By Chief Outsider, Richard Browne
There are a wide range of consulting services and business advisory formats available to CEOs and Presidents in North Carolina. As a marketing consultant, I￢ﾀﾙve had the opportunity to work with and observe a range of firms, gaining insight into the strengths of various consulting formats.

In this blog, I wish to share the insights I￢ﾀﾙve gained and provide some thoughts on some of the best business consultants based in Charlotte who may be of benefit to a privately held or family-owned business. As a Chief Outsider, there are many situations where our services may not be the right fit. Indeed, one of the consulting or mid-market focused advisory firms listed below may be the best choice in helping a business owner solve their problem.
Bundy Group: This boutique investment bank has spent a quarter century specializing in representing business owners and management teams in business sales, debt and equity capital raises, and acquisitions. The firm has experience representing clients in a broad range of industries, including industrial services, technology, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and healthcare, to name a few. Clint Bundy provides insightful, pragmatic advice to clients on topics related to mergers & acquisitions and raising capital. bundygroup.com
Vistage: Vistage is the largest global facilitator of CEO coaching groups. Their reputation is built on the effectiveness of their chairs, all senior executives, providing peer-to-peer guidance for CEOs, business owners and executives of small- to mid-sized businesses. I am a member of David Norman￢ﾀﾙs group, and have found David￢ﾀﾙs guidance effective. The ability to use him and my group as a sounding board has been very helpful. Vistage has seven chairs based in Charlotte. The Vistage All-City event, scheduled for Oct. 30 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a chance to observe Vistage in action.  The event is being organized by David Zerfoss, a Vistage STAR chair.  vistage.com
Scale Finance LLC: Scale Finance started in North Carolina and has expanded to provide services along the East Coast, from Florida to Washington D.C. Scale is, as the name would indicate, focused on helping businesses scale their operations by providing integrated finance solutions. They also offer fractional CFO and controller services as well as M &A and business valuation guidance.  scalefinance.com
The Arcadia Group International: Based in Charlotte, Richard DeVaughn's firm focuses on helping firms achieve process improvement and growth through product development and M&A activities. This business solutions provider combines strategic planning, product development process excellence, operations expertise and strategic change management across a diverse range of industries. Richard and his team have a solid network of associates to enable support of initiatives in Asia, Europe and North America.  arcadiagroupintl.com
Newport Board Group: Newport Board Group￢ﾀﾙs partners are senior executives with extensive experience in business strategy, operations, exit strategy and capital markets. Newport helps CEOs/owners to enhance and protect their investment. Newport serves emerging growth, middle market and private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Fred Fink is the Managing Partner in the Charlotte market.  newportboardgroup.com
Wake Forest Family Business Center: Wake Forest has developed a strong presence in Charlotte with its MBA program. One program that they provide to family businesses throughout North Carolina is the Family Business Center. The FBC￢ﾀﾙs goal is to help create happier families and more successful businesses through programs designed to recognize and address critical issues that arise in closely held or family businesses. FBC combines regular education events and speakers with the opportunity to really get to know and trust other family business owners who are facing similar challenges. Members represent a diverse range of family and closely held businesses, including: husband-wife, mother-daughter, father-son, multiple generation, team management, first-generation entrepreneurs and non-family executives. Rhonda Stokes is based in Charlotte the Director of the center and is based in Charlotte.
I believe that it is critical for executives and companies to assemble the best possible team of advisors and consultants, to ensure their strategic objectives are incubated, supported and executed to help achieve the owner￢ﾀﾙs vision. I wanted to share these firms, so that you may make informed choices in addressing the strategic issues your firm faces.  familybusiness.opcd.wfu.edu
Have you had success with other consulting firms or business advisors in Charlotte?
Author
Richard Browne is a CMO with Chief Outsiders, providing interim CMO services to clients nationally. Richard￢ﾀﾙs strategic marketing consulting focuses on helping midsized B2B and B2C firms develop strategic marketing plans and effectively implement the resulting positioning and tactical execution. Follow Richard on Twitter @JRBrowne or on Google+. Contact him at rbrowne@chiefoutsiders.com 
He is also a Professor of Practice at the Bryan School, University of North Carolina Greensboro where he lectures on business strategy. 
Chief Outsiders' blog is written by top CMOs and executive guests for CEOs looking for business growth strategies, current thinking on effective leadership skills and ideas and insights from real-world marketing strategy implementation.
http://www.chiefoutsiders.com/blog/bid/102453/Who-are-the-Top-Business-Consultants-in-Charlotte