A consultant is one with special area of expertise and for a fee offers these skills to other individuals or organizations. Unlike employees, consultants work on short term projects on a contract basis. Due to the short term duration of most project, consultants have to be consistent in their marketing.

Whether you find yourself downsized, retired or just want to be your own boss, consulting is a very good place to start.

I foresee the need for consultants is only going to keep growing for the following reasons:

Our world is going to keep getting complex and the availability of options will keep increasing

The need for unique knowledge or experience will keep increasing due to the increased complexity of our world. Let’s take for instance starting a business, there are so many things you have to decide such as:

• Legal structure
  
• Tax structure
  
• How to reach your prospective clients
  
• How to pay your taxes
  
• How to manage your cash flow
  

And the lists goes on and on…

Also within each of these decisions are more decisions and you need someone to guide you through the process and this is where consultants come in.

The need for specialized expertise to execute business strategies

Sometimes organizations may consult with outside agencies to execute a plan. It may be an organization has drawn up a business plan but lacks the internal skills to execute certain part of the plan. It makes more sense to hire a consultant rather than an employee to execute these short range plans.

The need for research

Consultants are also hired to conduct research. A big area where consultants are needed is in the area of marketing research

The need to temporarily cover staffing needs

Sometimes organizations have temporary staffing needs due to downsizing, employee quitting, sudden increase in workload, need to meet an impending deadline, etc. These temporary staffing needs are sometimes filled with consulting agencies.

So now you decide you want to be a consultant where do you start.

There are 3 main types of consultants namely:

1. Experience: the experienced consultant has lots of expertise in his or her field. This experience can be the basis of the consulting practice.
   

    

2. Borrowed experience: This is for the “want to be” consultant who does not have lots of experience. Inexperienced consultants can borrow authority from more experienced consultants by implementing their proven methods. For example, Steven Covey has a certification program to teach his courses. This is a very effective way for people that do not have life experiences to draw from the experiences of others.
   

    

3. Product consultant: you can also specialize in a certain product and consult on how to properly use the product.
   

The good and the bad of consulting

The good

You are your own boss, you make up your own hours and you have more flexibility in your day. Also, there is personal satisfaction in knowing that you are helping others reach their goals.

The bad

You might run into dry periods of limited income

Ways to begin your consulting practice

I am a major proponent of using the “ripple effect” to grow your business. That is use small changes to cause bigger effects. When you start out, start simple: Start with what you have. Your first focus should be to get clients, you have to prove there is a market for your services: NO CUSTOMERS, NO BUSINESS. You can start with a home office, virtual office or restaurants to meet clients. Some consulting business can be set to grow entirely from a home office. The owner of Mom corps has grown her staffing agency into a 16 million dollar business all from her home. The internet has changed the playing ground and using 19^th century strategies to grow 21^st century business does not work as effectively as it used to.

When you learn to be resourceful by using 21^st century technology, you can do away with a lot of things tradition says you need to start a business.

The biggest question you will need to ask yourself is why you are consulting and what you hope to gain from it. You have to be very intentional about your plan and what you hope to gain. Start small: It is advisable you start your consulting endeavor as a part time activity while still keeping your full time job. This is because consulting businesses takes time to build.

To begin your consulting practice, start by looking for clients. Clients can start with people you already know. Start by making a list of people that might be interested in your service. Think how you may be able to reach them. You might have to cold call to initiate the first contact. You might choose to place an ad in magazines your prospects read. Whatever method you choose to reach your prospects, do not advertise until you clearly identify who they are and how you can reach them. If not, you will be wasting money.

You could also start by providing your services for free or very low fees as you build your confidence in consulting with others. Sometimes your past employer might be willing to consult with you.

Other places you can find clients are:

• Business networking event
  
• Chamber events
  
• Friends of friends
  

Are you a consultant, leave me a message with how you got started?

Next I will be discussing:

Writing your first proposal

Stay tuned over the next couple of articles I will show you how you can build systems around your consulting practice i.e. Transitioning your consulting practice into a full-fledged business…