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The consulting industry is expected to grow substantially in the next decade, with strategic, financial, and innovation-driven specialists providing expertise to companies looking to expand their reach and disrupt their industries.
Launching your own consulting business can be a lucrative way to share your expertise with a wider audience—on your own terms. Life as a consultant can offer opportunities to dive deep into the inner workings of a company to contribute to its larger vision and goals.
If you’re craving a little more freedom in your schedule and love the idea of embedding yourself with teams in need of unique solutions, consulting might be for you. Here are some top consulting business ideas to consider:
Consulting marketers help brands develop, execute, and analyze marketing strategies. Marketing consulting is one of the broadest consulting modalities. Depending on the companies you’re working with—and which stage of development they’re at—your marketing consultancy might include conducting market research, creating a marketing budget, developing a digital marketing plan, or building out an email marketing strategy.
Part of the skill set of a marketing consultant is the ability to harness the strengths of a team with varying levels of experience into a cohesive vision and launch plan.
A business management consultant may advise teams on many aspects of their business’s operations. You might be an expert on business process improvement—optimizing workflow, inventory management, or fulfillment efficiency—or work through a broader lens, advising companies on business strategy, business planning, team building, talent acquisition, leadership training, and more.
Management consulting may involve embedding yourself with a company for an extended period of time, understanding their methods, analyzing their data, and making evidence-based recommendations. Clearly identify the client’s pain points at the start to develop a defined scope for your involvement.
Many small business owners know the importance of well-managed social media presence, but they may not have the resources to hire a full-time social media manager. As a social media consultant, you can advise companies on social media marketing best practices, provide training on how to best utilize various social media platforms, help develop a content strategy and posting cadence, or offer part-time social media management services to help brands keep up with customer comments and content creation.
If you’ve ever been to an event that didn’t quite hit the mark, you know how hard it can be to pull off a large gathering with style, energy, and efficiency. Great event planners make everything look and feel effortless; they make a career out of managing all the moving parts with clear communication and a tireless knack for project management. You can choose to specialize in certain types of events, such as weddings, conferences, trade shows, etc.
Experience (and, in some cases, certification with organizations like the Professional Convention Management Association) is a big bonus for anyone looking to work as an event consultant, as is developing relationships with various contractors and vendors.
A risk management consulting business helps its clients identify and mitigate risk factors (whether they’re natural disasters, financial fluctuations, or changes in local laws) and create plans to prevent or protect against them. Risk management may be considered an offshoot of business management consulting with a more specialized skill set and process.
If you have experience in counseling, therapy, or life coaching, you might consider starting a stress management consulting business. Stress management comes in many forms, much like stressors themselves, which makes it a diverse and wide-ranging profession. Consultants in this field may offer their services to teams at companies, shelters and resource centers, or individuals.
Technology consulting can be a profitable way to apply your technical expertise, and technology consultants can be embedded in various departments of an organization. You can work as a generalist, offering on-call IT support or specialize in areas like cyber security, web performance, or server management.
Public relations consultants help businesses traverse the media landscape, whether that’s coordinating coverage for an exciting development or product launch or protecting a brand’s reputation in a time of crisis. While some large businesses have a full-time PR team embedded in the marketing department, many employ PR consultants on a case-by-case basis.
Connections are everything in PR, so having working relationships with journalists, media professionals, and influencer partners is ideal for those looking to get a foothold in this field.
Career consultants can be a valuable resource for clients hoping to navigate professional challenges. Career consultants can help job seekers on their journey by sharing job search strategies, coaching interviewing skills, focusing on leadership development, or working on salary negotiation techniques. Career consultants can also help clients pivot professionally and transition into new fields.
A background in human resources and strong communication skills can be especially useful for those looking to start a career consulting business.
Environmental consultants help their clients abide by environmental regulations and guidelines. Depending on the industry, this can include compliance testing, sampling, and reporting; modern environmental consulting businesses may also offer recommendations for retrofitting, energy efficiency, waste management, and sustainable business practices.
Legal consultants offer a wide variety of services to individuals and businesses in need of counsel. As a business law consultant, you may assist with contracts or provide legal advice pertaining to a planned merger. Starting your own legal consultancy requires you to be licensed to practice law in your state.
A brand consultant specializes in brand development for new and emerging brands, as well as more established ones looking to refresh their image or approach. Brand consultancy may come as part of a marketing consultant’s package, but it is a complex realm in its own right. Brand consultants have a strong sense of the competitive landscape and assist companies in understanding their unique positioning and opportunities for growth. They may also inform the creation of on-brand assets and collateral to be used in media kits or content strategy.
For small business owners without a background in finance, financial consultants can provide a much-needed roadmap for managing business finances: building budgets, working with investors, and organizing rounds of fundraising. Financial consultants may also assist with individual financial management, advising their clients on how to navigate large purchases, investing, and overall financial health and security.
Safety consultants help their clients comply with workplace regulations, like the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) standards, to create a safe working environment for their employees. This often includes safety audits and inspections, which inform businesses of any potential hazards and highlight how they can improve their general conditions.
Starting your own workplace safety consulting business will require various certifications, depending on your focus.
Health and fitness consultants come in many forms: You can be a nutritionist, personal trainer, or physical therapist specializing in your own subfield. While this field is generally focused on helping individuals focus on their well-being with exercise plans, classes, or meal plans, health consultants may also work for a larger team or company hoping to incorporate wellness into their employee benefits.
There are many types of profitable consulting businesses and the one that’s the right fit for you will depend on your experience, interests, and abilities. Some popular consulting types include management consulting, financial consulting, and event consulting.
Consulting can be a profitable business. The most profitable consulting business ideas can result from a combination of market fit and personal branding. Professional consulting services aim to provide solutions to a problem that a company can’t fix on its own, which means there’s always the potential for demand.
Much of starting your own consulting business is about determining whether there’s a need for your skills in the market. If there is, you may begin by offering your services on freelancer networks like Upwork to build a client base and work out your pricing. Make sure any necessary certifications or licenses are up to date, and spread the word throughout your networks on social media and career resource boards.
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