If you know everything there is to know about your field of work – be it retail, food, or finance – there’s always going to be a need for an expert opinion. This is where consultation comes in. Provided that you have years of experience and the credentials to prove it, consulting can be a very profitable business. For those of you considering consulting as a career, make sure you keep the following in mind:
[error]1. Partner Up[/error]
In the consulting world, your reputation is everything. Keeping in contact with former employers and staying on good terms with them can prove to be extremely helpful. If you have a reputation of being a hard-working, trustworthy, and knowledgeable employee, your former employers won’t hesitate to work with you again in your new career path. However, it’s important to stay strategic. How? Say you’ve worked for in finance for over 10 years and you feel you know everything there is to know in order to start consulting small businesses. For the time being, you’re not quite as established as you’d like to be – but if you call up a former boss and strike up a deal where they can hand you some of their smaller accounts while you can refer clients you obtain by yourself to your previous place of work for services that you may not provide such as audits. By partnering up with a big company as a smaller independant consultant will drive business and help you gain experience. Another great strategy is to link a banner of your website to websites of bigger companies that are willing to work with you and recommend you to small profile clients.
Lots of small businesses search for consultants via the internet because it’s easy and effective. By having a great online presence, you’re opening yourself up for potential clients. It’s important to remember that in the consulting business, it’s all about professionalism – which is why marketing yourself on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can have the opposite effect than what you’d like. Focus on more professional based social media such as LinkedIn, FastPitch, or PerfectBusiness. These sites are strictly for business relations and are great for making connections in your field. Furthermore, a well designed website is essential. When people do contact you through professional social media platforms, chances are they’re going to check out your website. Not having one is a death sentence. Having a poorly designed or unorganized site is just going to drive prospective clients away. Investing in a proper design, with simple features, and easy navigation is what it’s all about. You’re not selling a product – you’re selling a service along with your expertise. It’s important that your website gets this across with a sleek and sophisticated look.
Joining a consulting group is a good way to gain experience and even partner up with fellow consultants for larger projects. There are many online that you can join and sign up for newsletters or events. Being active in the consulting community is also a good way to network. Set a goal for yourself in terms of how many clients you’d like to take on per month or per quarter. Once you’ve figured out the magic number – start networking. Potential clients are everywhere and if you can make friends within the consulting community, you’ll see that a good professional connection can pay off. Say one of your fellow independant consultants has already reached their goal of clients for the month but they’ve still got calls pouring in. By offering to take a client or two off their hands and promising to return the favour in the next month, you’ll be helping each other out massively. After all, being an independant consultant doesn’t mean you have to rough it out on your own. Saying yes to help and offering it on your own will really strengthen your connections and open you to new ones.
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