The vast accumulated experience in various business areas often leads many qualified professionals to the understanding that knowledge in itself is a considerable value that can be sold for money. This is how the idea of creating a consulting firm that is capable of performing various intellectual work, for example, work on market analysis and development of recommendations for other entrepreneurs and legal entities.
On the other hand, many entrepreneurs and enterprises have a need for the services of third-party specialists who are not available in their own state. In addition, there is often a need to carry out specialized work, for which it makes no sense to create separate units, since such work is of a time-limited nature.
The successful work of many consulting firms demonstrates the prospects of this type of activity, especially in the context of the growing share of private business.
However, high competition in this area requires a serious approach to creating your own enterprise. As a rule, consulting firms specialize in a certain type of service, such as taxation, optimization of management functions, independent valuation of property or business.
Legal, accounting and financial services of consultants are in great demand.
Since the main value, the main assets of the company are the qualifications and experience of consultants, the cost of creating such a company is not too high. Naturally, in order to work with legal entities, a consulting firm must have its own legal status with a current account.
To organize the work of a consulting company, you need an office space, the size of which depends on the number of employees, as well as office equipment, computers and communications. To ensure reliable operation, you must also have licensed software and data backup tools.
On average, the initial cost of setting up a consulting firm can be $300,000-500,000.
As for current costs, the bulk of them will be for the wages of qualified employees, as well as for rent, utilities and communications services. Other expenses, including travel expenses for employees, can be transferred to the customer, providing for the payment of these expenses to the consulting firm in the contracts.
Typically, consulting firms are highly profitable, and allow you to get good income, in case of a sufficient amount of work.
If the salaries of employees are tied to the level of income received, then it is possible to optimize the company’s expenses and avoid loss even in the absence of the necessary volumes or during the transition period. It should be taken into account that customers, as a rule, are reluctant to part with money and pay for the stages of work only after receiving concrete results. This may be the development of business plans , the preparation of reporting documentation, the development of a program for the sale of products or staff training.
It is the relationship with customers that carries the greatest risks for a consulting firm.
Therefore, it is necessary to clearly define mutual obligations and delineate areas of responsibility when concluding contracts. Payment for the services of a consulting firm can be made either for the stages of the work performed, or based on the hours of work of the specialists of the consulting firm when the customer agrees on the scope of work. Therefore, when drawing up contracts, it is necessary to clearly stipulate with the customer the criteria for accepting the scope of work performed and the goals that are set for the consulting firm. The uncertainty of goals and results most often leads to losses, including those of a reputational nature.
It is extremely important for the successful activity of a consulting company to create a reputation and a big name, which will help to conclude profitable contracts with serious clients.
To accomplish this task, the owner of the company must constantly expand the circle of acquaintances, conduct PR campaigns, and pay for advertising in the media. Effective in this regard is the publication of special booklets, the presence of its own website, organization and participation in various seminars and exhibitions.
By the way, the organization and holding of seminars and trainings can become a solid source of additional income for a consulting firm.
The experience of employees of a consulting firm is often used to publish books, which, in addition to additional income, play a role in shaping a solid image, since the authorship can be referred to when concluding contracts.
The income of a consulting firm usually amounts to tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars already in the first months of work. This allows you to ensure high profitability of activities and recoup the initial costs within a few months. However, despite their own high qualifications, specialists often make mistakes when creating their own business and are defeated in the competition.
To avoid this, we offer you to order on our website a detailed business plan for creating a consulting company with all the necessary calculations and recommendations.
