Consultancy like any other business needs a proper research and a well-thought business plan before you start operations. The research starts with brainstorming all the possibilities associated with your consultancy business. So this article will list all those possibilities and points to consider before starting a consultancy business. Let’s start;
1- Certifications; Depending upon the type of consultancy and your particular niche you might need special certifications.
2- Licensing; it varies depending upon your country and even city of operation. Since ignoring licensing requirements may lead you to get into legal complications, must check the necessary requirements in your area of operation.
3- Business Registration; of course it’s a must to start any operation, the requirements and procedures for registering a business vary country and even state wise.
4- Qualifications; Are you a qualified consultant? Before even considering setting up a consultancy business, duly study what qualifications your clients are looking for and whether you have them or not.
5- Expertise & Skills; this is in cohesion with qualifications and you must research the skills requirement in your field and must have the same.
6- Networking; do you have a network to market your business and develop clientele? It’s critical for any type of consultant to have some immediate business contacts to start building a network.
7- Long & Short Term Goals; of course you must have a clear picture of whatever the goals you are going to set! If your goals need more time and energy than you can manage, reconsider before making any move in this direction!
8- Market; does market have demand for consultancy you offer? Don’t worry if there is no demand and you are sure you can generate demand for it. But if you see no demand, of course you must rethink. Here is it very important to know the target market for your consulting business, so you can pitch the right people.
9- Competition; when there is demand, you will have competitors too. Closely look into the competition and see whether you will be able to make your way or not! A good SEO competitive analysis can help you find the competitors online and so you can formulate a marketing strategy to beat the competition accordingly.
10- Competitive Advantage; it’s not just products business where competitive advantage matters, services industry works on the same principle when it comes to value you are giving to the clients. What value you create to your clients is your competitive advantage!
The Bottom Line:
Drilling the niche in depth may bring more points, but above mentioned are enough to find whether a particular consultancy business is a suitable option for you or not!
