THEY used to be called troubleshooters. Now they are called "do-ologists", whatever that means.

The idea is that business experts step in when a company hits problems, tell a few home truths, turn it around and depart, being feted with restoring the firm's fortunes. If only it were that simple.

The process which governs business development is notoriously tricky to pin down. When a company needs help, virtually everything can be perceived as a cause of failure. But isolating and treating the symptoms is like one of those fairgound attractions where you hit a gremlin with a hammer, only for another one to pop up.

Small wonder, then, that the market for outside help is expanding all the time. And for those who get it right, the sky is the limit.

Paul Norris has got it right countless times, but you are unlikely to have heard about it. His company, PNC Business Development Consultants (PNCBDC), has become "the friend within" for many firms - but it gets done quietly, with a minimum of fuss.

He says: "It's not always about a company in trouble. Sometimes a company wants to grow, but is not sure how the expansion should be handled.

"We have to be sensitive. We can't go in making a big song and dance. Sometimes the employees don't even know we're there.

"Once people are aware of our presence, there is a danger that they will think the worst about the firm's fortunes and morale will slip. That defeats the whole object, so we have a very low-key way of doing things."

To prove the point, he shows me a filing cabinet full of business plans and testimonials, which he does not open when I ask.

Not that the company baulks at saying the difficult things.

As befits a man who has played rugby (prop forward) for more than 20 years, sometimes it is the direct approach that works the best.

"I had to report to an MD when we'd completed our assessment," Paul says. "He asked what the problem was. I had to tell him. 'It's you'."

After serving a craft apprenticeship as an electrician, Paul went into financial services, ending up as a divisional director in the North-east. When the Australian company pulled out of the UK market, he refocused, took on a number of managing director and chairman posts, before setting up PNC in October 2000.

He says: "I'd spotted a gap in the market for a business development consultancy using a multi-functional approach. Businesses don't fail for one reason, so I knew if I could put together a business that looked at strategy, marketing, skills, etc., then it would be a useful service. That has proved to be the case."

It certainly has. From a one-man operation at the start, PNC now has an in-house team of eight specialists, with an extended consultancy team of fifteen.

Paul sets a growth target of 20 per cent per year, and is on target to achieve that this year.

He has also launched PNC Media, a marketing operation, and PNC Learning, which runs business training courses - the most popular of which is "Managing Your Bank Manager".

All of which, you would expect, would more than account for his time. Not so. As well as being a keen guitar player and fly-fisher, Paul has been on the board of the North Manchester Chamber of Commerce for three years, and president of the Bolton Board since November.

He also acted as interim chief executive and took what was the old Bolton and Bury Chamber through the merger which created the North Manchester Chamber (trading as Chamber Business Connections). Now including Oldham and Rochdale in its sphere of operations, it is one of the top five Chambers, in terms of membership, in the UK.

He says: "The merger has given us a much better spread of members from different sectors, and we are now able to provide a broader range of services to the members. It's a far healthier Chamber now than it has been for a long time."

And he should know about health. In addition to regular gym sessions, he still plays rugby with Bolton Vets.

Business development consultant, Chamber President, guitar player, fly-fisher, rugby player and sometimes cyclist - so THAT'S what "do-ologist" means.