Small business

6.2 Counselling and consulting 
Objective: To back up information services by programmes of counselling and consultancy.
This may take the form of an ‘official’ service offered through subsidised business centres or may be
channelled through SME stakeholder organisations such as chambers and entrepreneurs associations. To
be effective, the service needs to be available at the local level. Counsellors may be attached to specialist
centres or may operate freelance. Usually the service is subsidised, particularly for business start-ups. 
A key issue, as noted in Section 4.4, is not to ‘displace’ the private market through government subsidy
but to build it. One way in which this can be pursued is by subsidies to private consultants to offer reduced

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rate services to small business clients. This helps to build a private market and avoids displacement.
Quality control can be exercised officially by an evaluation and client reporting process which ensures that
only consultants with a successful track record are employed.
Counselling services are to be distinguished from consultancy. The former means working with and
through the client with the client taking responsibility for actions. The latter is more akin to working for the
client where the outcome is a formal report or ‘new system’ designed by the consultant. The distinction is
important in recruiting counsellors, as there is a substantial need for interpersonal ‘teaching’ skills.
A basic guide to the organisation and management of a counselling service for SMEs can be found in
Annex 9.17.