Timing your consulting firm!

[Ayush_]

I had this idea thinking about various IT consulting firms who are present online.
Nowadays you would find plenty of consultancies in various departments like IT, Finance, Investing, Marketing etc. But the problem with these are they aren't niche and have plenty of competition. On niche-ing down a Consultancy I thought how about starting a consulting firm on the current trend.
For example let's go back to 2013 when blockchain just started and after sometime people were mad about crypto and now every 1 in 10 invests in crypto according to CNBC. When a trend begins and public wants to ride it the only thing that acts as a barrier is limited knowledge due to the trend being new. When blockchain started and it began to boom people were mad about it and wanted to invest, I know people that have 0 knowledge in NFTs and still tryna flip one. These people want knowledge and what can do better for it than a consulting firm. A "Newly launched bubble" consultancy.

Internet consultancy in 1995
Blockchain consultancy in 2013
NFT consultancy in 2021
And many more examples.

The years infront of each trend is when the matter is hot and people want info and mentorship to make full use of the trend.
That according to me would be the best time to start a consulting firm on that trend because-
No competition
Huge customers with limited info

And when you start to become big the entry barrier builds for other competitors to enter.

Summing it all up my basic idea (or maybe many people think about it) is setting up a consultancy with respect to the trend.

Would like to hear your opinions!
Thanks!

 

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[Johnny boy]

An intelligent version of this is called being Tai Lopez.

Make content

Bring in experts for a high ticket course based on whatever's hot at the moment

Repeat.

The unintelligent version of this is "starting a consulting firm" in the way that you suggest.

 

[Black_Dragon43]

I had this idea thinking about various IT consulting firms who are present online.
Nowadays you would find plenty of consultancies in various departments like IT, Finance, Investing, Marketing etc. But the problem with these are they aren't niche and have plenty of competition. On niche-ing down a Consultancy I thought how about starting a consulting firm on the current trend.
For example let's go back to 2013 when blockchain just started and after sometime people were mad about crypto and now every 1 in 10 invests in crypto according to CNBC. When a trend begins and public wants to ride it the only thing that acts as a barrier is limited knowledge due to the trend being new. When blockchain started and it began to boom people were mad about it and wanted to invest, I know people that have 0 knowledge in NFTs and still tryna flip one. These people want knowledge and what can do better for it than a consulting firm. A "Newly launched bubble" consultancy.

Internet consultancy in 1995
Blockchain consultancy in 2013
NFT consultancy in 2021
And many more examples.

The years infront of each trend is when the matter is hot and people want info and mentorship to make full use of the trend.
That according to me would be the best time to start a consulting firm on that trend because-
No competition
Huge customers with limited info

And when you start to become big the entry barrier builds for other competitors to enter.

Summing it all up my basic idea (or maybe many people think about it) is setting up a consultancy with respect to the trend.

Would like to hear your opinions!
Thanks!

Maybe - imo you should start a consultancy based around your natural inclinations as applied to solving market needs. Trends come and go, you’ll need to run this business for years. If you hate it, good luck running it for years after the trend is over. So what do you know about? What are you into? What does the market need? Health, wealth, relationships. Pretty much you’ll land in one of those and they’re evergreen markets.

An intelligent version of this is called being Tai Lopez.

Make content

Bring in experts for a high ticket course based on whatever's hot at the moment

Repeat.

Real consultants don’t “make content” bro. Only wannabes like Tai Lopez do that. The only people they consult with are newbies, not real business owners. I’m moving a lot of my agency work down the path of consulting actually at the moment. Consultants thrive from referrals and high impact work… people who can’t deliver that and don’t know how to navigate social situations effectively “create content” and chase the bottom of the market. For every Tai Lopez out there, there are a million broke people creating content. It’s not effective. Solve problems, build a referrals system, do what others can’t.

 

[Andy Black]

I had this idea thinking about various IT consulting firms who are present online.
Nowadays you would find plenty of consultancies in various departments like IT, Finance, Investing, Marketing etc. But the problem with these are they aren't niche and have plenty of competition. On niche-ing down a Consultancy I thought how about starting a consulting firm on the current trend.
For example let's go back to 2013 when blockchain just started and after sometime people were mad about crypto and now every 1 in 10 invests in crypto according to CNBC. When a trend begins and public wants to ride it the only thing that acts as a barrier is limited knowledge due to the trend being new. When blockchain started and it began to boom people were mad about it and wanted to invest, I know people that have 0 knowledge in NFTs and still tryna flip one. These people want knowledge and what can do better for it than a consulting firm. A "Newly launched bubble" consultancy.

Internet consultancy in 1995
Blockchain consultancy in 2013
NFT consultancy in 2021
And many more examples.

The years infront of each trend is when the matter is hot and people want info and mentorship to make full use of the trend.
That according to me would be the best time to start a consulting firm on that trend because-
No competition
Huge customers with limited info

And when you start to become big the entry barrier builds for other competitors to enter.

Summing it all up my basic idea (or maybe many people think about it) is setting up a consultancy with respect to the trend.

Would like to hear your opinions!
Thanks!

@Lex DeVille posted this a couple of weeks ago:

• SIDE HUSTLE - A New Year Opportunity for Freelancers Who Need a Place to Start

Going where the puck is going makes sense. It might even be hard to avoid.

I've no interest in understanding Cryptocurrency but have already had one Google Ads client in this space. I learned you can't run Google Ads for crypto related keywords so that engagement was shortlived. Even though I'm trying to avoid it I've been roped into another Crypto project where we'll try YouTube Ads. If I can figure it out then it could be valuable knowledge.

I like to provide a hands-on service first. Later on you may find ways to scale - maybe with a productised service, paid content, tech, etc.

 

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[Johnny boy]

Real consultants don’t “make content” bro. Only wannabes like Tai Lopez do that. The only people they consult with are newbies, not real business owners. I’m moving a lot of my agency work down the path of consulting actually at the moment. Consultants thrive from referrals and high impact work… people who can’t deliver that and don’t know how to navigate social situations effectively “create content” and chase the bottom of the market. For every Tai Lopez out there, there are a million broke people creating content. It’s not effective. Solve problems, build a referrals system, do what others can’t.

I'm just gonna assume we are imagining different things.

I imagine this kid whipping up a trend-hopping website and calling himself a 'consultant' like a sleezeball who is going to hide basic information behind a paywall without delivering value, and he will not be successful because other people are willing to give out the same or better information for free and build a real audience and customer base.

I would argue ONLY the successful consultants (in today's era) make content

How much money are you making being a consultant?

Now compare that with Gary Vaynerchuck. Still a wannabe?

 

[Black_Dragon43]

I imagine this kid whipping up a trend-hopping website and calling himself a 'consultant' like a sleezeball who is going to hide basic information behind a paywall without delivering value, and he will not be successful because other people are willing to give out the same or better information for free and build a real audience and customer base.

That wouldn’t be an issue if the kid can showcase credibility and results, and he’s targetting the right clientelle. If he has no credibility or results, then yeah, that’s a horrible idea.

There are world-class consultants even in today’s world who don’t even have a website. I’m not talking about small potato 6-figure peeps like us, I’m talking about rainmakers who bring in millions in consulting & agency fees per year.

I would argue ONLY the successful consultants (in today's era) make content

So here’s the thing… why are they making content in the first place? What role does it serve? It’s because they don’t have credibility right? So no one would hire them. Content is a way to prove credibility and build trust. But imo, it’s a weak and slow path to proving credibility and getting trust. Much better is to work for free, get proven results and case studies, and take it from there.

Most big hitting consultants, who make $1M+ per year (there is a good book about this, Russ Alan Prince’s Rainmaker - the book is based 100% on numbers and factual evidence based on studying 1200 1M+ consultants) build almost their entire business on referrals and strategic partnerships… meaning that they have other business owners refer clients to them in exchange for all sorts of direct and indirect financial incentives. Now that takes networking skills, it takes ability to deliver results, integrity, ability to navigate complex social situations, and of course persuasion / marketing / sales skills.

Now… the clients these consultants go after are rich, smart people. No content will get you to these people - you need relationships with people whom they already know and trust.

However, if your target market is the bottom of the barrel newbie, imo you do need content, since that’s the most efficient way of reaching them in mass numbers. If you look at the famous gurus online, most of them are selling to newbies. Tai Lopez is a huge example of that. And when they’re NOT, they’re not selling their advice, they’re selling a networking opportunity with other high profile peeps OR building brand awareness for other brands (like Gary V with VaynerMedia… when a huge company works with them, Gary can advertise them to his huge audience of newbies…)

 

[Andy Black]

Interesting conversation about content and consulting @Black_Dragon43 @Johnny boy.

I've been a freelance consultant for 20+ years (IT for 10, Google Ads for 10+). I never had a "proper" website, and still don't. My consulting work comes from chatting 1-2-1 with people, building relationships, and creating win-wins.

I also post regularly in various forums and Facebook groups. The vast majority of people in those online communities would never be consulting clients, but they occasionally refer me onto people outside those online communities. That's not my goal though - I just like being online.

I think content on social media and YouTube *mostly* gets found and consumed by a different market than I'd be after if I wanted more DFY consulting clients. It's more likely newbies to business, hence them spending time trying to learn and DIY it. Get seen by enough people on those platforms though, and inevitably some DFY prospects will reach out.

• @Phikey mentioned how his agency is doing well after he regularly posted How-To videos on YouTube.
  
  His thread: GOLD! - Ecom Youtube Challenge - Building a channel with 120 videos in 120 days
  
  
• Paddy Galloway has grown his YouTube consulting business off the back of a great YouTube channel where he breaks down how big YouTubers grow.
  
  His channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClga3ybuyyjpvqsh-cf3DvQ

If I was starting out in consulting:

• I'd focus on building relationships and creating win-wins.
• I'd also publicly document my journey, learnings, and create other how-to material. This will slowly bring more DFY consulting clients, while also getting in front of potential DIY customers.
• As I get in front of more DIY folks I'd create products that would help them (courses, memberships, etc).

 

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