Consultancy is a bigger business than you think. The simple reason is you and I cont hire someone to review or to test our work. So what can we do? Simply hire a consultant for a given task or given a span of time. That way we can save Money and Time. 

From the Consultant point of view, this is different. As a consultant, you will be working on multiple fronts and on multiple projects. Not all will fit in a consultant position. If you're always seeking challenging topics then the consulting carrier works well. 

But there is a catch, you need to have Good domain experience. For example, you know everything about Banking, then you can take a bank or finance-related consulting carrier. 

Let's talk from Blogger or content created point of view. As a blogger, I always which to have a carrier in consulting firms, where I get to work with many people and on many projects.

Knowledge is power. That is a known fact for a long time. there is no alternative to knowledge. The best way to embrace is by educating or sharing your knowledge with others. 

There are many ways you can share knowledge, however, you need some source of revenue to pay your bills. What can you do to sell courses, or take live sessions? From a business point of view, Consulting is the proven way. Since you process the knowledge that others are looking for, so you can make some decent amount of money. 

Making money is not the primary task or the goal of the Consultant. It is providing more value to the amount that you paid for. That is how you can build relations. 

How to Make Money with Consulting 

Traditionally, Consultants make money in two ways, one is by charging based on skills to the time spent on the project. the other is predetermining the scope of the project. also called as Project fee. 

Times have changed. Now consults can make money in all kinds of ways. you can charge based on many factors like skills, time, location, IP licensing rights, multi-year contracting agreements, "Master or Pro service agreements, and more. 

Nowadays consulting revolves around three words. "Responsibility", "Scalability", and " Recurring". Confused, lets ding in more about that. 

Repeatability: 

Having good skills is not enough, the simple reason is we can find so many people just like you with the same knowledge. But they are looking for those who take full responsibility of the task that they had given. 

Consulting businesses especially those who are dependent on SaaS models are heavily dependent on seasonal Consultants, to save time and money. 

Scalability: 

Consulting is not your regular job. "9 to 5 thing" It is more than that. Because you might have to work 24 hours if necessary. I can bet you don't work if you're an employee. Consulting is one that you like so, you need to give in more than anyone else. 

For example, if you're working on a project for a company, if the scope of the project extends beyond the agreement, you need to be flexible enough to take in that work as well. 

Recurring: 

Your consulting services are like your favorite business. It is not one day tine. If you agree to provide services beyond the scope of the project, you're most likely to be in the loop for much longer. Always try to lock in more time to a project that you can offer. That way to get to have some strings to hold on to in leisure times. 

Nowadays big companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple hire consults as well. If they find the services are top-notch, they tend to keep them for a longer span. Because finding talent is easy but finding that person who is willing to work hard is not that easy. 

Here is a list of ways to make money as a consultant, which is also called SEM "Subject Matter Expert". 

Here is the list of ways you can make money through consulting. 

1. Consulting: 

Yeah! you heard that right. Consulting is one of the ways to get in touch with the stuff that you have been looking for. 

Let me explain. First, you need to have some knowledge about the topic, unless you have the knowledge about that stuff you can not get on with it. 

Even before you do anything else, you need some sot of experience. What I would do is work for someone for some time and gain some expertise in the subject and start my own. 

It is not that easy as it looks like, sometimes you simply need to spend alone, for days with out any response from clients as well. You need to have a strong heart. You should accept reality. only then you can survive in the bitter but sad world. 

2. Premium, Pro Services: 

Even though you offer the same service across all the platforms and to all the customers, there is one small marketing logging that you can adopt to get more money. That is "Premium", "Pro"

This was first captured and followed by Apple "Steve Jobs". They offer I Phone which has the same features as that of the Chinese phone. But why do we go after apple all the time, because, it is Premium in nature? 

You can also offer services "Extra Services" simply by naming them as "Premium" or "pro". 

3. Up-Selling/ Re-Selling: 

Getting new customers to sign in a deal is not that easy. It is a well-known fact. But once you have a deal, do not lose it at any cost. You know what they say, 

We don't forget our First paycheck, First Client, First Kiss😅. 

Up-Selling is the one that you can think of once you have a customer. If the customer/Clent is satisfied with the work, they are most likely to get back to you again and again. So always be prepared to up-sell. But do not force it. 

4. Promotions & Pricing Strategies: 

Do you remember this kind of pricing strategies, in supermarkets and in online stores? $100  $90 only, or $99.99 and Buy one get the other for free. That kind of pricing works in consulting services also. 

The simple reason is human ming is deceptive and easy to mislead. Simple Offer discounts on services that bring in large money, this will definitely boost the Revenue. But making a profit is purely is in your hand. 

What do I do? Simply price is much higher than any other competitor for a while, during the season I reduce the price and offer some discounts, that way I can attract more customers than anyone else in the market. 

5. Hiring Others to work for you: 

Believe me guys, a lot of successful consultants simply hire talent and sell their services under their name. The reason this works is, as a beginner you and I don't know about anything. So what to do? Work for someone to gain knowledge and experience. 

That way you get to know more about the industry and you'll learn valuable lessons. Once you're on your own feet you can have a better grip on the soil. You know what I mean. 

Hiring others in the field and make them work for you is the best way to make some solid money with good projects.  

6. Locking Deals for a long time: 

Life on earth is not going to end any time sooner, and the business is not going to shut shops sooner. There is always demand and hunger for knowledge, out there and the skilled person is in need more than ever before. 

So if you have a customer ty to lock in a long term deals. Try to build good and long-lasting relations, that way you can leverage. 

Generally, any kind of project lasts more than 3 years. it may be a software or physical one. Building relations in the beginning and making it work till the end will give you more leverage, on multiple fronts. 

7. Charging more: 

Yes, you can charge more. You got me there. Why do I say this? The simple reason is you need the money and the other person needs your service. If he/she can afford you, they are willing to pay you more. 

There is nothing wrong with charging more, as long as you're offering them valuable content to the recipient and they are happy about it. 

Take Apple. When compared with any other phone manufacturer apple is a no bigger difference. The phone for $50 has the same features as apple too. Then why are we paying $1000 to an Apple which is occasionally thrown away within 2 years for upgrading to another new I phone? 

The customers are getting more value from Apple than from the 50 Doller phone. 

Just like that if you provide more valuable content you can charge more money as well. 

Check out Entrepreneur, Marcguberti, and others for more details on making money through Consulting. 

How exactly does consulting work? 

Think of this like this. You own a business and you're are selling much as you thought. So what would you do? Simply hire a marketing person and pay hefty salaries. 

But there is another way, by hiring a marketing consultant and take this marketing experience to sell your stuff. By this, you can save time and Money. 

If you are happy about the current situation, where you're able to sell more and you're making good revenue out of it then you don't need any marketing person, right. 

The advantage of having a marketing consultant is, "Pay Per Service". 

Lets better understand how Consulting works: 

Being a business owner is not that easy task, you need to take care of a lot of things. No single man can run all the wheels in an organization. If it is small you can control them. But if it is big, then you need to hire a lot more people. 

But with better technology, you can automate the tasks and hire "Seasonal Consultants" for specific tasks. 

1. Business Issue: 

Let's assume you own a Hardware store. In general hardware, sores have high demand just before the Summer and little to no-demand during the winter. So you need to bridge the gap. 

What would you do to bridge the gap? You have two options, one is hiring a permanent employee, or hiring a seasonal consultant for that particular task. 

2. Employee or Consultant: 

Now as an Owner of the business you have only two options. One, hire a Permanent employee or two hire a seasonal consultant. 

There are perks for both. 

For example, if you hire an employee, he'll spend all the time in the office, and he might ease your work. But it comes at a certain cost.

The other is hiring a  consultant. By having a consultant you can save a lot of money, You no need to have employee emergency funds and stuff. 

Suggestion: If you have a season or occasional need for resource hire "Consultant". 

3. Finding Consultant with real skill: 

Nowadays finding the right talent is not that heard. At the same time not that easy as well. If you're looking at the wrong place then you're wasting more money than you could make. 

There are sites like Upwork, Freelancer, and many more. Look for the past records and hire the right talent. 

4. Assigning the task and taking Precautions: 

Once you hire the consultant, the next most important thing is assigning the tasks. You need to assign the tasks that are hard to do if you're self or time taking tasks for you. 

You need to know "ROI" Return On Investment. You should get at least "1:5" for the money that you spend on the consultant. 

Taking precautions, like writing contract documents, depicting all the important stuff, like copyrights and other stuff. 

5. Evaluating the completed task: 

Once the consultant is done with the task, you need to evaluate the task very carefully. The simple reason is unless you know what he did, how can you pay. Right. 

You can ask him doubts and how did he/she do it. 

6. Pay for the services: 

Generally, the payments are pre-determined, by the consultant. The consultant has more leverage in determining the cost of the service that he/she offers. 

Sometimes, consultants expect to get paid little before the work and the rest after the work. 

7. Re-Connect: 

Business is not a one-day thing. It never ends. If you want to hire someone immediately you cont. So you need to maintain a good connection with the previously worked, consultants. And consultants need to maintain good relations with those who gave work. 

You know what they say, you never forget, you're the first job, your first paycheck, and "You're the First Kiss" I'm kidding. 

What I mean to say is Main a good relationship at any cost. 

How is Consultant fix pricing/Cost for their services? 

When it comes to Pricing, Consultants have full leverage. The simple reason is, they have the expertise in the field that no one else has. 

The following is a list of ways to determine the cost of your services. 

1. Based on Skill, Time, and Location: 

"Knowledge is the power" This is the quote that you might have heard many times in your life. 

If you have the Skills you can live somehow. So like that you can charge the client based on some of the basic but standard factors like "Skill", "Time" and "Location" Let me explain. 

If you have that skill which is new in the market you have the upper hand in pricing. You can charge Premium. 

Sometimes Time also can determine the cost of the service. The other is the location. if you have a client In the Us you can charge more and d you have a client in India you need to charge less. Because of the "Currency valuation and other stuff". 

2. Based on Client: 

Clients are the ones who are going to pay you the money. Some have deep pockets and some don't. So you need to charge those based on the client's network capacity. 

You can charge a premium from the rich client and little to that from other clients. It is all up to you. You have the upper hand in determining the cost of your service. 

3. Based on seasonality: 

Sometimes there is a lot of demand for something and some other times in the same year there would be no demand at all. This is also called Seasonality demand. 

For example "Hard whare tools" have a lot of demand at the beginning of the Summer months and low demand during winter months. 

Just like that, there are records to show the seasonality demand for consulting services. Like at the end of the Financial year or at the beginning of the financial year. That is the time to capitalize on it. 

So always look for that timing and have prepared everything to work. 

4. Attractive and Distractive Pricing: 

Sometimes people tend to buy expensive things and some other times they bargain for lower prices. Right. I can bet this might have happened to you one in your lifetime. 

There are two kinds of pricing. 

One is Attractive pricing. Which means having a price that is competent to the others. Like, take Pepsi and coca-cola. I gallon of coke and Pepsi is around $1.50. If you're new you have to sell less than the established price. 

The other is Distinctive pricing. Here you'll need to price the product much higher than the already established prices. Let's take Coka, Pepsi and Red Bull. Coke and Pepsi's 1 gallon is $1.50, and Red Bull is $5. 

5. Based on Demand: 

Yes, the Law of Demand works here as well. 

Higher the demand higher the price will be. 

Take a general life example, If you're at the supermarket and you need to buy something which has a high demand. Then the price for that particular product will be high. That is human nature. 

So, now you know, how does a consultant fix the price for his service. 

How to Get More Consulting Business? 

Initially, you and I need to struggle. There is no shortcut for that. but if you're able to get your first client, then that's great. You would make him happy even for the loss.

The simple reason is you're still learning. and someone is paying you to do experiments on himself. So even for lose take it. 

Here are the best and proven ways to get more consulting business. 

1. Advertise on all platforms about your achievements

Unless you have been found on all the fronts like on the website, Youtube, or on social media, especially "Linkedin" you have a higher chance of being found in the eyes of the customers. 

Try to be present on all platforms. 

2. Create a Blog/ Digital Foot Print

You need to be found where ever the customer is looking for. Which means you need to have "Blog" "Video" formates. The simple reason is that you need to be in front of the Customer's eyes. 

The best way is to have a Good Website which linked to your blog. That way you can have the leverage on marketing and stuff. 

I always tell "Digital Foot Print" is the key to success. This will help you to have a digital presence. 

3. Polish old skills and learn new skills. 

Every day is a new day in the field of handy business. So what to do. Always polish old skills. The reason is if you don't polish old skills, you might forget things. 

You need to learn new skills. The simple reason is there are always new tools and new skills to be learned. "Today's newspaper is tomorrow's waste paper". 

Polishing old skills are the best way to get connecting with the business from bottom to top. Learning new skills will help to thrive in all directions. 

4. RE-Sell/Up-Sell

In this competitive world, finding a new business to work with is not that easy. So always try to Re-sell or do Up-sell to the previous customers. 

Advertise to Customers about other skills and options. Some times you might work on low paying and old skills, so advertise and re-sell to the old customers. 

By reselling you can save a lot of time and money publishing your abilities and skills. Getting new customers is heard. But retaining the old is the best. 

5. Always open for New Customers

Sometimes we might turn down a good opportunity for various kinds of reasons. But we wouldn't do that. because the deal or the work might look small. But we really don't know what they are capable of. 

Always open for new customers, it might be a small or big, just give it a shot. if necessary loose old and nonprofitable customers for new but low-paying customers. Remember when you first got your first client. That is how you and the business owners look. 

A final thought on Consulting: 

If you're a happy and outgoing person, then consulting would be the best way to make good money. Consulting services are the trending way of offering services. Because people are always looking for the kind of people who have plenty of Subject knowledge, also called as SME's. 

Consulting is the best part-time carrier path. Sometimes this kind of service is more valuable than the 9 to 5 job. If you are good at stuff, then do it again and again. Only then you'll master that skill. 

Personally, that is my goal. Building a Consulting network and work on various projects year around. This is good because you get to meet new people all the time. 

I always look forward to having a Consulting carrier. Let's see how this life going to be in the consulting field, which I call "Helping those who are in need of help" but at a certain cost.