know who the competitors are, how big the market is, whether there is demand for what you're selling, you can't compete effectively.
The power of market research is to gain insights into market trends, competitors, market size, uniqueness of what you offer, and the opportunity for market penetration and growth.
From this analysis, you can accurately develop your Key Performance Indicators, which become the metrics to guide your decisions. Anything less is to fly blind. Our knowledge is practical, having done the research for our own products and services, as well as for others.
Five Forces Chart
- Competitor Rivalry
- Supply power
- Threat of new entry
- Buyer power
- Substitution
"Every thought creates a plan, every decision creates a way forward, every action brings forth tangible assets. Everything starts from the mind, my friend." - Author: Euginia Herlihy
Without a road map, it is likely that you'll get lost. We have a team of serial entrepreneurs and experts in various disciplines that are abstract thinkers that follow a linear process to deliver an easy-to-follow map for success.
With you, we identify your goals, then do the research to develop the strategies and subsequent tactics to achieve them.
Our team has extensive hands-on experience working with the Big 4 for publicly traded companies, building and reconfiguring large accounting departments across North America, Mexico, and South America; setting up and/or streamlining restaurants, digital agencies, manufacturers, designing media events, and investor presentations for Wall Street.
We've worked on time-critical projects, For example, we built the operational strategy and pricing matrix for same-day paper delivery to serve AMEX and the Federal Reserve in 28 cities; we successfully moved 250 truckloads in 65 hours -- while maintaining SKU tracking -- for a warehouse relocation.
Simply put, whatever you're looking to achieve, we'll draw you a map of how to get there.
Our tech team has been system architects for tech projects for cities, banks, and Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. We've done this work many times, and provide your with decades of honed skills and experience.
Areas Where We Excel
- Accounting, finance, fundraising
- Branding and branding awareness
- Business startup – or going public
- Sales, marketing, and operations streamlining
- Logistics, inventory management & distribution
- Technology
"Generating a system architecture is not a deterministic process. It requires careful consideration of business requirements, technology choices, existing infrastructure and systems, and actual physical resources, such as budget and manpower." - Andrew Holdsworth
As technology evolves faster than the speed of thought, companies have to continually rethink and re-tool the systems they utilize to keep them efficient.
Knowing that you need a particular system is easy, what is difficult is knowing which one is the best fit for you. One may be higher-rated, but also be entirely too large for your organization, making the use of it more complicated and time-consuming: this would be counterproductive.
Having spent hundreds of hours doing research and testing for our own operations, as well as clients, we're at the forefront of system availability, functionality, and integration capability that can serve you best.
Our process is to first understand what your company is and how it operates. This includes who you engage with (internally and externally) and where the pain points are located in your operations funnel
Next, we'll establish -- through consultations with you --, what you're hoping to achieve through your systems, and your operating budget. Are you looking to integrate systems to more fully collaborate across multiple departments; are there particular workflow processes that need to be more automated?
Call us for a free consultation and then fit you with the best-of-breed systems to accomplish your distinct needs and wants.
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” - MJ Pedone
Types of Systems
- Billing/Accounting/Subscriptions management
- Customer Relations Management (leads, sales, customer service)
- Enterprise Relation Management (companywide integration)
- Project & task management
- Intranet & communications
- Other platforms integration
"Automation is to your time what compound interest is to your money" - Rory Vaden
Running a business in today's world without technology and automation is virtually impossible to remain competitive. Depending on your goals and budget, we'll find you the best match. That might be a subscription-based Software As A Service (SaaS), Platform As A Service (PaaS), or require something to be custom-built just for you.
Our team has a depth of technology experience, having worked on our own projects, as well as for cities, banks, Fortune 100-500 companies, as well as SMEs.
We'll turn your vision into practical reality.
Areas We Serve
- Custom software (websites, mobile apps, systems)
- Domain, email, hosting
- Software as a service
- Platform as a service
3rd party integration (billing, accounting, CRM, projects, etc.)