From the first time Little Cottage meet you we are learning about your company, both hard and soft information is noted;  this might be your office layout or team relationships or could be the cold hard facts about cash flow problems, falling sales or the like.  Often a fresh outlook on your company can come up with a solution that can really make a difference and it is often really easy to implement.

Consultancy is often seen as theoretical and expensive— Little Cottage have considered this and provide a service that is:

Large consultancy firms often provide consultants that are often poorly equipped to know your business and the reports they provide as analysis of your problems or situation are written in a way that is hard to understand.  Little Cottage will always provide ‘plain English’ reports—with the minimum of jargon and management speak.  If the solutions suggested don’t immediately appear to add value to your company we don’t given them too you.  Similarly, if the implementation of a solution is too radical or does not encompass the ethos of your company the analysis is worthless to you—Little Cottage only provides advice that can be implemented —although often the way change is managed is the hardest part of the project.

Often when you start working with a consultant the costs can escalate out of control.  Implementation can take longer than expected and many small mini projects evolve out of the initial plan. 

To keep your costs under control Little Cottage has a flexible approach to costing projects—either working on fixed price, monthly fees or by the day.  This means that you can keep track on your return on investment.  Implementation plans are drawn up so that payments are directly related to quantifiable milestones, this means that if you start implementing changes to your business but your business has a change in fortune the work that has been done is not wasted.

As an associate of Institute for Independent Business Little Cottage is able to offer subsidies to small and medium sized businesses (the SME market) and non-profit organisations through the Business Support Scheme.  Once accepted on the Scheme a participating company can have access to a ‘virtual’ board of directors offering advice and solutions to many business problems.  This could be from saving you money on your utilities to implementing ISO or developing a marketing plan.