Consulting business - thoughts?

[OscarDeuce]

Would you be interested in touching base?

Kinsey6287,

While the call sign and picture are artifacts from what I did a long time ago, my consulting business is heavily directed at the DoD and defense industry. I'd be happy to meet up. I'm usually in Northern VA.

Cheers,
O-2

 

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[Reframer]

Being a consultant is a tough racket.
What have you been so GOOD at that your time is worth so much?
They are INVESTING in you... Not paying you.

Since you are employed in the field may I suggest you plan a way of demonstrating your expertise.
How would you go about doing that??

 

[Kinsey6287]

I think a decent way to make consulting a fastlane business would be to first, get your name out there and build credibility (this would be a time for money exchange) and then when you have a decent client base that all have the same goals and are striving to excel in the same market, you set up a web conference. You are sitting in your office, on a webcam and giving a lecture on a topic while adding value to multiple clients all at the same time.

You could still have time for question/answers and also if any client wanted to schedule direct one-on-one sessions with you, then you could schedule another tele-conference or video conference with them...

This way you get multiples of $ for your time while adding value to a wider range of clients all at the same time. Then opening a venue for further discussions and furthering your business.

This may not be "fastlane" in the idea of a totally passive income, but after building even more credibility you could then build online self paced courses for your market or industry and have the client pay to attend the course from your website. For the aviation industry an example of one of these courses could be something along the lines of "Dealing with the Defense Logistics Agency".

This would then be passive and fastlane.

 

[Pete799p]

Being a consultant is a tough racket.
What have you been so GOOD at that your time is worth so much?
They are INVESTING in you... Not paying you.

Since you are employed in the field may I suggest you plan a way of demonstrating your expertise.
How would you go about doing that??

Consulting can be a very tough gig to get into as you eluded to. People need to know you are that GOOD to invest in you. Things like establishing a track record and gaining credibility in a market place can be a long hard process.

That being said building a successful consulting business is often more sales then anything else. In order to make it you need to get out into the market place and start meeting with prospective clients. This takes sales skills. Then once you meet them you need to sell them on why you are that good, also sales. It is only after you have succeeded in selling that you are able to go to work. Once your track record is establish many enjoy frequent referrals or repeat business but it seems that getting start is very much a sales business. This might be different for other industries I am unfamiliar with and I am sure there are other ways to acquire business through marketing etc. but at the end of the day it seems that most client centric businesses are sales oriented.

 

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[edward222]

I don't think that offshore banking is really a requirement for a successful business...

Well I am also a business man,and as far as I know, all of the companies that registered with this kind of service have no complain about their business failed. So for me its an advantage if you build your business with them.

 

[edward222]

I don't think that offshore banking is really a requirement for a successful business...

Well I am also a business man,and as far as I know, all of the companies that registered with this kind of service have no complain about their business failed. So for me its an advantage if you build your business with them.

 

[Mr.B]

Well I am also a business man,and as far as I know, all of the companies that registered with this kind of service have no complain about their business failed. So for me its an advantage if you build your business with them.

I am also a business man, and as far as I know, all of the companies that are based within a block of Starbucks have not failed. Therefore, if you really want to have a successful business, you must rent an office within a block of Starbucks.

 

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[edward222]

I am also a business man, and as far as I know, all of the companies that are based within a block of Starbucks have not failed. Therefore, if you really want to have a successful business, you must rent an office within a block of Starbucks.

conclusion: both of us have a point.

 

[Ranger81]

Thanks. Do you think there's anyway you can adapt your consulting business (using your current network of clients, or your brand), and use it as platform to create something more automated? For example generating content to a niche of clients, charging a membership, or maybe creating software that through your experience you know will generate value for the audience you are used to serve..

I wonder if consulting is kind of a 1st step for me to confidently leave my job (where I currently make good money, so I need to have some level of certainty before leaving), and then I can adapt the business to something more fastlane..

Not directly, no. My clients are big companies that need my knowledge and services in projects with 20 and up to 100 people in them to get a product from one point to another. They pay me to lead other people, transfer knowledge (so yes, that part I could make something for and sell many times), and coordinate when issues arise.

This also means that I could hire someone to do basically the same job but for just a bit less money than what I charge my customer. The problem is that we are in big demand and the biggest companies pay top dollars for people like us now, and have been for the past 6-8 years. In addition, that will not be fastlane either as I would just have to get my people job and run a "people-company".

Regarding the part with the security you need to leave your job (I did exactly that in 2008) I called and visited potential clients. This resulted in that I finally got hired by a big company for 6 months. 1 week after I signed the contract, I delivered my letter of resignation to my employer at the time. I would not have done this without something else to go to.
You should keep calling, asking for leads, call «consultant brokers» that make a living from taking x% of the fee from people like you when they get you a job. That is my top advice to start a consultant business.

But as others have pointed out, it's good money and I see it as seed capital for other ventures. It's not "impossible" to make a consultant business fastlane. It just requires you to not be a "regular" consultant - but think a lot more outside the box.

Good luck!

 

[ddkalfa]

Not directly, no. My clients are big companies that need my knowledge and services in projects with 20 and up to 100 people in them to get a product from one point to another. They pay me to lead other people, transfer knowledge (so yes, that part I could make something for and sell many times), and coordinate when issues arise.

This also means that I could hire someone to do basically the same job but for just a bit less money than what I charge my customer. The problem is that we are in big demand and the biggest companies pay top dollars for people like us now, and have been for the past 6-8 years. In addition, that will not be fastlane either as I would just have to get my people job and run a "people-company".

Regarding the part with the security you need to leave your job (I did exactly that in 2008) I called and visited potential clients. This resulted in that I finally got hired by a big company for 6 months. 1 week after I signed the contract, I delivered my letter of resignation to my employer at the time. I would not have done this without something else to go to.
You should keep calling, asking for leads, call «consultant brokers» that make a living from taking x% of the fee from people like you when they get you a job. That is my top advice to start a consultant business.

But as others have pointed out, it's good money and I see it as seed capital for other ventures. It's not "impossible" to make a consultant business fastlane. It just requires you to not be a "regular" consultant - but think a lot more outside the box.

Good luck!

Thanks, that is good advice. Cheers!

 

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[J. van Driessen]

I have quit my job just a few weeks ago, and I'm now a consultant (Salesforce consulting). The consulting firm I was working for has hired me back in as a subcontractor. I now have work guaranteed for the next 5 months and make more than 10.000 euro per month that I'm staffed.
It's still trading time for money, so I wouldn't consider it fastlane.
However, you can do like me and do this to finance the fastlane business you're building on the side. My plan is to try to get my fastlane business to the highest point possible while consulting, then try it full time. If it doesn't work out, I can still pay myself a wage for quite a while from the consulting work done before, and when the money runs dry I'll just take up another consulting gig for a while.

 

[TedM]

Sorry but I cant see how you can fastlane any consulting business.

If a "customer" of yours loves what you are doing there is a finite amount of clients you can take on. Between face to face, skype, phone calls,emails, etc you only have so much time in your day. Once you reach a limit of working 24/7 you are SOL in terms of your ability to take on more clients.

Sure you can "hire" people but customers want YOU... not your employees

ask me how I know...

dan kennedy has a number of books - his whole approach, really - on this idea.

 

[TedM]

consultant brokers

i never heard of this beast before..

 

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[Wal-Mart Vendor]

I have been a consultant for 20 years and can say it's more of a slow lane thing. You are your business and people will depend on you for "you". As you build clients you build trust and friendships so expanding has it's limits. You can only do so many things in one day. If you do hire people and expand then it becomes tricky because there are very few people who really care enough to worry more about pleasing the client then making a quick buck. Just saying...

 

[Vigilante]

The consulting gigs I have done are harder than a lot of other cash flow mechanisms, because as a consultant I was expected to be the smartest person in the room.

 

[OscarDeuce]

I have been a consultant for 20 years and can say it's more of a slow lane thing. You are your business and people will depend on you for "you". As you build clients you build trust and friendships so expanding has it's limits. You can only do so many things in one day. If you do hire people and expand then it becomes tricky because there are very few people who really care enough to worry more about pleasing the client then making a quick buck. Just saying...

You are correct. Not long ago, a client approached me about a project. The client asked if I could do it. My truthful answer was "yes, but I have an associate who is much better suited to this task than I am," and I proceeded to rattle off the gentleman's outstanding qualifications, not the least of which was he is married to the former CIO of the organization my client wanted to sell IT services to. The client's CEO interrupted and said something to the effect "I'm sure he's very capable, but I would prefer you."

If I have to do everything, it's impossible to scale beyond my physical abilities.

Cheers,
O-2

 

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[Ranger81]

You are correct. Not long ago, a client approached me about a project. The client asked if I could do it. My truthful answer was "yes, but I have an associate who is much better suited to this task than I am," and I proceeded to rattle off the gentleman's outstanding qualifications, not the least of which was he is married to the former CIO of the organization my client wanted to sell IT services to. The client's CEO interrupted and said something to the effect "I'm sure he's very capable, but I would prefer you."

If I have to do everything, it's impossible to scale beyond my physical abilities.

Cheers,
O-2

But this is basically just a "No". Then you just have to use the seller in you to "sell in" the other guy. Eventually you'll make it (get a "Yes, OK, I'll go for him" and you can sit back and go on building the next thing/gig/product/whatever.

 

[Kingsta]

What makes you better than all the other consultants? What have you done that's so great? Are you an expert in your field?

The problem is, most people think becoming a consultant is easy money and it is...if you're the best at what you do. I have consultants for my business that get paid in excess of 3 and in some cases 4 figures AN HOUR. I'm into finance and so the advice and help benefits my business 10-20 fold but what you have to remember is that I am paying these guys so much money because I'm expecting/I know they are the best at what they do and they can command that much money because of that.

The opportunity to make a huge amount of money is there but its a lot of hard work, also I don't know if you can consider it fastlane because a lot of my consultants/advisor are a lot older, I'm assuming this is how they became experts in X field. Also I'd never hire a business consultant if they hadn't created a business that generated at least a million revenue, which nowadays isn't even that great, but I'm feeling kind.

 

[Norm]

I am currently building an online consulting business.

I have included a recurring income into the business with "online services" which is all outsourced which I charged a premium markup on it.
I have services ranging from 197-1997 per month/

Plus in addition I am paid for my consulting which has a retainer component if I find a business which is large enough to retain my services on a monthly basis.

My service is not rocket science, but it is a need in the market. If you find a need or pain you have an awesome business.

I cant wait to begin scaling the business, but right now I am loving been in the trenches of building it.

 

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[Andy Black]

I have quit my job just a few weeks ago, and I'm now a consultant (Salesforce consulting). The consulting firm I was working for has hired me back in as a subcontractor. I now have work guaranteed for the next 5 months and make more than 10.000 euro per month that I'm staffed.
It's still trading time for money, so I wouldn't consider it fastlane.
However, you can do like me and do this to finance the fastlane business you're building on the side. My plan is to try to get my fastlane business to the highest point possible while consulting, then try it full time. If it doesn't work out, I can still pay myself a wage for quite a while from the consulting work done before, and when the money runs dry I'll just take up another consulting gig for a while.

I am a contractor too. I think I prefer it to being a consultant. It's typically hourly or daily rate, but the day ends when it's scheduled to end and I am free to work on my own projects in the evening. There's also the advantage of having a limited company and being more tax efficient boot-strapping your side projects.

 

[JosephSr]

New to the forum, however I must concur with Wal-Mart Vendor. I have, and continue to work as an Engineering Consultant. Although my income is 6 figures, there are several problems in this type of business model...

1. Tied to my time.
2. Scale ability is limited.
3. Does not serve the masses.

IMHO, based upon 10 years in the trenches, I intend to continue the consulting route, because it does generate fair cash flow (better than flipping burgers etc) only until I can exit the slow lane with a business model that qualifies on multiple levels as fast lane.

In your case, using an online model, with outsourcing may work well... I wish you the best.

 

[Norm]

Joseph,

1. Tied to my time - Do you think you can package your advice up into a training program where you hire and train people to do what you do? That's how I have been slowly transforming my business from doing it myself to outsourcing the "processes".

2. Limit to scale - If you do the above, scale is unlimited. For me eventually I will be hiring consultants to do what I do. Equipping with them the knowledge.

3. Serve the masses - For the masses, you can offer a free or paid webinar. It is a great way to generate prospect and leads into your own business. Plus if you record it, you have an instant product which you can sell it over and over.

 

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[JosephSr]

Hi Norm,

I think this would work in many situations, but I'm not convinced it will work in my particular scenario. The particular engineering disciplines we specialize in, take years to learn, even if you are hired on as an apprentice, it takes about 5 years to really get in the game.

The issue is this: If I were to sub out the work, and the client cuts out 10-50,000 dollars worth of materials and they don't fit up properly, my reputation is gone, and in a really small niche like this, your done for.

I am networked with several firms that are scaled up. But the numbers are just too slow lane for me, and because of the time required to manage it.

Even at 1,000,000 gross sales per year, the margin is only 300k. Not what I'm after... I'm looking for hardcore FASTLANE.

Right now I am still in evaluation mode. One of the things I am considering, is how to use my 25 years of product engineering experience to develop a product for a larger audience, ie consumers. One that would qualify multiple times as Fast Lane. The paint brush cover is the perfect example... I think that is where the mega leverage is. Simple product, huge market, solid margins.

I really appreciate your input. Let's stay in touch!

 

[Andy Black]

Joseph,

With all your years of experience, and trusted position with your clients, are you able to see problems that they have that outsiders can't?

Can you use all your current skills, experience, and network as an "unfair advantage" over competutors who might try and sell a solution to these businesses?

 

[JosephSr]

Andy,

good thinking!

Using the tactics you mention above, I have been able increase my gross significantly over industry averages, but I am looking for much larger numbers. The problem is that most manufacturing companies rely on 4 primary supplier lines. 1. Raw materials (commodities) with low margins. 2. Labor (very low margins) 3. Engineering (best margins) and 4. Machinery purchases (good margins).

I currently supply my clients with 3 and 4. I am not too far away from maxing out those two items, and like I said, that is going to max out well below my goal, which is why I am looking at other options.

Thank you for the input!

 

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[Flora]

It depends on how you work with your consulting business. Go visit Alan Weiss's website http://www.alanweiss.com/about-alan-weiss/. Look at how he has packaged his process and who he circles around him. Study it and read his book the Consultant's Bible and that will get your mind working on the path of charging value based pricing instead of trading time for money. I do value based pricing for my clients and they love it.

 

[JosephSr]

Sounds interesting! I'll have a read. Thank You

 

[Daniel Verner]

If you have a practice where you are paid by the results (i.e. how much money the company saves), that's fastlane. It can be scaled up by working with larger companies with higher dollar impact. This is easier said than done.

 

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[16thCylinder]

The big money in consulting is being made by those using automation throughout most of the process, from lead gen to the actual consulting work.

Something like this:

highly targeted Facebook ads ==>
Landing Page with opt-in form ==> High Converting Value-Packed Automated Webinar which over-delivers ==> Offer of Free Strategy Session at end of webinar with form for entering suitable date/time ==> Upsell to Full Consultancy service.

The actual training is in a membership area, usually videos. Around 80% of the training is relevant to all members. Once a week a live Q&A session is held to personally work with members to cover the remaining 20%. Email help is available all the time.

This strategy is a proven force-multiplier and allows the consultant to work on marketing the business instead of being the business.