How to Build An Online Consulting Business Without Spending Too Much?
The question “How to Set Up Your Own Consulting Business?” and a few other relevant ones have been savagely beaten around!
If you wouldn’t take my word, feel free to take a look at this screenshot!
When I typed the query “how to set up your own consulting business” in Google, the search results were massive!
I could come up with more screenshots, but the point to be taken is this — the craze (ambition would be more appropriate) to start an online consulting business is at its peak! And to meet the needs of the aspirants, there are a lot of solutions today that’ll answer the question of “how do you start your own consulting business”!
So I thought since the solutions are already out there, why not guide you through the process of building an online consulting business? I ended up creating this read!
In this read, I’ve explained a few things along with starting an online consulting business like,
- Online business consulting market statistics
- The reasons why the online consulting industry is booming and going digital
- The types of online consulting business models
- The steps as to how to start an online consultation business
- An ideal consulting business solution (as a bonus) and
- A few words from my end 😉
That’s the summary of this read! So, let’s get started, shall we?
Consultation Business Market Statistics
Statistics are very powerful when it comes to convincing an individual! Or is it not?
Well, it’s for you to decide! Below-mentioned are a few consultation business statistics I thought you should have a look at!
- The size of the consulting marketing in the USA is an approximate USD 64 billion.
- The size of the consulting business market on a global level is an approximate USD 160 billion.
- The value of consulting businesses during the year 2011 was $107 billion and rose steadily to reach a whopping $160 billion during the year 2019.
All positive stats! The steady growth in the industry only means that there is further potential for online consulting businesses in the future!
Why Are Consulting Businesses Adopting the Digital Curve?
Why not? I mean, it’s 2021 and people are expecting a drone to deliver their goods! Now, answer this question. When was the last time you went to a place looking for some advice? You don’t remember, right?
That’s what’s happening! The digital adoption curve is inevitable and almost all businesses are stepping up to accept the change! The 2020 pandemic has pushed businesses to switch over to digital platforms! And the consulting business market is no exception to this!
Clarity.fm is an online consulting business that offers startup advice from industry experts. Take a look at their growth over a period of time!
Their organic search traffic grew consistently and during June 2021, they are witnessing an all-time high (good for them)!
Isn’t that just great? 90,000+ organic traffic! If they even have a 10% conversion rate, that’s 9000 businesses!
Okay! Enough admiring Clarity.fm. Let’s get back on track!
Types of Online Consulting Business Models
This should be pretty exciting! You’ll be getting more insights and a clear picture of the business model you’re going to go forward with!
There are three types of business models and we’ll start looking at them one by one (because this is the first step in building an online consultation business model)!
1. The Firm Model
This is the model where you’re going to bring in a lot of people for support and you’ll be taking care of all the management activities — including hiring, strategizing and more.
Also, you’re not going to do the client-facing work in this model. It’ll be taken care of by the experts you’re going to hire. A chunk of money will be invested in the workforce and the company’s development. And the profit is the difference between what you spend and what your clients pay!
In this model, the more the number of clients you have on board, the better your revenue will be! While the scalable opportunities are extremely great here, you’ve got to take calculated risks and measures!
Clarity.fm we saw above is an ideal example of this kind of model! It is more like a startup platform where users can choose to get advice from several experts.
2. The Solo Model
Remember Dwayne Johnson saying, “I Am the Cavalry?” It’s the same scenario here!
It’s you who is going to build an online consulting business all by yourself and scale it gradually. Speaking of doing it alone, you’re going to be the face of your brand as well!
People will recognize you by the quality advice you give and your expertise in the field. The profits will be consistent here — having a limited number of clients and giving them good service is all you have to do.
The model has its pros, but since you’re the face of the business, you should stay focused on the business almost all the time!
Tom Critchlow is an individual who provides consulting services for startups and media companies and falls under this category!
3. The Hybrid Model
A combination of the above two models is called the Hybrid Model. You take particular components from each business model and develop something that you think would efficiently work!
Now that you know the different types of consulting business models (and the basics as well), Let’s look at the ways that’ll help you build an online consulting business!
How to Start An Online Consulting Business
It all unfolds here! Your question, “how do you start your own consulting business” is getting answered right here!
So, the most common solutions to start your own consulting business are,
- Pre-existing Custom Solutions and
- SaaS Solutions
Before you choose the kind of solution you want to go with, let’s look at the features your online consulting business solution should have!
Features Your Online Consulting Business Platform Should Have
Like I already mentioned, I’ll be taking you through the features here. We’ll see this sequentially so that you’ll get a clear understanding of how the business works as well!
1. Multiple Login Systems for Counselors & Users
This is crucial! You don’t want your users and counselors logging into the same portal! Because the features differ for them. For instance, a counselor might want to make his profile look sophisticated by adding his/her intro video and resume, but a user doesn’t have to do any of these!
Also, since the purpose of these two people are totally different on the platform, there has got to be two different logins as well. And yes, the admin has got to have a separate login dashboard to manage the overall platform!
If you’re running the solopreneur model, you don’t have to worry much — it’s just the users and yourself!
Okay! Now your client has signed up! So the next thing he/she would do is explore!
2. Search Options
Once logged in, your ciient will now start to explore. And your chosen online consulting business solution should have this feature!
Your client should find the best counselor in the field they are looking for with ease. And the “ease factor” can be achieved by the extensive tutor filtering options.
Below mentioned are some of the filter options your platform should have,
- Category Specialization
- Counselor Availability
- Country/Zip Code
- Counselor Reviews & Ratings and more.
User experience matters! It doesn’t matter what business you’re running. When your users find what they want with ease, consider half the journey as successful!
3. Appointment Scheduling System
When it comes to the online consulting business, your client should be able to book appointments with a counselor. And the counselor, on the other hand, should be able to view his/her meetings in the calendar.
Having a built-in calendar has the following benefits,
- Counselors can easily manage their appointments
- Users can see when a particular counselor is available for appointments
- Users and counselors can both modify or cancel their appointments according to their convenience.
For this, you need to have a built-in calendar on your platform. You should check for this feature before you choose a business consulting solution to go forward with!
P.S. The popular calendar integrations you should go for your online business consultation platform are Calendly and Doodle.
4. Audio & Video Conferencing Features
Your client has booked an appointment and all set for the session. Since the business is purely online, you need a platform that supports audio & video conferencing features!
You need to opt for integrations to do this! For example, Zoom is a popular video conferencing tool that comes with a huge number of features like screen sharing, built-in whiteboard, internal communication system and more.
Learn more about why you should use Zoom API in this read!
Integrating with Zoom API can help you conduct conference sessions seamlessly! Since most online business consultation solutions come with a video conference API integrated, you can save yourself from the trouble of doing it yourself!
5. Payment Handling
Your counselor (or you if you’re the counselor) needs to be assured that they’ll be getting payments for the services they do! Most of the time, clients need to pay an upfront fee before the session starts or pay the entire fee in advance!
This type of niche demands counselors to charge clients on a per-minute basis and you’ve got to make sure your platform supports such kind of billing.
Payments be a no-brainer if you integrate Stripe onto your platform. If you’re running the firm model with a change, say, you’re allowing counselors to use your platform as a connecting hub, make sure you set commission percentages for revenue.
There are platforms that help you with this kind of model as well!
6. Feedback — Rating & Reviews
And we’ve reached the end of the journey (from the client’s point of view). You need to have a feedback system to know how your business is doing and how your clients felt about the services.
This not only helps decrease the churn rate but also helps drive more new leads to your business — it’s a win-win!
For this to happen, your platform should allow clients to give a star rating and write a clean review! And then, it’s BINGO!
So, yes! Those are pretty much the features you initially need to start your own consulting business in the beginning.
Now, where did we leave? Yeah, the type of solutions you should use to build an online consulting business!
Difference Between Pre-Existing Solutions and SaaS Solutions
Don’t expect it to be the decision of the year! It’s going to be pretty simple!
Saas solutions are highly reliable — they are established, they come with a strong customer support team but the huge downside is, you cannot customize them. SaaS solutions are what they are and you don’t get to decide the features of it! You stick with existing features and you play along!
But on the other hand, pre-existing solutions are open-source, white-label software with high customization options! You get to decide what features you want and can make it even sophisticated later!
Speaking of pre-existing online consulting business solutions, here is one you should check out! The platform has every feature mentioned above in the read (and has additional features as well)!
As for the technical side, it’s pretty simple! All you have to do is,
- Buy a suitable domain name
- Choose a hosting provider and connect the domain
- Install the software script and customize the platform accordingly
- Do a few marketing activities and you’ll see leads on your platform already
Trust me, it’s really that simple when you’ve got the right support team on board!
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Consulting Business?
Well, that depends on the platform you choose! But let me give you an idea!
Starting an online consultation business costs you an approximate $10,000 — $50,000.
You still there? Considering the time spent by the developers, the designers and the supporting staff, you’ll be on top of bills!
Okay, now please do not drop your idea! The above-mentioned costs are applicable when you try to build the platform from scratch. But opting for a pre-existing solution like I said, you’re going to see the costs somewhere between $1000 — $4000!
Yeah, that’s covered as well! And there’s nothing left when it comes to “how to build an online consulting business”!
So, I am about to give a final few words and wrap this read 😉!
The Bottom Line
Though I’ve said this already, hear it again — online consulting business is one of the most profitable businesses today! And all you have to be is an expert in some field or the knack to be a successful entrepreneur!
You’ve got solutions right before you and now that you know how to build an online consulting business as well, there’s no reason for you to delay or postpone your planning!
Get started right away! And I’d love to know when you have!
Cheers!