The consultancy engagement
How an engagement actually works.
Four steps, start to finish. No mystery, no black box. Here's exactly what happens, what it costs at each stage, and where you can stop.
The shape
Four steps. Each one is a decision point.
- 01
The Scorecard
Ten minutes, free, eight areas of the business. A real read on where the business stands.
↳ free
- 02
The audit and the plan
Two to three weeks. The business model and strategy, written down.
↳ $5k–$10k
- 03
The engagement
Twelve months. The five Codes worked into the business, with you.
↳ $60k–$90k
- 04
The Resourcing Bridge
Vetted people, hired directly by you, kept by you.
↳ no markup
Step one
The Scorecard.
It starts with the Ascendea Scorecard. Ten minutes, free, eight areas of the business. You answer honestly, and you get a real read on where the business stands and where it's held back. We see the same read, and it tells us whether an engagement makes sense. If your score says you're not ready for an engagement yet, we'll say so, and point you at the workshop or the step that fits instead. No call is booked until the Scorecard is done.
Step two
The audit and the plan.
If the Scorecard says an engagement makes sense, the next step is the audit. We go deep on the business, this is the first half of the Source Code, build the financial picture, the model, and the strategy, and find where the business is genuinely held back. You walk away with a plan and a sequence, written down, whether or not you go further. The audit runs two to three weeks and costs $5k to $10k. At the end, you decide. There's no pressure to continue, and the plan is yours either way.
Step three
The engagement.
Twelve months. The five Codes worked into the business, in the order the audit set. We start with the rest of the Source Code, then move through Revenue, Profit, Systems, and Leadership, in the sequence the business actually needs. The work is done alongside you and your team, not handed over as a document. The investment is $60k to $90k, set by the audit, known before you commit. You see the number and the logic behind it first.
Step four
The Resourcing Bridge.
Some of the work needs hands the engagement doesn't include. A performance marketer to run the channel. A finance person to hold the model. When that happens, the Resourcing Bridge brings in vetted people, the client pays them directly, and the client keeps them. We don't mark up the team, and we don't make you dependent on us to hold it together.
The edges
What we don't do.
We don't run your marketing for you indefinitely. We don't hand you a deck and leave. We don't take on businesses under $1M, because the problem there is product-market fit, not the four Codes. And we don't pretend twelve months is a quick fix. It's the time it takes to change how a business runs.
Common questions
About the process.
-
Can I start with just one Code?
An engagement is all five, because they hold each other up. If you want focused depth on one area, that's what the workshops are for.
-
What if the audit shows we're not ready?
Then we say so, and you've still got the plan. The audit is useful whether or not it leads to an engagement.
-
Who actually does the work, day to day?
Troy. The Resourcing Bridge adds hands where the work needs them, but the consultant in your business is the same person, start to finish.
-
How much of my team's time does this take?
Real time, because the work is done with your team, not to them. The exact rhythm is set in the audit, so you know before you commit.
-
Can we pause if something happens in the business?
Yes. Life and business both move. The engagement is structured to handle that, and we agree how upfront.