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People with a high degree of expertise in a particular field can leverage that knowledge to build a profitable consulting business. Whether you're between jobs or considering a career change, learning how to start a consulting business is the first step to making the most of your skills. Instead, you can start a lucrative business and charge upwards of $300 per hour. This is all about sharing your expertise with others. Here's everything you need to know.
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1. Outline your plan
First, you need to put together a strong business plan. You don't have to stick to everything, but it's a good idea to have some guidelines for your business.
The first thing to choose is your business name. Since you are starting a consulting business as an individual, the business name can be either your personal name or the business name. If you want a more recognizable and eye-catching name, factor registration costs into your initial budget.
If you need to design a logo, you can do it yourself or consult a designer. A logo can help you start marketing to your target audience, whether it's business owners, companies, or individuals. If you want to hire consulting in a specific industry, you should start building a list of contacts that you can reach out to when you're ready to launch and take on new clients.
Once you have all this information in place, you can begin the administrative side of your business.
2. Register your consulting business
Before you can officially start your business, you must register with the Secretary of State as a sole proprietorship or LLC. You should also check if your state has other legal requirements for small businesses. If you plan on growing your business, registering as an LLC will make it easier to track your business expenses for taxes. Depending on the state, it costs about $50 to $100 to register a business online.
If you're starting a consulting business on the side, it may be worth investing in your business to register an LLC.
3. Determining services and prices
Determining your price also means deciding what kind of service you want to provide. Consultants provide a variety of services. They can provide broad support for your business, but they can't dig deep. Or, you can become highly specialized and delve into specific aspects of your company's business. For example, if you're an HR consultant, you can take a broader view of a company's HR operations or focus on a particular department's hiring practices.
You should also consider whether you want to acquire short-term or long-term customers. Even compared to long-term consulting, conducting a one-time consulting session is still a daunting task. Your pricing strategy should reflect the amount of preparation that needs to be done. Also, determining how to price your services (whether as a one-time payment, an hourly fee, or a monthly fee) may vary by industry.
4. Build a website
Your consulting business needs a website so clients can easily find you. If a company is doing research to find a consultant for their industry, you'll want your girlfriend's website to appear for that company. If you're familiar with SEO best practices, you can do it yourself or hire someone to optimize your website.
The best platforms to build a professional website are:
- Square space: The platform is very user-friendly and has a large selection of award-winning templates. In addition to its great design, it's also affordable, with all-inclusive plans starting at $16 per month. However, it lacks more robust customization options for experienced programmers.
- Wicks: This all-in-one website builder offers a drag-and-drop site editor, making web design easy and flexible. However, it's a little more expensive than Squarespace, with plans starting at $16 per month.
- WordPress: WordPress, the world's most popular content management system, isn't the most user-friendly, but it's one of the most customizable and affordable options (web hosting costs only about $4 to $8 per month) ). This is a great option if your website has very unique needs or if you have experience with a CMS.
Building a website may seem difficult, but many of the best website builders make it easy for beginners to create a site without any experience or coding knowledge. However, keep in mind that websites require ongoing maintenance. Therefore, it is recommended that you hire a virtual assistant or take some time in your calendar to do regular maintenance and updates to your website.
5. Marketing your consulting business
Marketing a new business can be difficult, but it becomes much easier if you are diligent about finding new marketing channels and leveraging your connections. Try these simple, low-cost solutions to get started with your marketing.
- Search engine optimization to rank better on Google
- Online business directories such as Google My Business, Yelp, Yellow Pages, etc.
- Pay-per-click advertising such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and YouTube Ads
- Subreddits for entrepreneurs and your industry
- Slack groups for freelancers
- Find local networking groups, such as local business associations.
- Attend industry networking events
At first, tackling this on your own can be quite time-consuming, but as your business grows, you may be able to hire a social media strategist or partner to help you find business leads.
FAQ
Where can consulting firms find government contracts to apply for?
This website contains a list of government agencies that accept contractors and consultants.
How can a consulting business use Fiverr to acquire clients?
Fiverr allows anyone to sign up as a freelancer and sell their services. Many companies looking for freelance writing, design, and marketing jobs use Fiverr, so it's a great place to get content strategy consulting.
Is it possible to start a consulting business as a side job?
If you're comfortable working with a small number of clients and are realistic about your time, you can easily run a consulting business on the side. To build trust, it's important to be open with your clients about time constraints.
What is a good field to start a consulting business?
The consulting business you start will be based on your strengths and skills, but some of the areas with the most potential for success include public relations, publishing, human resources (HR) marketing, computer programming, career consulting, advertising and accounting.
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