Market Entry

This is a real-life story about my experience at the induction of my firm in Ghana. I know many of you can relate to this story as it is a common phenomenon among business owners and entrepreneurs alike. It is not easy to start a business, as I have now come to believe. Many people have great ideas but do not venture nor build on it out of fear. The best way to fight fear is with information which I give freely in this piece. My name is Miller Williams from the United States and I now own a business in Ghana, this is my story.

Businesses are under pressure to satisfy the demands of consumers as well as strategically position themselves for a competitive advantage over other brands. This is a major issue.

The inception of management consultancy firms was to ease this stress but I found out the hard way that most of these firms out there exist mainly to prey on businesses for their own gain.

Consultancies may provide organizational change-management assistance, development of coaching skills, process analysis, technology implementation, strategy development, or operational improvement services.

I signed up with a firm name withheld to help me navigate through the Ghanaian business economy.

Management consultants often bring their own proprietary methodologies or frameworks to guide the identification of problems, and to serve as the basis for recommendations with a view to more effective or efficient ways of performing work tasks. This was not the case with this firm.

During my period as their client, they were mainly good with the overuse of buzzwords, reliance on and propagation of management fads, and failed to develop plans that can realistically be executed. It took me quite a while after an unproductive couple of months to learn management consulting is an unregulated profession so anyone or any company can style themselves as management consultants. A number of critical books about management consulting argue that the mismatch between management consulting advice and the ability of executives to actually create the change suggested results in substantial damages to existing businesses. Scary right, I don’t mean to. Simply telling you what I have been through and what actually saved my company.

Three simple words, FirstCode Management Services

I was reluctant to get in bed with any other company after my initial dilemma but I didn’t give up. When you give people the chance, they show up in ways you wouldn’t believe. This was my amazing experience with FirstCode.

Not only are their qualified professionals a phone call away. They minimize the bureaucracies of engagement and onboarding as well as deliver flexible solutions to get you the biggest smile!

FirstCode provides regulatory compliance and management support services which brings clients an in-depth understanding of the Ghanaian business environment and support expertise required by their companies to enable them to focus on their core business.

They offered me a range of professional management support services, on pro tem or retainer basis, which helps me strengthen operations and performance of management, corporate finance and marketing functions.

I saved time and money as FirstCode provides the privilege to enjoy the comfort and confidence in my outsourced business operations because of the nurtured business relationship and experience of their qualified professionals in engaging with regulators allowing them to provide services at a quicker turnaround time.

I saved on cost because of their systems to meet my specific needs, helping prevent and mitigate challenges that will cost business discontinuity, reputational damages, fines, and other regulatory sanctions.

As a result of their exposure to, and relationships with numerous organizations, FirstCode is typically aware of industry “best practices”.

With reasonable fees, I was able to find a consultancy firm with genuine innovative ideas and support expertise to assist me in my business set-up and focus on my core business and growth. Trust FirstCode with your back-office needs and you will never be afraid in this industry, I know I am not.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Credit: Benedicta Danso (SEO Content developer)