Start A Consulting Business - Business Ideas
Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.
Consulting businesses are booming, more so than ever before, and seeing year-over-year growth. With an accumulated value of about $250B, the global consulting industry is one of the biggest markets within the professional services sector.
If you want to start your own consulting business with valuable insights from industry experts, reading about their entrepreneurial journey will help you decide how you should go about it.
Starting a consulting business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell consulting services, or selling consulting services online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a consulting business ➜
Key Stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
|
Office Space Expenses |
$0 |
$7,000 |
|
Employee & Freelancer Expenses |
$150 |
$250 |
|
Website Costs |
$223 |
$7,015 |
|
Business Formation Fees |
$600 |
$4,700 |
|
Software Expenses |
$162 |
$2,894 |
|
Advertising & Marketing Costs |
$0 |
$1,400 |
|
Total Startup Costs |
$1,135 |
$23,259 |
Case Studies
•
$230K/mo
•
$10K/mo
•
$30K/mo
•
$80K/mo
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt Ltd |
marketsandmarkets.com |
11,542 |
|
|
Consulting.com |
consulting.com |
20,479 |
|
|
FE International |
feinternational.com |
30,303 |
|
|
Part-Time YouTuber Academy |
academy.aliabdaal.com/ |
46,811 |
|
|
Consulting.com |
consulting.com/ |
63,603 |
|
|
Korn Ferry |
kornferry.com |
66,921 |
|
|
Pyramid Consulting, Inc |
pyramidci.com |
131,930 |
|
|
Slidebooks Consulting |
slidebooks.com |
132,824 |
|
|
Tracie Fobes |
traciefobes.com |
151,112 |
|
|
Flevy |
flevy.com |
163,616 |
|
|
Minor Workshop |
paulminors.com |
184,370 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
|
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. |
|
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! |
|
Little startup costs required |
The cost to start a consulting business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 23,259. |
|
Rewarding work |
Starting a 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. |
|
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. |
|
No overhead costs |
To get your consulting business started, there are no costs associated with overhead, storage, packaging, etc. This will save you a lot of time and money! |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
|
Crowded Space |
Competition is high when it comes to your consulting business, so it's important that you spend a good amount of time analyzing the market and understanding where the demand lies. |
|
Longer Sales Process |
A 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. |
|
Work can be inconsistent |
As a 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. |
|
Lack of benefits |
With a consulting business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming. |
|
Isolation |
Often times, as a consulting business, you typically work alone and do not have much face-to-face interaction with other team members. |
|
Taxes |
As a 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. |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Affiliate Program
Affiliate marketing is a great way to bring in a new revenue stream, especially when you don't sell products or services.
Simply put, an affiliate program is an agreement where a business pays another business or influencer ("the affiliate") a commission for sending traffic and/or sales their way.
The affiliate typically gets a unique link where clicks and conversions can be tracked.
-
2
Direct Sales
Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.
For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.
-
3
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.
Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.
Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
