Types of Businesses
Defining and finding clients requires that you understand what business, if any, they are in. You can then determine better what type of business you are in. It's easier than you think.
First, you will decide whether your business will sell your consulting services to consumers (the general public) or to other businesses. Selling to consumers, such as retail stores and personal service, is called business-to-consumers and abbreviated B2C. If your clients are other businesses, you will operate a business-to-business (B2B) venture. There's also business-to-government (B2G) selling, but it's similar to B2B.
Your business can't be all things to all people. All businesses, especially consulting services, must find a specialty — a niche market — in which they can be a major resource. Even the largest consulting firms in the world specialize. Find yours, then clearly identify your prospective clients.
Second, you can categorize your business as offering products, services, or both. A consultant offers a service and a training business sells a combination of products and services. You also must determine whether your clients are businesses, consumers, or the government.
Third, you can categorize your client's business by what level in the marketing process it functions in. For example, a toy store is retail, a company that sells toys to toy stores is a wholesaler, and a business that makes toys is a manufacturer. Some businesses import or distribute toys, offering them to wholesalers or directly to retailers.
Fourth, your clients' business can be categorized by size. Depending on the industry, a small business is one with fewer than 100 employees, a medium-sized business has up to 500 employees, and a large business has more. In the European Union, businesses often are smaller and these category numbers are halved.
