There are steps to be followed for the smooth take-off of a consulting business.

1. Choosing a Niche

A major decision you must make even before the business lays in field you’ll operate in. Selecting your niche should be based upon your level of skill and experience in such area. As a consultant, winning clients can be difficult when you can’t convince them of your ability to get the job done. You may also create a business plan at this stage.

2. How to Start

Cheap access to the internet and telecommunication services has made working from home easier than it used to be. Deciding whether to working from home or an office can be a tough one to crack. Based on your jurisdiction, some laws may not be applicable to you if you were to run your business from home, this shouldn’t affect your decision though. Your decision on whether to work from home or an office should be based on the following points:

• Availability: If you’re becoming a consultant as a second-line of work, you may not have the time to work from an office. In such situation, you only options would be to work from home or hire staff to act on your behalf whenever you’re away. Young Moms with little time on their hands can also run their consulting business from home at least until the kids grow up.

• Business Field: Consulting businesses in the field of wedding/party planning, outdoor cooking, event decoration, product supply, or interior decoration are amongst those business fields that fall into the category of consulting businesses that may be run from the comfort of a home. Other businesses that’ll require a more professional outlook like carpet cleaning, building design, should be run from an office.

The next hurdle to cross would be setting up the actual business. For starters, you do not need to incorporate a consulting business. Rather, you can run it as a sole-proprietorship. Based on your location a set of requirements for starting a sole-proprietorship business may be applicable to you. In addition to this, some jurisdictions will require you get a business permit or license as a consultant. Getting a business permit will also depend on the field of business you’re operating in. For more information, you should consult with an attorney or other legal adviser to gain knowledge on any rules to follow.  

3. Finding Clients & Marketing Your Services

Once you’ve registered your business, it’s now time for you to find clients by marketing your services. Follow your marketing strategy/plan as detailed in your business plan. If you don’t have one, you could market your services by doing one or more of the following:

• Marketing through Media – If you find it within your budget, market your services through a local newspaper, or magazine.

• Marketing through Solicitation – Make visits to companies or persons you feel are in need of your services. Leave them a nice sales pitch alongside your business card.

4. Pricing & Consulting Fees

An initial rule of thumb for a start-up consulting business is to keep services at its best and prices at competitively cheap rates. Find out how much your competitors charge and base your rates on that. Consultants have different ways through which they calculate their fees. Common strategies are:

• Per Hour or Daily – Many consultants who charge by the hour derive their own rates by using rates charged by a competitor as the benchmark.

• Per Project – You could come to a fee for the whole project by multiplying your hourly rate with the number of hours or days it’ll take to complete the project.  

• Based on Performance or Project Outcome – Charging based on project outcome comes with its own issues. Who does the assessment of project outcome? How can you trust the opinion of your client? It’s advisable to charge clients with no prior business relationship based on the two strategies listed above.

5. Taxes

Taxes are a tricky aspect of business. Consult with a tax attorney or other legal adviser and know the forms you’d have to file to the IRS.  

6. Training