How To Start a Consulting Business in 3 Easy Steps To End Job Uncertainty
Design Your Future
3 Easy Steps To Build a Career as a Consultant...
Independent consultancy is becoming a popular business startup.
More people are getting into the consulting field because of job uncertainty – either laid off with some form of termination payment, asked to take indefinite unpaid leave, or outright fired.
When I left my highly successful job as an ex-pat executive & began my consulting business startup…
I purposely didn’t start with a complex business plan.
Because I knew that I would only get a sense of real income once I tested my business idea in the marketplace.
And not on paper for me to see if someone will pay me.
I focused on simplicity & the practicality on how to get my first consulting client.
So I started learning how to make a living from home.
My initial approach was based on putting together what I know (my experience) and match it with what people’s needs.
What Does Consultants Do
Consultants provide opinions, insights, or recommendations to individuals or organizations.
In a nutshell, consultants provide solutions to a specific problem.
Actually, there’s no magic formula or secret that makes one consultant more successful than the other one.
All you need to discover is…
What your particular talent, or passion, or gift is.
Becoming a Consultant Ideas
You probably survived from any sickness, gambling, or alcohol addiction or maybe you were able to raise your kids successfully as a single mom.
This day & modern age, you can be a consultant if you have a certain knowledge that you can help someone else with.
The market only cares about its own needs and desires.
And the market doesn’t care about your degree program, certification, or about you at all.
If you want to succeed in business, find out what the market wants, and give it to them.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The Common Types of Consultants
Actually, there are several types of consultants specializing in different fields. And the good news is you can create your own consulting universe that is truly unique for you.
You don’t necessarily need to follow any of these well-known types of consultancy that are already over-used by those top big 5 consulting firms.
- Health Care Consultancy
- IT Consultancy
- Marketing Consultancy
- Business Consultancy
- Financial Consultancy
- Environmental Consultancy
- Engineering Consultancy
- Real Estate Consultancy
- Relationship Consultancy
- Alcohol Addiction Consultancy
- Management Consultancy
- HR Consultancy
- SEO Consultancy
- Brand Consultancy
- Digital Marketing Consultancy
- Medical Consultancy
- Project Management Consultancy
- Innovation Consultancy
- Legal Consultancy
- Psychological Consultancy
Why Build a Career as a Consultant?
Consulting can be a rewarding career that allows top professionals, freelancers, or anyone to focus on their areas of expertise.
Like for example companies hire a marketing consultant to provide them insights about branding positioning or product launches so if you’ve got an experience related to marketing you can then help small or big companies with what you know.
It can also give you flexibility, location independence, and money.
But what separates a good consultant from a bad consultant?
Are you passionate, knowledgeable, and have a strong drive in helping others by providing a solution in your selected field?
If you do, well that does make a difference.
A good consultant is, if you can continually solve a specific problem for people – whether it is for an individual or company, you can make great money as a consultant in your selected field or industry.
Exciting huh…
How To Start A Consulting Business From Scratch
Consulting Business is a self-development journey, there is no doubt about it.
I’ve started to notice that many people who are considering starting their own consulting business aren’t really aware of how to bring excellency in helping a small group of people.
I get it, it’s hard to know what to expect from the start.
First of all, I want to make one thing clear:
Consulting startup is actually NOT as hard as what most people think…
Are You in a Hurry?
I Want To Share With You How I (Realistically)Built A Business Startup From Struggling Making $100 Per Client to $10,000 Per Client
Over eight years ago I had no income.
I left my highly successful job as an ex-pat executive for 16 years.
No skills in consulting.
I’ve got zero knowledge about online business startup.
I am not special to anyone of you & don’t have any magical power.
All I did…
I contacted some people on Facebook and put my message.
Then, I asked them if they are interested to sign up for my program…
They did.
I put together my knowledge and experiences I have gained and turn it into a resource.
That’s how I grow my consulting business from struggling to make $100 per client to $10,000 per client, productized my service, and create a proven and repeatable system to attract more clients with predictability.
Is it really “freedom” & “flexibility” you want?
Make sure that you register to my consulting startup free masterclass where I share my “3 Breakthrough Realizations” how to bring your expertise to those who deserve your service for you to get paid what you are worth.
Consulting Business Startup With No Experience
You can provide paid consultation over the internet using Skype or Zoom or email-based consultation for any topic you like.
If you are good in any field someone else would be interested in paying you in exchange for your service.
I love this business startup model because even when I was dropping my daughter to college, it gives me flexibility when to talk & serve my consulting clients.
As long as there’s an internet connection, you are good to deliver your services because technology has made it easier to do so.
The beauty of the “consulting” business model, you can enhance your problem-solving ability and earnings growth potential.
And the best part with consulting…
You can get started right away without a website, following, or any complex business plan in gauging what your potential client needs.
And from there you outlined your offer that would cater to their needs offering a result by creating a system.
What I learned from this experience was…
The Consulting business startup model does not have to be as complicated as we tend to think.
In fact, it can be really very simple.
In Consulting, what's important is...
- See how the market reacts when you put your message
- Be visible to ONLY those people who need your help, and
- Provide the value they expect from you
More importantly, the methods we will discuss today allowed me to completely change my life.
I no longer had to depend on anyone or anything to secure my future. I was finally able to grab the steering wheel on how to design my future, and that’s the main thing I hope to leave you with today.
Here are the 3 easy steps on how you can build your consulting business without a complex business plan - I'm convinced you can do this too!
Step#1: Test Your Idea
Once you have a list of what your talent is.
Begin writing down how your talent can match in solving a specific problem in a small group of people of your interest.
Go and talk to them.
Discover the biggest problem that keeps them awake at night.
If that problem matches your service idea, then describe one preferred service and the problem it solves.
Make Your Consulting Service Specific As Possible
I help _______________ (who are those people you want to help) to_______________(what problem you are trying to solve) by _________________________ ( how are you going to provide the solution to your target clients).
Identify your target clients – a specific person or entity that needs your service.
What’s the specific problem that your target client is experiencing?
And what’s the transformation experience that your target client will experience at the end of your service?
Step#2: Talk That Only Make Sense To Your Target Market
Your idea may be the best one you have ever thought of, but providing a solution to what your potential customers need is more important to see if there is a market for your idea.
Will you be marketing your consulting service to small businesses?
Or maybe large corporations?
Will you offer a specialized service that would only be of interest to individuals?
Make sure you spend time knowing who you should be talking to because you do not want to offer a steak to a vegetarian.
Business is just about solving problems.
Not a problem for one individual, but a problem that’s widespread among participants within a group of your interest.
Then the solution is your business.
And the bigger the problem you solve, the bigger the money you make.
Find their current situation and their desired situation because as a new business owner, your job as a consultant is to fill up this gap – between where they are & their desired situation.
How Much Do Consultants Make
Source: Payscale.com
Management consultant salary is US$59,000/year to US$142,000/year.
A Business consultant typically makes between US$49,000/year to US$112,000/year.
The Benefit of Consulting...
Building your own rule consulting business, you will rely on your own extensive skill and experience and are often retired experts in your field.
Business isn’t about having those great ideas, but instead business is just about solving problems.
Look for problems in a specific group of people in your field.
And it’s easier to become the best in the world at something specific.
Most people will much prefer something made with them in mind to any more generic product.
Step#3: Create A Repeatable System For Attracting Clients
This step is important because a lot of new business owners go out without knowing how many clients do they need to achieve or sustain the kind of lifestyle they want.
- People hope and pray each morning hoping one client will land to their doorstep.
- They have no clue how to communicate the value proposition they can give.
- Most startup were victimized by impractical obsessions without improving their business bottom line.
- They don’t have a specific target market.
When you run your consulting business startup this way, you will essentially continue to live with uncertainties or worse odds is betting your future like the blackjack in the casino table.
Every problem you solved in your selected field is an opportunity to improve your machine (your system).
People care about their results & their transformation.
Each and every one of us we have our own desires & wants that we want to achieve in the future – for me my own personal desire… I want my time flexibility, so I can be with my daughter at any time I want.
That’s my own personal why I build my #OwnRule business lifestyle eight years ago..
Now, where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?
Plan what kind of business lifestyle you want and work towards your plan.
The Conclusion
Testing your business idea in a small group of people is the best business startup.
Because you can get started right away without any preparation, complex business plan, and even if you are not an expert now.
Let’s be realistic.
When you test your idea, you can gauge what your potential customers need from you.
And when you see people paying you that means…
This business can grow than having an imaginary outcome.
The fact is, you truly don’t know what type of product is accepted by the marketplace or how many units you can produce.
Your first is always the hardest because your first takes courage.
I know this because I’ve been there 8 years ago.
Here’s the thing…
Once the income stream is up and running you can then make a better business plan, create a more accurate monthly sales projection, and start automating your services by creating an online course – this is where the power of automation & scaling will come into play.
Getting paid to give advice is quite promising, and watching your clients succeed saying “thanks to your advice” is…unbelievably satisfying.
Hopefully, this guide has taught you how to start your own consulting business and give you a clear guide for building your own successful consulting business startup.
Create your own rule to design your future!
