What’s it like to hire Ground Floor Partners?

Let’s assume you just filled out our Contact Us form with some basic information.

Here’s what typically happens next

Connect

We’ll try to reach you by phone to learn a little more about your existing business or your idea for a new business. We’ll try to reach you a few times, but if we can’t connect, we’ll send you an email inviting you to call us instead.

Talk

Once we do connect, we’ll probably need to talk for 15 minutes to get a quick determination whether or not we are a good fit for you. We’ll ask you some basic questions, and try to answer any initial questions you might have for us.  If it becomes clear that we are not a good fit for you, we’ll tell you right then and there.

Dig Deeper

On the other hand, if it sounds like we are a good fit, we may ask you to send us a little more information so we can dig a little deeper. We’ve been around the block a few times, so we are careful about who we work with.

Write Proposal

Once we have a good understanding of your needs, goals, timeframe, budget, the main people or entities involved with your project, and possibly some other information, we will prepare a draft proposal along with estimated fees. The proposal writing step can take anywhere from a few hours to a week or two, depending on the scope and scale of your project.

We prefer to do fixed fee engagements, but a fixed fee engagement only makes sense if the project scope is clear and narrowly defined. If the project is more open-ended, we will often write the proposal as a “time and materials” engagement. In the case of a long term, ongoing project we will consider a retainer agreement with a fixed monthly fee.

Sign Contract

Once the proposal is approved, we will send you a contract, which you will need to sign. Each contract is customized, but the legal terms are standard and easy to understand. Should you have any questions regarding the contract, we are happy to clarify. Minor changes to the contract can be made if both parties agree.

Engage and Advise

After receipt of the signed contract, we will set up a kick-off meeting with you and any consultants that will be working on your project. The kick-off meeting generally lasts between one and two hours. During this time, we will ask more in-depth questions, outline the next steps, and begin gathering all the information we need to begin executing the project. Throughout our engagement, we will be in touch regularly with scheduled calls and frequent emails. We will keep you informed of our progress and findings.

Deliver Results

The final deliverable(s) will depend on the scope of the project. If the final deliverable is a report or business plan, you will be presented with the final document(s) at the end of our engagement. We will work with you to make any changes or adjustments (within reason) you feel necessary and will do our best to ensure you are happy with the final product.

Keep in Touch

Often, after a project is complete, clients desire further consulting. This can be arranged in several ways. We are very committed to the success of our customers and their businesses/organizations and are happy to continue to work with them longer term as needed.