BCM consulting for small businesses is as "fundamentally unprofitable" as

automating their cash registers...

Nathaniel ForbesResilience is a competitive advantage.
- and for the same reason: you need "a huge volume of them and a lot
of money"...[and patience]. New York Times about
Square: http://nyti.ms/1BFhd5q
Andrew Hiles
Executive Director at Kingswell International; author of Business Continuity
Management - Best Global Practices
When were talking about small business, there is a very broad range of definitions and
entities within the definitions. We usually imagine a small business to be the mom and pop
operation, maybe a retail or service franchise. In reality. small businesses can be quite
substantial. The definition depends on the country - .
Small businesses range from 15 under employees in Australia to under 50 employees in the
European Union.
Criteria to be used by the US Small Business in determining the definition of a small business
includes the number of workers employed or annual receipts. The criteria used by the SBA to
define a small business covers
Manufacturing: Maximum number of employees may range from 500 to 1500
Wholesaling: Maximum number of employees may range from 100 to 500
Services: Annual receipts may not exceed $2.5 to $21.5 million
Retailing: Annual receipts may not exceed $5.0 to $21.0 million
General and Heavy Construction: Annual receipts may not exceed $13.5 to $17
million
Special Trade Construction: Annual receipts may not exceed $7 million
Agriculture: Annual receipts may not exceed $0.5 to $9.0 million
I agree entirely that BC for businesses with turnover much less than the equivalent of USD
10-15 million and less than 50-100 employees and B2B small businesses are unlikely to be
profitable for consultants - unless there is regulatory requirement. But above that, many small
businesses do have BC in place. And increasingly as B2B suppliers, their top clients are
applying pressure and if small businesses are pitching against large competitors, they need to
show they have quality systems, project management methodologies, RA and the usual stuff a
pre-qualification questionnaire would expect to see. So, there are some exceptions to the
sweeping assertion. If it wants to grow to be one of the big players, any small business is
going to have to embrace these disciplines at some point as it matures and the bean counters
take over from the entrepreneurs.
The issue for consultants is that it can cost almost the same to pitch for a $5,000 contract as
for a $50,000 or a $100,000 contract. As a consultant, would you want spend your time
pitching to 10 or 20 small prospects or 4 or 5 big ones? Trying to pitch BC through
professional advisers - accountants, lawyers - which sounds as if it should work, has met with

almost total failure.

So yes, unless you have virtually 'tick in the box download here' solution (which is likely to
be inadequate) the smaller small business market is unlikely to be very profitable. But I
would love to hear from consultants who make money out of it.
Nathaniel Forbes
Resilience is a competitive advantage.
Thoughtful comment, Andrew, as usual.
My opinion results from my experience in Singapore, where the government tried mightily and put $30 million where its mouth was - to get small- and medium-sized businesses to
engage in BCM. When the funding ended, so did the rhetorical encouragement. We tried
group facilitations, do-(some of)it-yourself schemes and discounted pricing; I know of no
attempts that worked for more than one or two companies, even with Uncle Lee offering to
pay 50% - half! - of a company's costs to develop a BCM program, including any consulting
fees.
This experience led me to conclude that until a BCM program is perceived to give an
organization an immediate, material competitive advantage, like ISO 9001 or 14001
certification, or is mandated (as you say), BCM is a dead end.
Andrew Hiles
Executive Director at Kingswell International; author of Business Continuity
Management - Best Global Practices
Just a correction: my sentence : 'agree entirely that BC for businesses with turnover much less
than the equivalent of USD 10-15 million and less than 50-100 employees and B2B small
businesses are unlikely to be profitable for consultants' - should have read 'B2C small
businesses',
Interesting to hear your experience. Although not having the benefit of state push, the end
result matches our own. Despite hefty promotion of BC to accountants and lawyers in the US
and Europe, barely a tweet.
Maybe many SBs are at the lower end of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - interested primarily
in survival, not in safety (except regulatory HSE requirements). And since spend on safety
comes from profit otherwise in the owner's pockets, they prefer to keep the cash or invest it in
the business.
Helen Molyneux
Business Continuity and Crisis Management Expert
I am very surprised to read your comments Andrew and Nathaniel! We specialise in working
with small businesses and, yes, SMEs do do Business Continuity. One or two of our clients
do Business Continuity as their customers have requested evidence. However, the vast
majority do Business Continuity simply because it is good practice and, for one client, simply
to be the first to certify to ISO22301 on their sector!

Moreover, we have found that consulting for SMEs is very much more rewarding than
working with larger companies as there is a genuine commitment to BC from the very top,
active involvement from senior management, and a tendency to view the data in a much
wider context. As an example, BIA data and the BC strategy have been a critical element in
expansion plans.
Yes, we will never be rich, but our business model has not been developed with that intent
and we have never had any intention of expanding. However, we have real job satisfaction,
and have worked with a huge variety of businesses across almost every sector. Having had a
number of jobs, I can honestly say that this is the first, even after 8 years, where I look
forward to each new day!
Andrew Hiles
Executive Director at Kingswell International; author of Business Continuity
Management - Best Global Practices
Great (and rather surprising) to hear it, Helen. Can you cast any light on the size of SMEs you
have been working with on BC? Any particular sector more receptive? Why do you think it
works for you when other initiatives have failed? Can you share with us a typical BC budget?
But I'm not asking you to give trade secrets away!
Helen Molyneux
Business Continuity and Crisis Management Expert
The smallest was 2 (!) but most are between 50 and 200. All sectors (currently including
manufacturing, private school, pharma, warehousing and fulfilment, supply, automotive and
estates management! Variety of size projects but mainly under 20k
Helen Molyneux
Business Continuity and Crisis Management Expert
As for why it works, it is more reactive....they find us when they are ready. We found that
trying to be proactive didn't work....we spent more time selling the concept of bc rather than
our services!!!!
Andrew Hiles
Executive Director at Kingswell International; author of Business Continuity
Management - Best Global Practices
You have my sincere congratulations. We have seen breakfast meetings at local Chambers of
Commerce and many other labor-intensive marketing activities unsuccessful, while your
clients come to you. Clearly you have created a winning formula that eludes most of your
competitors! It would be great to hear from others who have managed to be successful in this
market. Maybe it's a case of market positioning and others 'seem' too high cost?
Nathaniel Forbes
Resilience is a competitive advantage.
I'm with Andrew: 'good on you!', Helen. I wonder how clients decide "when they are ready".
That's the Big Secret. If it's not mandated by regulation, then I'd guess 1) they had an event
that scared them, or 2) important customers rang up to ask the 'What If' question. It's my view

that that is the leading non-regulatory impetus for initiating a BCM program in most
businesses, large and small.
David Discenza, CBCP
Helping businesses protect their revenue with a business continuity plan.
Helen, Nathaniel, Andrew
This topic caught my attention because I have started a BC practice in the Mid-Atlantic
region of the United States. I've been in business one year and am close to closing the sale on
my first project. I was a little bit dismayed when I first started reading the topic. However, the
more I thought of it, the more I came to disagree with the idea that working with small
businesses is unprofitable.
Let's define terms. I call a business small that has sales of less than $10 million (US) per year
and fewer than 50 employees. Sales of $10 million and up to $500 million puts them in the
"middle market". My target is the lower end of the middle market because they are unlikely
to pay the prices charged by some of the major firms like KPMG, IBM or others of that ilk.
However, I would definitely take a job from a small company for a couple of reasons. First,
it's income. I can't pay the bills without money in the till. Because it's a "small" business it's
not going to absorb as much of my time as a larger company. Second, a good
recommendation or referral is good regardless of the size of the company. Third, you never
know who the owner of that small business knows and to whom s/he can refer you.
I find Helen's comment about spreading the "gospel of BC" to be a more effective means of
developing business than going directly to a business and trying to sell services. Helen, if you
wouldn't mind sharing what's worked for you (besides the obvious ones of speaking
engagements, writing articles for trade journals) I would greatly appreciate it.
Like Helen, I don't expect to get rich doing this, though I think it's possible to make a
comfortable living. The trick seems to be finding the right balance of marketing and
prospecting for work; something I'm still trying to figure out.
Helen Molyneux
Business Continuity and Crisis Management Expert
To be honest with you Nathaniel, it's normally none of those, simply that the Board has
decided that it is a good thing to do, and that they are now in a position to do it. There are
some who have had pressure from clients or have had incidents, but it is mainly as it is a good
thing to do!
Helen Molyneux
Business Continuity and Crisis Management Expert
David, I'll reply separately to your comments!
Nathaniel Forbes
Resilience is a competitive advantage.
Perhaps your experiences in the U.K. and the USA are different than mine in Asia!
Rakesh Dighe

Founder and CEO

Nathaniel : let's try and meet for a cuppa this April when I am in town ?
Andrew Hiles
Executive Director at Kingswell International; author of Business Continuity
Management - Best Global Practices
Helen, David: looks like you've hit the BC equivalent of viagra. Congratulatyions!
David Discenza, CBCP
Helping businesses protect their revenue with a business continuity plan.
Andrew, I wouldn't go that far. What I have learned is that most executives here in the US
haven't a clue about business continuity. Cold calling them about BC definitely doesn't work.
Setting up a booth at a business exposition is a waste of time and money. Forget advertising.
I've discovered I need to speak before groups which include my target audience (Chief
Financial Officers and/or risk managers) or people who can refer me to CFO's. Personal
referrals will bring me business and that takes time to develop.
Helen Molyneux
Business Continuity and Crisis Management Expert
Andrew, I also would not go that far. We have just found a niche that we are good at, which
we thoroughly enjoy. We have some enormous peaks and troughs in terms of work flow, but
it suits our lifestyle, and I have never looked back!!! I'll never be a millionaire, but do have
incredible job satisfaction!
Andrew Hiles
Executive Director at Kingswell International; author of Business Continuity
Management - Best Global Practices
Helen: good for you. I have a feeling that maybe the consultants who have pulled out from
the SM market perhaps have greater income expectations than you and David. If you have
found your niche, can pay the bills and enjoy what you are doing.... Respect!!!!
Gary Ng, CBCI (merit), MBCI, MCiiSCM, GIFireE
Director/ Principal Continuity Consultant at Infinity Continuity
Great thread! I find that when engaging the small and medium firms, you have to promote
"bite sized" solutions. This gives them a chance to appreciate what BC has to offer and (later
on) have them prepare for the required budget to go full scale.