How to start your own Consultancy Business?

Is it like a thousand degrees here or is it just me? It’s me.

If you have worked more than 10 years in your Industry at a stretch, you probably have achieved the 10,000-hour rule by then. This means that you probably know more than any average person working in your domain. This actually puts you in a position where your knowledge would be worth a lot of money and can be shared with people who are either just getting started or are experts in some other field. Which ultimately leaves you with a new career option called Consultancy. Where people pay you to know what you know in return with a solution to their problem.

So here are a few steps that you can use to start your own consultancy business as a freelancer -

Knowledge Domain — First figure out what is it that you really really love talking about all the time. What is it that you can spend hours researching on and then can’t wait to share it with the world. 80% of consultancy involves talking so you better talk sense. It is important to know everything about that particular topic and certainly more than your personal crowd.

Experience — Studying and working are always two different worlds. No matter how many exams you have given or how many videos you have watched, application of that content in the real world will always be a very different experience. Therefore, keep aside your degrees and certificates and google and just go out and get some real-world experience in your field where you actually solve problems by applying your head and hand to it. Only then you will be qualified enough to have the ability to help someone facing a similar problem.

Have opinions — We as humans always have something to say but unfortunately not always have the crowd. Well, social media have kind of solved that problem. Create an online identity for yourself where you actually talk about trending topics in your industry. Blog, tweet or even a Facebook post will do. But be where your audience is so that you are aware of problems faced and give solutions to it online.

Start helping people — Find friends, family members, acquaintances anyone. Anyone who is facing a problem that you have the experience to solve. And you know what do it for free. Do it for free at least 10 times. The whole point of free is that you will be able to help them without any pressure of an actual performance which will give you a chance to learn and experiment.

Find clients online — After probably working on 10 projects you will be good enough to take on some real projects. Start with personal contacts first. If that doesn’t help join any freelancing site on the web. For example, Up-work, freelancer etc. Get in touch with people on LinkedIn.

And like this, you will be able to enter the big consultancy Industry. But along with that, you will still have to keep up with your learning, trending topics and continuous research. After all, you have to know more than your client.