How to start a job consultancy?
To start any type of consultancy business itself is a big challenge, but starting a business, when your objective is to help other people to run their own business more efficiently is more challenging.
There are a lot of misunderstandings about the consulting business. Usually, people assume that if they want to become a consultant, then they will have to have exceptional qualifications and credentials, for instance, a professional consulting business plan, a snobbish suit, and an elegant workplace.
They also think they will have to hire employees and the capacity to schedule face-to-face appointments with large businesses.
Occasionally they also think that consulting business is only for businesses such as Management, HR, supply chain management, management, and or Informational Technology.
But this is not true.
Let me make your life easy! What this is all about “Consulting Business”.
The term “consulting” is defined as the process of offering and providing expert opinion or advice against a particular fee. Very Simple!
Now let’s discuss the dictionary meaning!
The “consultant” means a person, who is an expert and knowledgeable, works as an advice-giver in a certain field or area, either to an individual or a company.
Setting up your own consulting business, consulting agency is a process where people need proactively to define their niche, setting online business consultant or entrepreneur consultant rates, and then expanding network. Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways for a new consulting business to attract and retain clients.
How to start your own consulting business described in video below:
Seems pretty nebulous, isn’t it?
Let’s make it simpler!
Consultants are those, experts in their fields and they tend to possess so valuable knowledge and others (an individual or a company) are ready to pay for it willingly.
Now you need to be more precise on it. Consulting is a little more than providing advice.
Additionally, consulting services may include a varied sort of activities, for instance, data gathering, problem identification, feed-back, action plan, and implementation.
Consulting firms and consultants are highly hunted after because they can introduce a fresh and unique perspective to an affecting problem or challenge. Sometimes, individuals and business leaders need an unbiased perspective, when they come across an issue. If you are an expert in that field, then you can offer your consultancy services against mutually decided compensation.
Consulting Business and Business Consultant
Business consultant and Consulting Business, two are different terminologies. In the upper section, I have explained the “consulting business”. Now understand that what is a business consultant?
A business consultant is a skilled and expert individual in the business field who studies businesses, generates solutions for different business-related issues, and helps business owners in developing cost-effective plans to accomplish their business goals. Generally, they come up with their methods or structures to help business and endorse how to realize business goals more efficiently.
Is that difficult to understand?
A piece of advice for you to start a consulting business!
A niche business tends to be a good option to look at it while thinking to start a consulting business of any category. Although, clients look for guidance from an expert in a certain field at the same time, they not willing to have their full-time services. That’s the point when you are required to play your role as a consultant.
If you have knowledge, skills, and expertise in a certain field to offer for others, and you are excited to be your boss, then starting your own consulting business could be life turning moment for you.
Although consulting is considered as an industry, and was controlled by large firms in the past, now you can launch a successful consulting business even from scratch and fully online.
Consulting business is one of the best business options for you, with less-cost to penetrate the consulting industry to earn money online.
Do remember!
If you’ve got some applicable expertise in a certain area and having an appropriate industry knowledge that your businesses can tap on, then definitely you must learn how to start an online consulting business. The consulting business allows you to earn money, while being at home, with very little investment.
How does it sound?
Top Consulting Businesses Flourishing Today
You can start your consulting business in any field of your choice. Following is the key area, being considered booming these days;
Accounting consulting
- Accounting is the need of every business these days, no matter how small or large. Consultants in the accounting field can help businesses with all of their financial requirements.
Advertising consulting
- To build a strategically effective advertising campaign, usually, consultants are hired by a business.
Business work consulting
- If you are carrying a valuable business sense with some expertise, they can surely perform well as a business consultant. After IT consulting services, consultants in this area are the next most hunted after. Entrepreneurial understanding can help a business turn into a profit.
Business writing consulting
- Business owners face a high degree of challenges when they are supposed to write business reports or proposals and even for their business websites.
Career counseling
- Career counselors will remain in demand, till the time, corporate downsizing exist. Career counselor guides his/her clients into a job or profession to chalk out an outline to advance in the career ladder.
Editorial services consulting
- From producing newsletters to corporate annual reports, consultants who are experts in the editorial field will always be appreciated.
Gardening:
- In the past decade, the demand for gardening consultants has flourished into a $1 million-a-year business. Not only are businesses hiring gardening consultants; so are people who are too busy to take care of their gardens themselves at home.
Computer Programmers consulting
- If you are a passionate person and know everything in between software to hardware then your prime challenge will, how to manage and meet all of your clients’ demands in a day.
Human resources consulting
- HR consultants will remain be enjoying neve-ending stock corporate clients, as long as, even small or large organizations have people problems. Four P’s (People problem prevention program) includes schooling employees to get along with peers, tolerance, equality, diversity, and inclusion.
Payroll management consulting
- Employees at the workplace are required to get paid against their time and services. Therefore, you can offer services to various business organizations based on your expertise and knowledge in payroll management.
Taxes
- As a Tax consultant, your career can be very lucrative, if you have a pure interest in taxes. A tax consultant guides businesses on the legal aspects to pay the slightest amount of tax possible.
CHECKLIST: Starting Consulting Business
You can start your consulting business any time successfully if you follow the checklist below like a Bible;
- Focus on strengths and skills you have
- Finalize your niche
- Identify market needs
- Prepare an elevator pitch
- Develop your Rolodex
- Make your online channels
- Website, Blog, Social Media, Video Content
- Prepare business proposals templates
- Establish a pricing structure
- Be aware your processes
Focus on Strengths and Skills you have
As a consultant, you will be required to solve issues and problems, the client can’t solve themselves. While starting the consulting business, it’s significant to hold profound knowledge in a particular area so that you can provide value to your business clients.
Evaluate your strengths and skills before you plan to offer to your clients;
- Job Experiences
- Job Roles
- Technical Skills
- Soft Skills
It’s also very important to look out for any area of improvement (weaknesses) or skills shortage that may potentially gear you up in the future. For instance, do you need persuasion skills? If so, then you may be required to find a partner with such skills or you will have to acquire through a training course.
Finalize your niche
Don’t promise to offer everything to anyone, rather focusing on certain services to a particular market segment will be better. This is the way, you can shape up and advertise your marketing message and services to this niche segment to attract your customers.
Identify market needs
Once you’ve recognized your niche, then explore what possible problems, challenges, people face, and the pain points businesses in your niche frequently experience. If you are unable to do so, then there is no harm to look into other associated forums or connect to the real people in the niche segment.
You can identify market needs once you listen to the thought leaders’ viewpoints about online. What area of confusion they believe or is there any sort of heated debates in comment sections or forums over a specific topic? What pain points or challenges keep popping up? At what level you can solve those problems. The higher the issue, the higher the money.
What do you think now?
Prepare an elevator pitch
Do remember! This is a very significant part of your business. To start your online consulting business you are required to identify customers. Assume for a while, you know now your possible customers.
I ask you now, how will you inform your customers about what services you’re are offering? Although, with many options, you can start with. But I suggest you begin with an elevator pitch (services related) to get your potential customers convinced if your experience in consulting and coaching business is limited.
A short description of problems, your prospects are facing and the solutions your consulting business offers is called “an elevator pitch”. You are required to construct an elevator pitch (at least 3 sentences) including how your services are different from other key players in the same industry.
An elevator pitch will be your business value proposition. What are you are offering (solutions) to potential clients? What particular issue will you help solve? The right customers with the precise problem you can solve will attract your customers. You don’t forget to hook prospects in and make them interested to find out more.
When a prospect approaches to find out more information, then you may proceed to present your story and solutions more in detail.
Develop your Rolodex
To make your consulting business a success, you are required to get connected with popular networking websites, for instance, LinkedIn to get connected with prospects in the selected industry. Do get connected with the key people and always seek their introductions. It is better to make your networking account more professional and expressive and get connected with the individuals whom you already know. Do request for references and testimonial from your friends, associates, and colleagues. This how online consulting business works.
Make your online channels
This is very important to portray yourself as an authority and consultant in your chosen field. You can establish yourself as an authority and credibility, there are several digital options can be used.
Create an attractive but simple website for your online consulting business, build a strong social media profile and get started making valuable content on such digital platforms
Below is what you consulting must have;
Website
- Analyze your business competitors and other players in the industry websites. You can even get references from other sites. Mind it, your business website showcases your professionalism and expertise. In my opinion, make your consulting business by yourself that is very easy and interesting. In a few weeks, you will be able to manage and maintain your website.
Blog
- Writing a comprehensive blog will be an opportunity and help you make you a thought leader in your selected field. This is also considered to drive fresh traffic to your business website.
Social Media
- I suggest that if you want success in your new venture, then you need to be visible at least on the most popular social media platforms. Usually, business professionals use, for instance, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. For consumer-focused services, you may consider other platforms such as YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Video Content
- Although it is very hard to build trust online the content of the video can establish some of this trust at least. You can post your business services videos on various platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and even on your business website to get concentrated and maximum exposure.
- You will have to learn how to market a consulting business of yours. It will be better to focus on high-quality content that delivers huge value to your potential customers. Sooner or later, the customers will, in your niche, take notice of your business.
Prepare business proposal templates
You may be required to have all the templates ready all the time with you. There is no need to waste time and duplication of efforts while creating a project proposal. You need to create standard documents, forms, and other needed templates.
Standardized and same templates will certify that your work constantly has the identical professional look and impression and covers all related aspects. It will be better to be reliable in your approach that ensures your consulting services are always consistent at its best.
Establish a pricing structure
This is another important section of your consulting business that is to set the prices or services charges for the services you are intended to charge from your clients. You can decide on the pricing structure, considering the number of hours a typical consulting service may take on an average and on the resources to be consumed.
Be crystal clear to answer the question that will be frequently asked “How much will you charge?”
Constantly struggle to deliver immense value, rather than reducing your prices. On the other hand, if you plan to charge too little, then clients may not consider you seriously.
CONCLUSION
Once you have decided to start your online consulting business, then you will be required to do well. You must follow the checklist as we discussed above to put your Consulting Business on track to success. Though, having the professional and technical skills, becoming an authority, and branding yourself through a consulting business firm can be a worthwhile and lucrative business venture.