24 Pros & Cons Of Starting A Marketing Consulting Business (2024)

Updated: January 18th, 2023
Start A Marketing Consulting Business

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.

Trying to understand the pros and cons of starting a marketing consulting business?

Here are all of the pros and cons of selling marketing consulting business online:

Learn more about starting a marketing consulting business:

Where to start?

-> How to start a marketing consulting business?
-> How much does it cost to start a marketing consulting business?

Need inspiration?

-> Other marketing consulting business success stories
-> Examples of established marketing consulting business
-> Marketing ideas for a marketing consulting business

Other resources

-> Marketing consulting business tips

Pros Of A Marketing Consulting Business

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 marketing consulting business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 41,861.

Traffic to your website

A marketing consulting business gives people a reason to visit your website and to keep coming back to you!

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!

Unlimited income potential

With starting a marketing 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.

Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

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.

Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

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.

Express your opinions

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

You can work from anywhere!

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

Strong Demand & Relatively Recession Proof

The demand for marketing consulting business is increasing year over year and the business is known to be relatively recession proof.

Easy to Learn The Business

When starting your marketing consulting business, there is a ton of information readily available to you online (Facebook groups, Youtube videos, Starter Story etc). This will help you get the business started and answer any questions, doubts or concerns you may have.

Can build solid foundation of clients

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

Cons Of A Marketing Consulting Business

Cons Description

Churn

In this business, customers can cancel their membership or subscription for your services - which can make revenue forecasting challenging and unpredictable. It's important to focus on your churn rates and trends so that you can prevent this as much as possible.

Time commitment

With starting a marketing 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.

Difficult to build trust with your customer

With starting a marketing consulting business, there can be minimal face-to-face interaction, which means it can be a lot more difficult to establish trust with your customers. You'll need to go the extra mile with your customer to grab their attention and business.

Complex development process.

The development process for a marketing consulting business can be quite complex, which may cause delays and challenges when launching and growing your product.

Impatient customers

You may offer an engaging user experience for your customer, but customers expect a lot and may be impatient if they aren't pleased with your product or service.

Difficult to scale

With a marketing consulting business, it can be challenging to find ways to scale. Check out this article that discusses scaling your business and the challenges that come with it.

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.

Takes time to see results & make money

Results and revenue do not come overnight with a marketing consulting business. Often times, it takes weeks, months or even years for your work to monetize.

Technical issues can be frustrating

Technical issues are common in this business. If you struggle with the technical side of things, you may want to consider outsourcing this responsibility to save yourself the time and frustration.