The Life of Consultants
It is said that a consultant is anyone who carries a briefcase and comes from more than 200 miles away. That's not quite true, but it reflects the image that a consultant is someone with objective knowledge.
Actually, a consultant is someone who sells advice to those who need it. Useful advice may be developed through the consultant's knowledge of a subject, the skill of problem solving, or the ability to research. To better understand what consultants do, following is a description of a typical consulting service.
Consultant, from the Latin word consultare, means “to discuss.” Synonyms include counselor and advisor. However, the meaning has been diluted — for instance, a garbage truck driver can carry the title “waste management transportation consultant.” A professional consultant offers valuable advice for a fee.
Typical Consulting Service
Communication Solutions is a business communications consulting service in the Pacific Northwest. President Walter Curtis had fifteen years of experience in the marketing communications field before striking out on his own. Actually, he was pushed.
As project manager for a training service, Walt was responsible for producing industrial training manuals in the pulp and paper industry. He had risen from writer to project coordinator to project manager. After four years, the training contract ended and was not renewed. Walt was out of a job. He had previously worked as a copywriter for a large regional advertising agency. Before that he had been a staff writer for a business publication. Walt knew business and he knew communications. He just didn't know what he was going to do next.
Fortunately, he heard about a small writing project through a trade association of which he was a member. The project would only last four weeks but would pay about twice what Walt previously made in a month. He took it. The small project grew into a larger project, as they sometimes do. Fortunately, Walt's agreement required a per diem (per day) rather than a flat fee for the project. The longer the project lasted, the more Walt was paid.
Three months later, Walt decided that he couldn't count on an eternal project, so he took a day off to pursue other contracts. Walt came up with a business name — Communication Solutions — that sounded like he had been a communications consultant that solved problems, and had business cards made up. He wrote a short brochure listing his experience and qualifications. He set up four appointments for the day and started making the rounds. He soon had sufficient jobs to carry him for the next eight months. Walt was in business for himself.
What is it that consultants sell?
Solutions! Every client has a problem that needs to be solved. The best — and highest paid — consultants are those who clearly identify the problem, get agreement on it from the client, and help the client work toward the agreed solution. Your client's underlying question is: “Can you help me solve my problem — even if I don't know exactly what the problem is?”
Today, Communication Solutions consults with high-tech businesses in the Willamette Valley. It helps clients define their communication goals, find writers and other resources, and review their marketing documents to make sure they are efficient. Communication Solutions charges $155 an hour for consulting services. Writing projects are bid at $110 an hour. Walt has one full-time and one part-time associate who help him develop communication projects. Both work as independent contractors on a percentage of gross income.
After two difficult years, Walt has sufficient contracts to begin taking Friday afternoons off. He justifies it by saying, “I'm the boss!”
Business Consulting
There are two broad categories of consulting services, each with overlap: business consulting and consumer consulting. Let's look at the larger group first: business consulting.
The following is a list of common business consulting services. Each can be redirected into many more:
Acoustics
Advertising
Architecture
Auditing
Automotive
Aviation
Biotechnology
Body language
Building
management
Business selling
Business startup
Business travel
Business writing
Communication
Community relations
Computer hardware
Computer software
Construction management
Convention planning
Data processing
Direct marketing
E-Business
Economic research
Editorial
Employee benefits
Engineering
Environmental
Etiquette
Executive search
Financial management
Food services
Foreclosure
Forestry
Franchising
Fundraising
Gaming
Government relations
Grant writing
Graphic design
Hospital administration
Hotel management
Human resource
Immigration
Information technology
Insurance
Inventory control
Investments
Labor relations
Land-use planning
Leasing
Licensing
Mail order
Management
Marketing
Material handling
Mergers and acquisitions
Office management
Online business
Operations
Opinion polls
Organizational development
Payroll management
Performance
Political
Pollution control
Product design
Programming
Public affairs
Publishing
Purchasing
Quality control
Real estate investment
Recycling
Rehabilitation
Restaurant management
Retailing
Reunion planning
Safety
Salary administration
Sales
Sanitation
Security
Search engine optimization
Shipping
Small business
Social services
Stockholder relations
Strategic planning
Tax law
Technical writing
Telecommunications
Traffic control
Translation
Trial
Urban renewal
Venture capital
Wage administration
Warehousing
Waste management
Website design
Winery management
Writing
In addition to a specialty, a business consulting service may decide to specialize in one of two approaches to advising clients. The service may emphasize the resolution of an issue or the transfer of needed skills to the client. For example, a restaurant with cash flow problems may only need advice on how to resolve that specific problem. Or the owner may need to be trained in advanced cash flow forecasting and other aspects of business management.
There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches for the consultant and the client. Problem resolution is less expensive for the client, but it may not solve the underlying cause. Skill transfer is more expensive for the client, but it reduces dependence on the consultant. You'll learn more about these consulting methods in this book.
The Association of Management Consulting Firms (
Personal Consulting
Businesses aren't the only clients for useful advice. Consumers also need informed help making decisions. The following is a list of common personal consulting services. Add to this list the business consulting services that can be used by individuals, such as aviation, body language, communication, and recycling. Personal consulting services could include:
Adventure travel
Aerobics
Beauty
Career
Child care
College entrance
Credit
Cruises
Dog training
Estate planning
Event planning
Family relations
Family travel
Fashion
Fitness
Gardening
Golf
Health services
Home buying
Home remodeling
Home repair
Honeymoons
Image
Interior decorating
Interior design
Journal writing
Landscaping
Makeover
Marriage relations
Medical
Music
Party planning
Personal image
Personal trainer
Pet selection
Photography
Poker
Religion
Relocation
Resume
Spiritual
Studying
Taxes
Voice
Wardrobe
Wedding
Weight loss
Women's issues
Woodworking
These are just a few of the hundreds of topics on which consumers want help.
Full-time consumer consultants typically earn $50 to $120 an hour and six-figure annual salaries. Others operate part time from their homes, bringing in $40,000 to $100,000 a year in gross income. Make sure there is a niche for your business in your market, but be wary of markets that seem saturated.
Within these fields, there are many areas of specialization that can be selected to fit your client's needs as well as your own interests and skills. For example, you may decide to specialize in advising clients how to select a pet that has the appropriate personality and temperament for their needs. Or you may specialize in helping college students manage their time more efficiently. Or you may have qualifications to offer advice on planning a Muslim wedding ceremony. What do you know that others would pay to know?
Consumer consultants aren't typically paid as much as business consultants. The primary reason is that a business can financially benefit from useful advice, so it is in a position to pay more for that advice. In addition, credentials for a business consultant are often more difficult and expensive to acquire that those for a consumer consultant. Even so, a consumer consultant with strong credentials and valuable advice serving a specific market can make an excellent income.
