Data in Consulting: Paralegal Pros, Inc.

Although not as successful as hoped but more successful than realistically expected, Paralegal Pros, Inc. (hereinafter alternatively the company) has managed to move into phase two of its project plan, hiring two part-time certified paralegals and assigning them to their respective areas of specialty (i.e., bankruptcy and immigration) as consultants for local law firms. The purpose of this paper is to continue with the ongoing Paralegal Pros, Inc. consulting project, describing the type of data that will be relevant the phase two as well as succeeding phases. In addition, an explanation concerning the most effective strategies that can be used to obtain relevant data for this purpose is followed by an explanation concerning how the data will be organized. Finally, the paper presents a summary of the status of the ongoing paralegal consultancy project plan in the conclusion.

Description of the type of data that will be relevant to the project

First and foremost, it is vitally important for small business owners to know where their income is coming from as well as where their money is going on a regular basis (Bhardwaj, 2022). Therefore, the companys income statement will serve as a useful barometer to assess its profitability and to determine what changes, if any, may be needed to increase revenues. This data will also be needed to determine when the company is best situated financially to move on to phase three in its project plan.

In addition, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the companys Web site and social media platforms, data concerning the number of visitors and the percentage of contacts that are generated from these visitors will also be collected....

This data-collection strategy is consistent with the guidance that is provided by Lnyi and his associates (2021) who emphasize that, Company websites are more related to marketing functions than information technology from the point of competitiveness (p. 477). Likewise, the same type of quantitative data will be collected concerning responses...…maintained on the owners personal computer. In addition, given its importance to the operation and sustainability of the company, it will be important to ensure that all data is backed-up in a secure location (Fazal et al., 2022). While the above-described data is readily available, the collection and data analysis processes remain labor-intensive. Therefore, once the company becomes sufficiently profitable, however, it will invest in a data analytics program designed specifically for micro and small business operations to facilitate that data collection and analysis process.

Conclusion

Although it is possible for small businesses to muddle through their operations by simply providing products and services when and where they are demanded, few such enterprises survive in the increasingly competitive marketplace today. Clearly, a data-driven approach to managing a small paralegal consultancy is the best course of action, and best of all, much of the data is already out there just waiting to be analyzed. Some data, however, such as client ratings, will require some manual data input and analysis, but the…