Why hire a ranch consultant? Why waste my money on a service I don’t need? Or, how will I benefit and is it worth the money to hire an outsider?

These are questions we hear often from multi-generational ranchers or individuals who have been in the industry for quite sometime. At first they may think they cannot benefit from outside perspective, but put simply, everyone can benefit from a different perspective. Isn’t this true in most aspects of life? Don’t we seek advice from others when things are not going well? Or don’t we want to share advice when we’ve found a simple solution to a complex issue? Don’t Fortune 500 companies hire consultants? Why are we not managing ranches like Fortune 500 companies? Many places of business will hire marketing consultants, management consultants and financial consultants? Why would it be any different for a ranching operation? After all, ranching is big business.

I often want to tell people the ol’ cliché saying of, “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” In other words, someone who is too involved in the details of a problem has a difficult time looking at the situation as a whole. This is where a consultant can be very useful as an outside eye. Consultants come in with expertise, yes the rancher or manager is often an expert in many areas. But because consultants often work with many different companies and may have worked through this problem in the past with someone else, they can really provide a perspective based on what they’ve seen work (or not) before. And given this experience, they can often bring new and innovative ideas or possible challenges to the table that clients probably wouldn’t have been able to see on their own.

Another valid reason for hiring a consultant is a company may need some extra manpower. Sometimes the problems ranching operations need solving are really important, but they don’t necessarily have the manpower to focus on them. Ranch companies still have to focus on their day-to-day operations and new projects typically require reprioritizing employees’ core job responsibilities. And hiring full-time or part-time employees is not necessary and not cost effective. In instances like this, consultants can basically serve as temporary, highly skilled employees with expertise in problem solving and innovation.

Sometimes, when companies are working on a challenging problem or a controversial project, it can be hard for them to make decisions or take the necessary actions without getting wrapped up in emotions or politics. So, they bring in consultants to provide an unbiased eye and do some of the undesirable work for them. Clients might hire consultants for major restructurings or controversial projects so that they can ensure they’re handled by an external party that’s both experienced in and a bit removed from these types of activities. We can also provide the back-up and confirmation for a client that is attempting to run with a new idea that might not be well-received within an organization.

Consultants can be an attribute to any ranching or farming operation. Whether the rancher/manager/absentee owner is an expert in the industry or is just getting started. An outside perspective that is non biased and professionally based on years of experience is vital. If you’ve considered making a change to your operation but unsure of how to go about it or are not seeing the financial returns like you want to. Contact us and we can assist.