Whether it’s your body in the hands of a doctor, your freedom and wealth in the hands of a lawyer, or your vehicle in the hands of a mechanic, there are some professions that we cannot go without. But picking the right professional can mean the difference between expanded opportunity or making the problem worse. Consultants are no different. As we often engage these professions when we are seeking an expertise beyond our own capabilities, high-levels of trust are needed for the partnership to work. While a big brand may provide the confidence of a known name, trust is a personal endeavor, there are some things that only a small, independent can provide…and personal is just the start. We are going to discuss 4 key reasons to engage an independent or small firm such as Nikkiforos, but to showcase a tangible example of this, I’d like to share a story of my search for one such professional. However, if you prefer bullet points over stories, click here.

Trusting is hard. Knowing who to trust is harder

Maria V. Snyder

Big name, big numbers

I sat there on some kind of pleather couch that served as the waiting area of the sales floor of the dealership. With laptop propped in my lap, I tried to use work to distract myself from the numerous reasons I had to be unsettled. No one really has time for a major vehicle repair and as a single person, I really could not afford to be without my beloved vehicle. If I could have assigned a mailing address to my vehicle I would have. It was probably my most precious possession at the time and before this, I, with the help of my family did all our own repairs. But now I lived in Chicagoland and besides having no place to do the repairs, the bone chilling sound I heard coming from my engine lead me to believe, this issue was a big one and more than likely well beyond our capabilities.

Finally, I saw the dealer representative coming my way with a report out from the mechanics on my vehicle’s fate. I was right, one of the pistons in the motor was shot, about as major of a repair as one can get. While terrible news, it was not difficult for me to understand. However, I think the representative only saw my light-colored hair, blue-eyes, baby face, and the fact I was a woman. As he quoted me a price for the repairs that exceeded the current value of my vehicle, he played all kinds of word games trying to justify to me the cost such as attempting to calculate cost per potential mile of future use. My response, I just calmly played along as while he spoke, I realized I was a number here. While a dealership knows it’s vehicles, it clearly had no particular care for me. I was just another sale to make this guy’s quota. I knew I could not trust this place to work in my best interest and they would easily milk me dry without blinking an eye. I got that vehicle out of there as fast as I could.

Going independent

Good people, know good people. My landlords at the time were such good people and to my relief, they did in fact, know a guy. Drastically different from the shiny all-glass show room of the dealership, the waiting room at this mechanic was a few chairs with a toolbox of Kurerig cups and Jolly Ranchers in a tiny storefront that also served as a front desk for the mechanics as they played double-duty coming in and out of the attached garage to take turns playing secretary. Despite their humble workspace, it was clear they had no shortage of work as the tiny little parking lot was so full of cars it was like a puzzle to move them in and out. There I would meet Chris.

They confirmed the piston issue, but understanding the value of the vehicle and my needs they were able to rebuild the piston (and the engine) for half the price of the dealership. Without transportation (before the days of Uber), they gave me a ride to help me get back and forth from the shop. While the repair was one of the worse of my life, the shop’s small size and consequently their value of myself as a customer made it personal in a way that the dealership just by its shear size and the systematic approach an organization the size of dealership needs to have, could not do.

From mechanic to trusted advisor

The story doesn’t end there. I ended up becoming a regular customer of Chris’. The lack of bureaucracy, meant that Chris and his team were able to bend their ways of working to get me in for a vehicle emergency when their schedule was completely booked out to ensure I could get home to my family for the holidays. While Chris wasn’t cheap, he was worth it and his pricing was competitive. I could trust I wasn’t being overcharged and anyone who did it cheaper, was likely to cause more problems than they fixed. Chris cared for me like a member of his family. He got to know me beyond my outward appearance and not only knew when I could do maintenance myself with out paying his shop, but informed me so I could do so.

In addition, to the services he provided in his shop, Chris was not afraid to help me work with the dealership when needed. In one such occasion, I had bought a new-to-me used vehicle. Not even three years old, the previous owner had done all her maintenance at the dealership. I too took it to the dealership to have recalls done. Yet, it wasn’t until Chris got it up on the jacks to do a minor repair, did either myself or the previous owner get informed of the leaking head gasket in the motor. Chris pointed out the vehicle was still under warranty. As mentioned above, I was not super familiar of how to work with dealerships. Chris helped me wrangle down the warranty, joined me on calls, and helped me push back when they tried to bowl me over. His ability to help me work with the big guy saved me thousands.

Why small is a big advantage

Over the years Chris became more than a mechanic, he was a trusted advisor, but more than that he became a friend. While I dread vehicle repairs, conversations with Chris in between phone calls in that little waiting room had a way of giving me hope for the world. How Chris operated, was possible because he was small. Similar to Chris, there are ways a small or independent firm can advantage you over the big guys.

1. Personal one-on-one connections

Small size means a smaller set of clients and smaller teams.  When you work with a firm such as Nikkiforos, you work directly with the people you know who can grow and adapt with your organization. At Nikkiforos, we welcome the opportunity to help you explore new and creative ideas with your organization and are small enough and agile enough to do so.

2. Flexibility and less red tape

A more direct relationship with clients via size means fewer competing priorities. Independents don’t have large entrenched structures and bureaucracies that must be navigated before providing recommendations giving them the freedom to make your mission their mission, adjusting course quickly to adapt to changing needs.

3. What you pay for is what you get

Less red tape means less cost. Work with Nikkiforos specifically will often involve the advice of just one consultant and with very little over head. As such you have much more control in who you work with and those individuals are getting the credit and pay to ensure they’re around to continue to serve you

4 You don’t have to choose

A small firm such as Nikkiforos, can often partner with bigger firms, in fact, they may recommend you do so. For large endeavors, a small firms may leverage their expertise to help you identify needs for an external consultant. Having worked for many of the most elite firms in the world, Nikkiforos in particular may serve as an advisor for navigating your engagement with them, or supplement unique skills in our wheelhouse that they may not have readily available.

In a world full of big names and brands, it’s easy to forget that trust is built between people, not logos. Working with a small firm like Nikkiforos is about more than just services — it’s about relationships, adaptability, and a personal investment in your mission. Chris demonstrated this, as he became much more than a mechanic. He became a friend, an advocate, and someone who helped me navigate systems I didn’t fully understand. That level of trust and care didn’t happen because of scale or process — it happened because he had the flexibility and commitment to meet me where I was.

To learn more about how consultants make a difference see our post “Leadership Really is Life or Death” or when to engage a consultant see our blog post “A Tale of Two Kings”