FAQ

What Does IBS Consulting Group Do?
We help companies get ready to improve their business results. This usually consists of some or all of the following services:
Amongst the clients' most needed services we offer
- Marketing Consulting
- Management Consulting
- Financial Consulting
- Training Consulting
Amongst the clients' most needed services we offer
- Strategy development
- Market research and analysis
- Competitor research and analysis
- Customer service research and surveys
- Business plan development
- Financial analysis and forecast development
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General coaching and advisory services
What industries does IBS Consulting Group specialize in?
We take pride in our ability to learn the fundamentals of virtually any industry or technology quickly. Some of the markets we can serve include: telecommunications, financial, healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, retail, food service, consumer products, media and entertainment, insurance etc. Having said that, we believe that the value we bring to the table is not industry expertise - which you already possess in abundance - but rather an understanding of what investors and managers like to see in a potential opportunity.
Why should we hire a consulting company to write our business plan instead of doing it ourselves?
You could easily spend 600 hours or more preparing an investor-grade business plan, financial forecast, and investor presentation. This is time you should probably be spending building your team, product, distribution channels, and customer base. In addition to our expertise in preparing these materials, we offer independent, third-party insights into your business, and may raise questions that you might not have thought to ask.
What makes your business plan so special?
Most importantly, they work. As world statistics show fewer than 1 in 150 business plans ever raise venture capital. We are happy to report that about half of our plans have raised capital, and a good portion of the rest resulted in an acquisition or currently have commitments for investment from prior round investors. Each plan is hand crafted to reflect the client's specific circumstances, yet share attributes that investors find appealing.
How long it takes?
For a typical engagement, consisting of a business plan, financial forecast, and investor presentation, the typical time to completion is 6-8 weeks, as illustrated below. The actual time can be influenced by the quality of your existing materials, the level of your participation, the complexity of your market and business model, and our current workload.
Will you agree with everything we say?
Only if you're always right. One of our jobs is to help you avoid mistakes. We'll challenge your ideas and assumptions so that you'll be ready for the tough questions when you meet with investors.
What happens after you have delivered a final document?
We remain available, at no extra charge, to answer follow-up questions, provide advice, and to make minor changes to the documents we produced for you.
How do you price your services?
In general, we charge a pre-determined fixed fee. The fee is determined by:
For instance, if you have a recent, comprehensive research report from a major market research firm like Forrester, our effort can be significantly reduced.
Because of these factors, the fees for a typical project, consisting of the preparation of an investor-grade business plan, financial forecast, and investor presentation, can range from a few thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars. By the way, if you are "price shopping," you should know that price doesn't tell the whole story. After all, would you choose one car over another simply because of price? Of course not - there are many dimensions you need to consider.
- The scope of the project, in terms of the tasks and documents you require help with.
- The sophistication and specific needs of your target audience.
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The quality of your existing materials, including early drafts of business plans, financial forecasts, market research,competitive research, etc.
For instance, if you have a recent, comprehensive research report from a major market research firm like Forrester, our effort can be significantly reduced.
- The clarity of your vision for your business model, marketing and distribution strategy, financial plans, etc.
- Your availability and willingness to participate in the preparation of the business plan, financial model, and investor presentation.
- The complexity of your industry and business model.
- The availability of industry information.
- The desired timing relative to our workload. In general, "rush" jobs will carry a substantial premium over projects that can be completed as our schedule permits.
Because of these factors, the fees for a typical project, consisting of the preparation of an investor-grade business plan, financial forecast, and investor presentation, can range from a few thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars. By the way, if you are "price shopping," you should know that price doesn't tell the whole story. After all, would you choose one car over another simply because of price? Of course not - there are many dimensions you need to consider.
Do you have references?
Certainly. We would be pleased to introduce you to our past clients. In order to respect the time and generosity of our past clients, we provide references as the final step before you sign the engagement letter.