How To Start A Teaching & Consulting Business

Updated: January 18th, 2023

How To Start A Teaching & Consulting Business

You've stumbled upon the idea to build a teaching & consulting business and now you're ready to take the next steps.

There's a lot to think about when building a business, so we put together a guide on how to get started, launch, grow and run your teaching & consulting business.

We also provide you with real-life case studies and examples of founders running successful teaching & consulting business (and how muchπŸ’° they're making today).

market size
$1.9B
starting costs
$11.7K
gross margin
90%
time to build
210 days
pros & cons
39 Pros & Cons

πŸ’‘ Introduction To Starting A Teaching & Consulting Business

Is Starting A Teaching & Consulting Business Right For You?

There are many factors to consider when starting a teaching & consulting business.

We put together the main pros and cons for you here:

Pros of starting a teaching & consulting business

β€’ Flexibility

You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own.

β€’ Ability to start your business from home

It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning!

β€’ Little startup costs required

The cost to start a teaching & consulting business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 23,259.

β€’ Rewarding work

Starting a teaching & consulting business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

β€’ Scalable

With businesses and processes changing daily, there will always be demand for new features, products and services for your business. Additionally, there are several different business models and pricing tiers you can implement that will allow you to reach all types of customers.

β€’ No overhead costs

To get your teaching & consulting business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money!

β€’ Meaningful business connections

You never know who you will meet as a teaching & consulting business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity!

β€’ High margins

The gross margins for your teaching & consulting business are typically around 90%, which is considerably high and allows you to grow your business and manage costs easily.

β€’ Quick build time

The average time it takes to build your product is quick - typically around 7 months. This will allow you to bring your product to market faster.

β€’ Pick & choose the clients you work with

Teaching & Consulting Businesses have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

β€’ Control of workload

With starting a teaching & consulting business, you have the unique ability to choose how little or how much you want to work. You also have the freedom to decide which projects you want to work on, and can turn down the ones that do not interest you.

β€’ Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

β€’ Unlimited income potential

With starting a teaching & consulting business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

β€’ You are your own boss!

With starting a teaching & consulting business, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

β€’ Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

β€’ Simple business model

A teaching & consulting business has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

β€’ Control your own destiny

Starting A Teaching & Consulting Business allows you to control every aspect of your life and make your own dreams come true every day.

β€’ You can decide who you work with

Gone are the days of working in a toxic work environment with employees that you may not vibe with. As a small business owner, you get to decide who you work and surround yourself with.

β€’ Express your opinions

With starting a teaching & consulting business, you can express your opinions and knowledge to your audience, which allows you to build your own reputation and identity.

β€’ You can work from anywhere!

Not only can you start your teaching & consulting business from home, you can also run your business from anywhere in the world. This is the entrepreneur dream.

β€’ You get to inspire others

Your business is one that encourages and inspires others, which in itself, can be very fulfilling.

β€’ High Hourly Pay Rates

On average, the hourly pay rates are high for your teaching & consulting business - which means quality of clients is often superior to quantity of clients.

β€’ Never a dull moment

With starting a teaching & consulting business, there is truly never a dull moment. Your job offers a lot of variety and allows you to meet interesting people from all walks of life.

β€’ Various different ways to make money

With starting a teaching & consulting business, there is not just one business model to choose from. This field is amazing in that there are various different ways to make money. Although this may complicate things, it's great to have different options and sources of revenue.

β€’ Can build solid foundation of clients

It's unlikely you will have one-off customers as a teaching & consulting business. Typically, you have a solid foundation of clients that use your product and services regularly.

Cons of starting a teaching & consulting business

β€’ Crowded Space

Competition is high when it comes to your teaching & consulting business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies.

β€’ Longer Sales Process

A teaching & consulting business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

β€’ Work can be inconsistent

As a teaching & consulting business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

β€’ Lack of benefits

With a teaching & consulting business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

β€’ Isolation

Often times, as a teaching & consulting business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members.

β€’ Taxes

As a teaching & consulting business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

β€’ No safety net

Typically, as a teaching & consulting business, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

β€’ Stressful work

This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments.

β€’ Time commitment

With starting a teaching & consulting business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

β€’ Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone!

Although this is exciting for some entrepreneurs, it can be a big challenge for others! You may find yourself in uncomfortable social and business situations, jumping into tasks and responsibilities you aren't familiar with, and pushing yourself as far as you can go!

β€’ Minimal physical activity

A big part of starting a teaching & consulting business is sitting at a desk for the majority of the day starting at your computer. Some may enjoy this, but others may struggle with sitting for the majority of your day without much physical activity.

β€’ Learning Curve

When you start your own business, you no longer have upper management to provide you with a playbook for your roles and responsibilities. You should know the ins and outs of every aspect of your business, as every decision will come down to you.

β€’ Easy target for criticism

Since your teaching & consulting business has the ability to reach a large audience, you'll need to be able to handle criticism. The internet can be a cruel place, and regardless of your intentions, many people will disagree with you and even take their criticism too far. To survive in this industry, you'll need to have tough skin (or at least learn this along the way).

β€’ The job can be demanding

This is one of the major disadvantages starting a teaching & consulting business. It's important to understand that you may need to make yourself available on a 24/7 basis.

Players

Big Players

Small Players

Search Interest

Let's take a look at the search trends for teaching & consulting services over the last year:

How To Name Your Teaching & Consulting Business

It's important to find a catchy name for your teaching & consulting business so that you can stand out in your space.

Here are some general tips to consider when naming your teaching & consulting business

  • Avoid hard to spell names: you want something easy to remember and easy to spell for your customers
  • Conduct a search to see if others in the space have the same name
  • Try not to pick a name that limits growth opportunities for your business (ie. if you decide to expand into other product lines)
  • As soon as you have an idea (or ideas) of a few names that you love, register the domain name(s) as soon as possible!

Why is naming your teaching & consulting business so important?

The name of your business will forever play a role in:

  • Your customers first impression
  • Your businesses identity
  • The power behind the type of customer your brand attracts
  • If you're memorable or not

It's important to verify that the domain name is available for your teaching & consulting business.

You can search domain availability here:

Find a domain starting at $0.88

powered by Namecheap

Although .com names are the most common and easiest to remember, there are other options if your .com domain name is not available. Depending on your audience, it may not matter as much as you think.

It's also important to thoroughly check if social media handles are available.

As soon as you resonate with a name (or names), secure the domain and SM handles as soon as possible to ensure they don't get taken.

Here's some inspiration for naming your teaching & consulting business:

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How To Create A Slogan For Your Teaching & Consulting Business:

Slogans are a critical piece of your marketing and advertising strategy.

The role of your slogan is to help your customer understand the benefits of your product/service - so it's important to find a catchy and effective slogan name.

Often times, your slogan can even be more important than the name of your brand.

Here are 6 tips for creating a catchy slogan for your teaching & consulting business:

1. Keep it short, simple and avoid difficult words

A great rule of thumb is that your slogan should be under 10 words. This will make it easy for your customer to understand and remember.

2. Tell what you do and focus on what makes you different

There are a few different ways you can incorporate what makes your business special in your slogan:

  • Explain the target customer you are catering your services towards
  • What problem do you solve?
  • How do you make other people, clients, or your employer look good?
  • Do you make people more successful? How?

3. Be consistent

Chances are, if you're coming up with a slogan, you may already have your business name, logo, mission, branding etc.

It's important to create a slogan that is consistent with all of the above.

4. Ensure the longevity of your slogan

Times are changing quickly, and so are businesses.

When coming up with your slogan, you may want to consider creating something that is timeless and won't just fade with new trends.

5. Consider your audience

When finding a catchy slogan name, you'll want to make sure that this resonates across your entire audience.

It's possible that your slogan could make complete sense to your audience in Europe, but may not resonate with your US audience.

6. Get feedback!

This is one of the easiest ways to know if your slogan will be perceived well, and a step that a lot of brands drop the ball on.

Ask friends, family, strangers, and most importantly, those that are considered to be in your target market.

The Consulting Business Model

When implementing a consulting business model, you have a number of approaches to choose from:

Here are a few of the most common consulting business models:

1. The Time-Based Model

This is one of the more traditional consulting business models - where your rate, terms, and scope of work are outlined at the very beginning of the project.

Typically, with this model you would choose a day rate or an hourly rate.

2. The Project-Based Model

With a project-based model, you and your client agree on the scope of work you will be performing for a set amount of money.

There is typically a contract in place which covers the deliverables and expectations from both parties.

3. The Retainer-Based Model

The retainer model involves providing ongoing service for your clients over a specific period of time.

You may not provide a specific deliverable for your client, but instead, a broad scope of work over a set period.

4. The Consulting-Firm Model

This model is becoming more and more popular. The consulting firm model involves hiring freelancers or employees to complete work for your clients on your behalf.

Typically, in this situation, you still manage the relationship with the client, but you delegate some or all of the work to your team.

Which model should you choose?

The best way to determine which business model you will choose is to research other entrepreneurs or agencies in your space that are offering the same or similar service.

This will allow you to identify your competition, set your pricing, and determine your target audience.

Learn more about starting a teaching & consulting business:

Where to start?

-> How much does it cost to start a teaching & consulting business?
-> Pros and cons of a teaching & consulting business

Need inspiration?

-> Other teaching & consulting business success stories
-> Examples of established teaching & consulting business

Other resources

🎬 How To Start A Teaching & Consulting Business

article

How Much Does It Cost To Start A Teaching & Consulting Business

If you are planning to start a teaching & consulting business, the costs are relatively low. This, of course, depends on if you decide to start the business with lean expenses or bringing in a large team and spending more money.

We’ve outlined two common scenarios for β€œpre-opening” costs of starting a teaching & consulting business and outline the costs you should expect for each:

  • The estimated minimum starting cost = $62
  • The estimated maximum starting cost = $23,259
Startup Expenses: Average expenses incurred when starting a teaching & consulting business. Min Startup Costs: You plan to execute on your own. You’re able to work from home with minimal costs. Max Startup Costs: You have started with 1+ other team members.
Office Space Expenses
Rent: This refers to the office space you use for your business and give money to the landlord. To minimize costs, you may want to consider starting your business from home or renting an office in a coworking space. $0 $5,750
Utility Costs For Office Space: Utility costs are the expense for all the services you use in your office, including electricity, gas, fuels, telephone, water, sewerage, etc. $0 $1,150
WiFi & Internet: Whether you work from home or in an office space, WiFi is essential. Although the cost is minimal in most cases, it should be appropriately budgeted for each month! $0 $100
Total Office Space Expenses $0 (min) $7,000 (max)
Employee & Freelancer Expenses
Payroll Costs & Fees: Payroll cost means the expense of paying your employees, which includes salaries, wages, and other benefits. This number depends on if you decide to pay yourself a salary upfront and how many employees you have on payroll. At first, many founders take on all responsibilities until the business is up and running. You can always hire down the road when you understand where you need help. Keep in mind, if you do plan to pay yourself, the average salary founders make is $50K. $150 $250
Total Employee & Freelancer Expenses $150 (min) $250 (max)
Website Costs
Website Builder: The cost of your website will vary depending on which platform you choose. There are many website builders on the market, so it's important you choose the right one for your business and overall goals. To learn more about your options + how to build a great website, check out this article. $10 $500
Web Designer: Web design includes several different aspects, including webpage layout, content creation, and design elements.If you have the skills and knowledge to design your website on your own, then outsourcing this to an expert may not be necessary. There are plenty of other ways you can design a beautiful website using design tools and software. $200 $6,000
Domain Name: Your domain name is the URL and name of your website - this is how internet users find you and your website.Domain names are extremely important and should match your company name and brand. This makes it easier for customers to remember you and return to your website. $12 $200
Business Email Hosting Service: An email hosting runs a dedicated email server. Once you have your domain name, you can set up email accounts for each user on your team. The most common email hosts are G Suite and Microsoft 365 Suite. The number of email accounts you set up will determine the monthly cost breakdown. $1 $15
Website Hosting Costs: Server hosting is an IT service typically offered by a cloud service provider that hosts the website information and allows remote access through the internet. A hosted server can help you scale up and increase your business’s efficacy, relieving you from the hassles of on-premise operations. $0 $300
Total Website Costs $223 (min) $7,015 (max)
Business Formation Fees
Small Business Insurance: Depending on which state you live in and the business you're operating, the costs and requirements for small business insurance vary. You can learn more here. $500 $2,000
Permit and License Fees: Depending on your industry, there are certain licenses and permits you may need in order to comply with state, local, and federal regulations. Here is an article that goes over all the permits and licenses you may need for your teaching & consulting business. $50 $700
Lawyer Fees: Although you may want to avoid attorney fees, it's important that your business (and you) are covered at all costs. This comes into play when creating founder agreements, setting up your business legal structure, and of course, any unforeseen circumstances that may happen when dealing with customers or other businesses. $0 $1,500
Set up business: LLC & Corporations: The first step in setting up your business is deciding whether your business is an LLC, S Corp or C Corp. The cost for this depends on which state you form your business and which structure you decide on. We put together an article that goes over the 10 Steps To Setting Up A Business. $50 $500
Total Business Formation Fees $600 (min) $4,700 (max)
Software Expenses
Design Programs & Software: These programs might include the Adobe family of design tools: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and others. This is typically a monthly subscription ranging from $10-$50/mo. $0 $50
Email marketing tool: If you plan to grow your email list and email marketing efforts, you may want to consider investing in an email marketing platform (ie. Klaviyo, MailChimp). We put together a detailed guide on all of the email marketing tools out there + the pricing models for each one here. $0 $100
IT Support: IT support installs and configures hardware and software and solves any technical issues that may arise.IT support can be used internally or for your customers experiencing issues with your product/service.There are a variety of tools and software you can use to help with any technical issues you or your customers are experiencing. This is a great option for businesses that do not have the means to hire a team of professionals. $150 $2,000
Accounting & Invoicing Software: It's important to have an accounting system and process in place to manage financials, reporting, planning and tax preparation. Here are the 30 best accounting tools for small businesses. $0 $50
CRM Software: CRM (customer relationship management) software system is used to track and analyze your company’s interactions with clients and prospects. Although this is not a necessary tool to have for your business, implementing this, in the beginning, may set your business up for success and save you valuable time. $12 $300
Project Management Software: You may want to consider using a project management and collaboration tool to organize your day-to-day. This can also be very beneficial if you have a larger team and want to keep track of everyones tasks and productivity. For a full list of project management tools, check out this full list here. $0 $25
Internal Communication Tool: If you plan to have multiple members on your team, you may want to consider an instant message tool such as Slack or Telegram. The cost is usually billed per month (approx $5/user/month) or there are freemium versions available on many platforms. $0 $20
Social Media Management Tools: If you plan to do social media marketing for your teaching & consulting business, you should consider investing in a social media automation or publishing tool. This will save you time and allow you to track performance and engagement for your posts. Here is a list of 28 best social media tools for your small business. $0 $50
File Hosting Service: It's important to make sure the information for your teaching & consulting business is stored and protected should something happen to your computer or hard drive. The cost for this is affordable and depends on how much data you need to store. To learn more about the different options and pricing on the market, check out this article. $0 $299
Total Software Expenses $162 (min) $2,894 (max)
Advertising & Marketing Costs
Business Cards: A teaching & consulting business involves quite a bit of customer interaction, whether that is attending tradeshows, sales calls or simply having face to face interaction with prospective clients. Business cards are a great way to stay front of mind with your clients. $0 $50
Networking Membership Fees: Joining local networking groups or your chamber of commerce is a traditional yet effective way to promote your teaching & consulting business - but these fees add up! It's important to choose the right group(s) that align with your business and help with growth. $0 $250
Direct Campaigns, Printing and Mailing: Although it may sound old-school, traditional marketing methods can be a cost-effective way to drive awareness for your brand. This includes flyers, postcards, sales letters, coupons, special offers, catalogs and brochures. $0 $300
Press: If your business and story is unique enough, press and media attention may come to you, but odds are, you may need to do your own outreach and budget for this. We put together a guide here that discusses different press opportunities (both free and paid). $0 $500
Google Ads: With Google Ads you have the ability to control how much you spend by simply setting a monthly budget cap. Additionally, with these ads you only pay for results, such as clicks to your website or phone calls! It's okay to start with a small budget at first and make changes accordingly if you see valuable returns. $0 $300
Total Advertising & Marketing Costs $0 (min) $1,400 (max)
Total Starting Costs $62 (min) $23,259 (max)

Raising Money For Your Teaching & Consulting Business

Here are the most common ways to raise money for your teaching & consulting business:

Bootstrapping

You may not need funding for your teaching & consulting business.

In fact, many entrepreneurs take this approach when starting their own business, whether they have a little amount of cash or a substantial amount to get started.

So what exactly does the term "bootstrapping" mean?

This method essentially refers to self-funding your businesswithout external help or capital and reinvesting your earnings back into the business**

Bootstrapping means building your company from the ground up with your own, or your loved ones, personal savings and reinvesting all earnings back into the business

Here are some tips to consider when bootstrapping your business:

  • Use your savings as your capital - one of the best ways to bootstrap your business is to collect your savings and use them as startup capital. This will also help you avoid using your personal or business credit cards when getting started.
  • Determine exactly how much capital you need and how much capital you have to get your business off the ground. Generally, when bootstrapping your business, you may want to consider starting a business that involves less startup capital.
  • Consider starting a business that will generate immediate returns so you can put money back into the business
  • Be as lean as possible - this refers to cutting down expenses as much as possible, such as payroll, fancy software tools, unnecessary travel, renting an office, etc
  • Consider outsourcing instead of hiring - in the beginning, you may not need to hire someone permanently to help run your business. It tends to be much less expensive to outsource work to a freelancer and hire someone permanently down the road!

Want to learn more about bootstrapping your business? Check out this article

VC Funding

VC funding is a traditional and long process, but an effective way to raise money for your business.

The term "VC funding" refers to venture capital firms investing in businesses in exchange for equity.

The VC's (venture capitalists) are an individual or small group investing in your business and typically require substantial ownership of the business, with the hope of seeing a return on their investment.

VC's are typically the best approach for businesses with high startup costs - where it would be very difficult to raise the money on your own or through a loan.

When deciding whether to take this approach, it's important that you have a few things in place first, and know what you're getting yourself into:

Determine if your business is ready

Having an idea is not enough to get VC funding.

Typically, VC's will check to make sure you have these things in place prior to closing any deal:

  • An MVP (Minimal Viable Product)
  • A founding team with all proper documents in place (articles of organization, business formation)
  • A validated idea with actual customers buying your product/service

Get everything in place and build a pitch deck

A VC individual or firm will be expecting a fine-tuned presentation that gives an overview of your business.

Here's what you should consider including in your pitch deck:

  • Management team, their previous experience + current roles in the business
  • Market challenge and solution
  • Company financials - including a P&L statement, cash flow statement, and projections
  • Company progress
  • Investment amount - how much do you need and why?

Research the right VC to fund your business

Research the types of VC investors out there and what niche they focus on.

Then, put together a list of target VC's you want to approach and your strategy around setting up meetings.

Be sure you have everything in place (as discussed above) before setting up any meeting!

Make sure the terms and expectations are right for your business

Committing to VC funding is a big deal and a decision that should not be made lightly.

Although the money and experience from VC's can help your business quickly grow, you are also giving away a stake in the company, and the money comes with strings attached.

Be sure you do your due diligence in finding the right investor - one that truly believes in the growth and success of your business.

What Skills Do I Need To Succeed In Starting A Teaching & Consulting Business?

As a teaching & consulting business, there are several essential skills and characteristics that are important to identify prior to starting your business.

Let’s look at these skills in more detail so you can identify what you need to succeed in your day-to-day business operations:

Resarch and Writing Skills

Research and writing skills are critical when starting a teaching & consulting business. Here's what this looks like:

  • Basic computer & technology skills (Microsoft office or Google sheets/docs knowledge, data input, and proficiency in typing)
  • Creativity & originality in your work and approach
  • Great communication skills and ability to meet deadlines
  • Understanding of SEO

Other skills that businesses find valuable include digital marketing skills, basic web design, and accounting abilities. Some employers may also look for a teaching & consulting business that has a bachelor's degree or formal education.

Additionally, you may want to consider putting together a portfolio of past work and experience. This includes samples of writing/research pieces, from school projects to internship work to career experience.

Design Skills

Whether you are the one designing the product or the decision-maker for the product, an eye for design is critical when starting a teaching & consulting business. Here's what this looks like:

  • Creative Thinking - the ability to develop or design different products or ideas
  • Visualization - being able to imagine or visualize how the product will look
  • Articulation - the ability to communicate what the design will look like and how it will be executed
  • Detail-oriented - paying close attention to all of the small pieces when designing or working on a project
  • Some technical skills - knowledge of the design software you are using to create the product or build prototypes.

Other skills that may be valuable to have when starting a teaching & consulting business include digital marketing skills, branding experience, and basic business knowledge.

Business Savvy Skills

When starting a teaching & consulting business, there are a few fundamental business skills you will want to learn in order to be successful:

  • Leadership and training skills: A great team starts with YOU. Make sure you have all company policies and training procedures in place prior to hiring your team
  • Decisive and self-confident: Over the course of your career, you will need decisions that could impact your business significantly. It's important you are able to think clearly and rationally about these decisions.
  • Ability to understand the financials: You don't need to be an accountant, but it is important that you are able to clearly understand and define metrics such as expenses, revenue, profit, margins, COGS, etc.
  • Strategic Thinking: Setting clear goals and benchmarks, identifying opportunities, risks. Ability to effectively communicate these insights to your team.

These are a few of many business savvy skills you should have (or work on) when starting a teaching & consulting business.

For a full list, check out this article here.

Customer Service Skills

Friendly communication with customers and the ability to address service issues is a critical part of the job.

Here are some customer service skills you may want to consider prior to starting a teaching & consulting business:

  • Professionalism: The way you act, present yourself, and respond to situations all leave an impression on your customer. It's important to stay professional at all times when handling customer requests or issues.
  • Problem-solving: When issues arise, it's important that you are able to think quick on your feet and address the situation with a calm and clear solution
  • Friendly-manner: This is an obvious one, but customers truly appreciate someone that can respond in a quick, efficient, and friendly manner.
  • Proficient in writing: These skills include the ability to write well-crafted emails, service tickets, and any other programs used by the business (ie. chat functions, SMS texting)

Self Motivation Skills

Self motivation and discipline skills are critical in order to become successful in this field.

It's likely that you will find yourself starting and running your teaching & consulting business from home, which could mean there are more distractions for you.

Here are the basic skills needed for self motivation & discipline:

  • Becoming a self starter: It's important that you are capable of independently completing a task without the help or direction of anyone else
  • Listening and following directions: When you are given direction by others, it's critical that you are able to follow directions and ask the right questions in order to get your job done
  • Taking the initiative in problem solving: Instead of taking the easy route, you'll need to learn to troubleshoot issues on your own as much as possible.

Advice For Starting A Teaching & Consulting Business

We've interviewed thousands of successful founders at Starter Story and asked what advice they would give to entrepreneurs who are just getting started.

Here's the best advice we discovered for starting a teaching & consulting business:

Write a Business Plan

Writing a business plan from the start is critical for the success of your teaching & consulting business.

Why?

Because this allows you to roadmap exactly what you do, what your overall structure will look like, and where you want to be in the future.

For many entrepreneurs, writing out the business plan helps validate their idea and decide whether or not they should move forward with starting the business.

You may want to consider expanding upon these sections in your business plan:

  • Executive Summary: Brief outline of your product, the market, and growth opportunities
  • Overviews and Objectives: Overview of your business, target customers, and what you need to run your business
  • Products and Services: Specifics on the products and services your business will provide
  • Market Opportunities: Analysis of customer demographics, buyer habits and if your product is in demand
  • Marketing: Outline of your marketing plan and how you plan to differentiate yourself from other customers
  • Competitive analysis: Analysis of your competition and the strengths and weaknesses therein
  • Operations: Hierarchal structure of the company and what it will take to run the business on the day-to-day
  • Leadership Team: Detailing roles and responsibilities of each manager based on their specific skill-set
  • Financial Analysis Understanding of all expenses, operating budgets, and projections for the future.

Learn more about how to write a business plan here

Determine Which Business Bank Account You Need

There are hundreds of banks out there, and it can be overwhelming to find one that's right for your business.

Here are some factors you may want to consider:

  • Location - Is your bank close enough that you can easily make deposits or get cash?
  • Low Fees - Make sure to understand any and all fees associated with setting up and maintaining your bank account. Ask for a list - banks usually try to keep this hidden and in the fine print.
  • Online Banking Services - Make sure you can easily navigate through your online portal and you have easy access to everything you need.
  • Line of Credit - What do your options look like (even if you don't need this now, you may need this down the road).
  • Every bank has something that differentiates them from the rest, so make sure whatever that is applied to your needs and values.

Check out this list of the 13 Best Banks for Small Business in 2020 and what makes them so unique.

When it comes to setting up your business, you may find yourself in a place where you have to make some financial and legal decisions.

The first thing you'll want to decide on is whether you want to be an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp.

These three options are found to be the most common when starting a small business, and all serve to protect your personal assets and also provide you with certain tax benefits.

  • LLC: All income and expenses from the business are reported on the LLC personal income tax return.
  • S corp: Owners pay themselves salaries + receive dividends from profits.
  • C Corp: C Corps are separately taxable entities that file a corporate tax return (Form 1120). No income tax is paid at the corporate level and any tax due is paid at the owners individual expense.

Depending on where you're conducting business, you'll also want to consider securing the proper permits, licenses and liability insurance.

Learn more about securing the right permits and licenses ➜

Need to start an LLC? Create an LLC in minutes with ZenBusiness.

How Do I Pay Myself As A Small Business Owner?

Most entrepreneurs start a business to do something they love- but at the end of the day, you still have bills to pay (maybe now more than ever).

But it's important to strike the right balance - if you pay yourself too much, you could be putting your business at risk.

There are two common ways to pay yourself as a business owner:

1. Owner's Draw

Many entrepreneurs pay themselves through an owner's draw. This means that you are technically sean as "self-employed" through the eyes of the IRS and are not paid through regular wages.

At the point that you collect money from the draw, taxes typically are not taken out - so make sure you are prepared to pay these taxes once you file your individual return.

As an owner who takes a draw, you can legally take out as much as you want from your equity.

This type of compensation is suited for Sole props, LLCs, and partnerships. If you’re an S corp, you can pay yourself through both a salary and draw if you choose.

2. Salary

If you decide to pay yourself a salary, you will receive a set and recurring amount. This will be taxed by the federal government and the state you reside in.

The reality is that it can be really complicated to set your own salary, so we have some tips for you to consider:

  • Take out a reasonable amount that allows you to live comfortably but also sets your business up for success
  • Consider the number of hours you are working weekly + the type of duties you are performing.
  • Set your salary based on your industry-standard, location, and profits (or projected profits)
  • Look at your P&L statement: Deduct your own pay from that amount. This is important so you can first tackle important business expenses, and then pay yourself from the amount leftover.
  • Pick a payroll schedule (and stick to it)! In the US, it's most common to pay yourself and employees twice a month.

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To learn more about how to pay yourself and what is a reasonable amount, check out this article.

How To Price Your Teaching & Consulting Services

One of the most challenging aspects to starting a teaching & consulting business is determining how much to charge for your teaching & consulting services.

When businesses under-price their product, this can be extremely detrimental to their bottom line and reputation.

Often times, businesses under-price their products to drive demand and volume, but that last thing you want is for customers to view your product/service as "cheap." Additionally, this can have a big impact on the type of customer you attract, which can be difficult to recover from.

On the other hand, when businesses over-price, this tends to be just as damaging to the business.

When customers buy, it's likely that they will explore the internet and look at other competitors to ensure they're getting the best value + deal. This is why it's so important that you research your competition and understand where you land in the marketplace.

Here are some factors to consider when pricing your product:

Understand your customer

It's important that out of the gates, you identify the type of customer you want to attract and how much they're willing to pay for your service. One great way to do this is by surveying your customers. Here are some important items you'll want to takeaway:

  • Customer demographic: Age, gender, location, etc.
  • Buying habits of your customer: What they buy + when they buy
  • Level of price sensitivity with your customer

All of these segments will help you identify the type of customer you're attracting and how to price your product accordingly.

Understand your costs

When pricing your teaching & consulting services, it's critical that you first identify all of your costs and consequently mark up your teaching & consulting services so you can factor in a profit.

The actual cost of your teaching & consulting services may include things like:

  • The actual cost to make the product (ie. raw materials, supplies, manufacturer).
  • Shipping + overhead fees
  • Rent
  • Operating costs to run your business

You may want to consider creating a spreadsheet with every single expense involved in operating/owning your business. This will give you an idea as to what you need to generate in order to at the very least, break-even and will help you price your products to factor in a profit.

Create revenue goals

When determining the price of your teaching & consulting services, you'll want to create goals for revenue + how much profit you want your teaching & consulting business to make.

This process is simpler than you may think:

  1. Think about your breakeven cost (by completing the above step).
  2. Create a revenue goal based on your break-even cost
  3. Evaluate the # of items you plan to sell in a given period (make sure this is a realistic number)
  4. Divide your revenue goal by the number of items you plan to sell

This figure will help determine your estimated price per product in order to meet your revenue goals.

Evaluate your competition

The last piece in determining how to price your teaching & consulting services is by simply looking at your competition.

The best way to do this is by finding like-minded businesses that offer product(s) with similar perceived value. Then, you can compare prices of the different businesses and determine where your teaching & consulting services fits best in the marketplace.

All of these factors play an equal part in pricing your teaching & consulting services, so it's important you evaluate each one individually to come up with an accurate price that will help optimize your business from the start.

Rate Calculator: How to Calculate The Price For Your Teaching & Consulting Services Services

Our calculator is designed to be simple and easy to use.

The goal is to help you set realistic expectations and understand the hourly rate you should be charging to make your desired profit.

Please input below:

Identify Target Customer

A very critical piece in building teaching & consulting business is to identify your ideal target customer.

  • Develop a niche and create a consistent brand that reflects your target customer.
  • The colors, logo, content, and overall website should resonate with your target customer and should draw them in by helping them solve their specific "need".

Building an MVP (Minimal Viable Product)

When building a teaching & consulting business, it's critical that you first validate your product/service rather than rushing to build it right away.

This could save you months, if not years of building the wrong product/service.

If you're hoping to decrease any sort of risk that comes with launching your teaching & consulting business, designing a prototype can be a great way to de-risk your situation.

The point of your teaching & consulting services prototype is that it doesn't have to be perfect.

In the beginning stages, it doesn't matter how rough V1 of your prototype is, it's more important to just get started and you can always refine from there based on feedback from your network and most importantly your customers.

How To Build A MVP

Here are several different ways of building a prototype/MVP:

  • Start by building a landing page to see if customers actually need your product and if they are willing to pay for it
  • Build a very basic version of your idea and ask for immediate feedback from potential customers
  • Present a problem and solution via Facebook/Instagram Ads and see what the response is like

Austin L. Church, founder of Freelance Cake dives deep into the process of designing and prototyping their product:

Case Study

Freelance Cake took between 230 and 250 hours to create. If I had known how difficult and time-consuming it was going to be, I never would have started!

Writing the content, editing the content, tossing out non-essential lessons, recording raw audio, going through post-production and audio editing, creating and polishing up all the supporting materials (over 50 checklists, templates, email scripts, cheat sheets, guides), setting up the course on Podia, working with my designer and project manager, and not losing my mind ended up being a six-month mental endurance race.

I flippantly announced in June that I would open enrollment in August. Ha. I barely managed to launch the course in Decemberβ€”four months later.

Thankfully, I was able to keep costs down. My designer friend gave me a disgustingly good deal on the visual identity ($1,500) and my other costs came out to less than $100, not counting my project manager’s salary.

Podia costs ~$30 per month, but Freelance Cake has no other ongoing costs.

My best decisions along the way were as follows:

  1. Recruiting beta testers to give me honest feedback on the content;
  2. Being very clear on brand strategy for Freelance Cake;
  3. Launching before I felt ready when the course was only 75% finished;
  4. Managing my expectations and not comparing this launch to other launches (my own and other people’s).

-  
Austin L. Church, on starting Freelance Cake ($19,999/month) full story ➜

πŸš€ How To Launch Your Teaching & Consulting Business

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Build A Website

Building a website is imperative when launching your business, and with the right tools in place, this can be a simple task to check off the list (without having to hire someone).

  1. Pick a domain name that's easy to remember and easy to type
  2. Choose a Web Hosting Plan (ie. Shopify, Squarespace)
  3. Make sure you choose the right theme and design
  4. Implement the proper page structure (ie. about page, contact page, pricing etc)

To learn more about how to build a stellar website with little stress, we give you all the details on this step-by-step guide.

Best Website Platforms To Use For Your Teaching & Consulting Business:

There are a variety of websites platforms out there, and it's important to choose the right one that will set you up for success.

Here's everything you need to know about the two most common platforms for your teaching & consulting business:

WordPress

Free and open-source content management system based on PHP and MySQL.

Free to use/open source but you will need to pay for the hosting.

Businesses using WordPress:

833 successful businesses are using WordPress ➜

Get WordPress ➜

Squarespace

The all-in-one solution for anyone looking to create a beautiful website.

  • Personal Plan: $12/month
  • Business Plan: $18/month
  • Basic: $26/month
  • Advanced: $40/month

  • Pricing: Freemium

  • Twitter: @squarespace

  • Website: squarespace.com

Businesses using Squarespace:

130 successful businesses are using Squarespace ➜

Get Squarespace ➜

Web Design

Once you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.

Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.

One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.

If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.

Traditional Launch Strategies For Your Teaching & Consulting Business:

There are various different ways you can launch your teaching & consulting business successfully.

Here are a few different strategies to get customers excited about your teaching & consulting business:

  • Set up a Facebook page for your business. This is a great way to establish an online presence
  • Host an event in a fun location with drinks & food. This is a great way to get exposure in the local community.
  • Get Press! Pitch your story to the media and you may just land in an amazing publication
  • Live sales to get customers excited
  • Send a hand-written letter in the mail with a discount on your services to the local community/neighborhoods.

Jade Weatherington, founder of Teacher Jade dives deep into the process of launching the business:

Case Study

Deciding to have classes on a platform and my website was a bit ambitious. I didn't have much experience with websites other than the blog I kept from when I was worldschooling, so I had to hire someone to help with the buildout.

Launching a course through a platform is somewhat easier because the plugins are already there. Launching the courses wasn’t too difficult as I already have a steady base of families enrolling. However, the launch of the second business was more challenging.

When I decided to launch my Masterclass, that was a whole different process. I hired a digital marketing company, which was a failure, and then hired individuals for each aspect I needed to cover (branding, marketing, SEO, content creation). This is the company that I am currently working on re-developing.

My Masterclass teaches people how to teach online and earn an income. I took all my knowledge and expertise developing this course for adults. The best part is when I tell people they don't have to have a background in teaching because they can teach whatever they want. Everyone has a passion or hobby that they can teach.

My Masterclass provides all the steps to develop a course and I provide live 1:1 consultation calls. This gives those that enroll direct access to me seven though it is a self-paced course. I am currently developing a second course that includes modules for marketing and running ads which are the two tasks I had to learn to help my business grow.

This covers two different parts of my business. Offering courses online through established platforms has zero upfront cost, it’s just the time it takes to develop the content for the course. There can be added expenses once you move into the realm of paid advertising.

For my online courses for youth, I had no startup costs. When I switched to my LLC and started hiring teachers, I had the regular costs for establishing a business, but I haven’t spent more than $1000. For the development and launch of my Masterclass, I spent money on marketing, branding, and social media content., but that was less than $3000.

-  
Jade Weatherington, on starting Teacher Jade ($12,000/month) full story ➜

🌱 How To Grow Your Teaching & Consulting Business

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πŸƒπŸΌβ€β™€οΈ How To Run Your Teaching & Consulting Business

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How To Retain Customers For Your Teaching & Consulting Business

Retaining customers is one of the most effective ways to grow your teaching & consulting business.

Oftentimes, it's easy to find yourself focusing on generating new customers, vs retaining your current ones.

Look at it this way - you are 60-70% more likely to sell a new product to an existing customer than you are a new customer.

That's not to say that finding new customers and revenue streams is not important, however, the easiest (and most inexpensive) source of new revenue is right there in front of you.

Here are some ways you can retain customers for your teaching & consulting business:

  • Responding to comments on social media
  • Send discounts (or freebies) to loyal customers
  • Provide valuable content, for free
  • Write a hand written thank you note
  • Provide awesome customer service and build relationships with customers

To find out more tips and tricks on retaining customers, check out this article ➜ here

Austin L. Church, founder of Freelance Cake dives deep into the process of attracting and retaining customers:

Case Study

My growth advice is to keep showing up. I personally am not going to attempt to do ALL THE THINGS. I’m going to focus on what I’m best at writing and email marketing.

Two ways I plan to grow my list are with content marketing (publishing new posts on my blog and then syndicating to Medium and Medium publications) and with guesting on podcasts. What the two have in common is borrowing other people’s audiences.

Though I’ve had success with optimizing posts and getting them ranked them in the top ten, I don’t enjoy that process. I’d rather identify the people with thousands of engaged readers or listeners and create a ton of value for them. Then, at the end of the post or episode, I’ll give away something useful that enables people to apply or go deeper with what they have just learned. I’ve come to think of these freebies as hyper-contextualized upgrades. Create a one-of-a-kind lead magnet for a one-of-a-kind post or interview.

I use an InDesign or Pages template to keep all of these lead magnets on brand, and it really only takes me 15 minutes, half an hour max, to create something desirable.

For example, if I were to talk about using email outreach or LinkedIn for prospecting, I would give away the swipe file of messages that work for me.

All the people who want the freebie ends up on my list where I retain them by goofing off, telling stories, and creating A-ha! moments. Eventually, I will pitch the Freelance Cake course. None of this is earth-shattering, but can you think of a better asset to have in your business than a list of people who love to receive your emails? I can’t. That asset can travel with you from one platform to the next.

Always protect your ability to communicate directly with your prospects and customers.

-  
Austin L. Church, on starting Freelance Cake ($19,999/month) full story ➜

Diversify Your Product Line

Adding new products to your business is a great way to expand into new markets and grow your business.

It's important to note that adding new products and diversifying may not be in the cards for you right this moment, and that's okay. You can always consider it down the road.

Here are some reasons you may want to considering adding/diversifying your product

  • Meeting the needs of your customers
  • Establish yourself as a top provider in your industry and stay ahead of the game with competition
  • Resistance to downturns/trends fading
  • Create new revenue streams

Resources

We put together the best resources on the internet to help you start your teaching & consulting business.

Tools

Books

Web Resources

Videos

Case Studies

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.