How to Start a Consultancy with Almost No Money
Being a consultant is being in business. I'm not talking about the consultants who are employed by companies such as Accenture, KPMG, etc. I'm talking about independent consultants who stand on their own two feet and who actually run their own business. Of course being in business requires far more than any regular employee needs to survive. It's a tough call but once you've made it, you'll never want to live the life of an employee ever again.
Of course it helps if you have capital behind you to get your consulting business going but you don't necessarily need a large amount. Aside from the funds you need to see you through the first few months until you begin receiving payments from clients,
the most important assets that will help you get going are your time and commitment to succeed.
The days of spending large sums of money on advertising have gone. That was last century's way of building business. These days, the focus is on building contacts, creating a reputation by helping people and solving their problems. All of this can be done at very low cost.
One of the biggest mistakes that new consultants make is to focus too much on being the expert and not enough on marketing themselves. You can be the most knowledgeable person in your field, but without marketing yourself, you are unlikely to win a consistent pipeline of clients that are ready to pay you for your consulting services.
Below is a list of key points that you should keep in mind each and every day. All of these simple statements can be put into practice with little or no money, yet together they can help you build a successful consulting business.
- Select a niche and remain focused
- Commit to yourself to being the undisputed expert in your niche
- Agree with yourself that you are in this business for the long-haul
- Be sure you have guts, determination and the ability to succeed
- Move away from negative people
- Listen and learn from those successful consultants who have trod before you
- Preserve your time and money
- Help people and give away an abundance of free advice
- Accept help from smart people when they offer it
- Never forget that you will need to consistently market yourself
- Do not make the mistake of selling. Instead, help people solve their problems
Out of all the above, you might still be asking the question; "are you sure I don't need a large budget to market my consulting business?" I can fully appreciate that concern, especially when there is so much advertising in newspapers, magazines and TV these days.
I can assure you that plenty of very successful consultants all over the world have attained their success without a large advertising budget. In fact some of the principles of advertising are so simple, they are overlooked by most.
Knowing these simple marketing principles can make the difference between a successful consultant and a failed consultant who has to go back to working for someone else, all because they neglected the importance of marketing.
Knowing your subject might be sufficient to 'get a job', but it is very insufficient if you want to be a successful independent consultant.
There are some very good resources on the internet and books on the subject of consulting. Some spend more time discussing business cards, premises and tax than on the more critical success factors such as marketing. However there are some excellent resources available that will show you how to market yourself as an independent consultant using a small budget.
If you are committed to succeeding and are prepared to listen to the right people, there is no reason why you cannot become a successful independent consultant.
