Hiring a consultant can be a game-changer for your business, providing the expertise, focus, and fresh perspective needed to tackle a critical project. Whether you're launching a new product, upgrading IT systems, or entering new markets, the right partner can accelerate your success.
However, a common pitfall we've seen at Josty is businesses engaging consultants before they're truly project ready. This lack of preparation can lead to stalled projects, wasted money, and frustrated teams. Being project-ready means more than just having an idea; it means your business has clarified objectives, aligned stakeholders, allocated resources, and created a solid foundation for collaboration. Without this essential groundwork, even the best consultant will struggle to deliver the outcomes you expect.
At Josty, we believe in setting businesses up for sustainable success. That's why we've developed a simple checklist of five critical questions to help you assess your readiness. By asking these questions before you hire, you'll protect your investment, avoid wasted time, and maximize the value of your consultant engagement.
The 5 Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Consultant
1. Do You Have Clarity on Your Project Objectives?
A consultant can't help you reach your destination if you don't know where you're going. The first step to project readiness is having clear, measurable objectives. Vague statements like "we need to improve operations" are not objectives, they are ambitions.
Why clarity matters:
Consultants need a clear anchor for their recommendations.
Ambiguity leads to scope creep, budget overruns, and conflicting expectations.
Clear objectives allow you to measure success and hold everyone accountable.
Checklist for clarity:
What specific problem are we solving?
What outcome would define success?
Are the objectives SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)?
Example: Instead of "upgrade IT systems," a clear objective is: “Implement a new ERP system within 12 months to improve inventory accuracy by 30% and reduce order fulfillment time by 20%.”
2. Can Your Current Team Balance Operations and the Project?
This is one of the biggest reasons businesses fail with consultants: they expect staff to maintain daily operations while simultaneously leading a major project. Your team may be talented, but their bandwidth is finite.
We've seen this play out countless times. In one case, staff were asked to manage customer service and a system upgrade at the same time. The result? Customers were neglected, staff burned out, and the project was eventually abandoned.
Key considerations:
Do we have the capacity to take on a project without sacrificing performance?
Who will be responsible for project leadership?
Will we need external support for backfilling daily roles?
Are we willing to dedicate internal champions who can work alongside the consultant?
The framework: Think of a project like rowing a boat. If half your crew is also trying to bail water, the boat will move much slower or worse, it might sink. Consulting works best when clients allocate dedicated time and people to collaborate with external experts. Business readiness means honestly assessing your team's capacity to avoid the trap of asking a consultant to carry the full weight of the project alone.
3. Have You Defined Scope, Timelines, and Resources Realistically?
Projects often collapse not because of poor consulting, but because of unrealistic planning. One of the first things we assess at Josty is whether a client has a grounded definition of their scope, timelines, and resources.
Common pitfalls:
Expecting "too much, too fast" (e.g., launching into new markets in six weeks with no research).
Underestimating the budget (e.g., expecting an enterprise-grade solution on a small-business budget).
Overloading the scope (e.g., trying to roll out three new systems at once).
Business readiness questions:
Is the scope clearly defined and agreed upon?
Have we built in contingency for time and budget overruns?
Are our expectations aligned with industry benchmarks and consultant recommendations?
Do we have a resourcing plan for people, technology, and funding?
A consultant thrives in a structured environment. Without a defined scope, timelines, and resources, they spend their time firefighting instead of delivering value.
4. Do You Have Internal Alignment and Stakeholder Buy-In?
Even the best project plan can fall apart if internal stakeholders aren't aligned. We've worked with businesses where one department is excited about change while another fiercely resists it. The consultant gets caught in the middle, and momentum is lost.
Signs of poor alignment:
Conflicting messages from leadership.
Teams treating the project as "management's idea" rather than a shared initiative.
Stakeholders withholding cooperation until they see proof of benefit.
Business readiness checklist:
Have all relevant departments been consulted in the early planning stages?
Has leadership agreed on the importance of this project?
Are communication channels in place to keep everyone informed?
Part of being project-ready is ensuring a united front. Consultants cannot replace leadership buy-in. If your leaders are divided, staff will mirror that uncertainty. Hold an internal readiness workshop to clarify roles, address concerns, and create a sense of shared ownership.
5. Are You Prepared to Collaborate Effectively with a Consultant?
Finally, ask yourself: are you ready to treat your consultant as a partner rather than a vendor? Many businesses view consulting as a "handover" exercise: "Here's the problem, fix it." But sustainable outcomes only happen when the client collaborates actively.
Effective collaboration requires:
Transparency: Sharing the full picture, not just selective information.
Responsiveness: Making decisions promptly when consultants need input.
Trust: Respecting the consultant's expertise while contributing your business knowledge.
Accountability: Recognizing that project outcomes are shared, not outsourced.
The business readiness mindset is this: you don't hire a consultant to "do the project for you." You hire them to accelerate, guide, and strengthen your project journey. The consultant brings external expertise, but you bring the critical context, commitment, and execution capacity.
Final Thoughts: The Reality of Project Readiness
Engaging a consultant can be a turning point for your business, but only if you're ready. The five questions in this guide reflect the real-world challenges we’ve seen businesses face at Josty: unclear objectives, over-stretched teams, unrealistic timelines, weak stakeholder buy-in, and poor collaboration.
By asking yourself these questions, you're not just protecting your investment, you're empowering growth and setting yourself up for success. Readiness doesn't mean perfection; it means clarity, alignment, and commitment.
The question isn’t just whether you need a consultant. The real question is: are you project-ready?
