Are you an expert in your field? Or maybe you’re just tired of putting in the 9-5 pm (or even more) to make someone else wealthy? If that sounds like you, then perhaps you’re in the running to be a consultant.

Imagine getting inside knowledge about Noah’s Ark before it was even built. Who is going to be on it? Where is it going? What will happen to the people and animals left behind?

Well, the next historical ark about to depart is the CONSULTANT’S ARK. A launch that will be talked about for generations. Now, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to hop on board or be left behind.
And here are the 26 questions that are probably floating through your mind as well as the answers!

What Does A Consultant Do?

A consultant (or coach) simply uses their knowledge, expertise, skills or systems to help others get the results that they’re looking for, faster and easier. Businesses or individuals may figure things out eventually, but it’s your job to help them accelerate their results.

Who Is Consulting For?

It’s for anyone who has the skills, expertise, knowledge or systems to help businesses or individuals get results. It’s for knowledge experts!

What Are The Benefits?

This entire article could just be about the benefits. To sum it up:

• It’s extremely lucrative
• You set your schedule and hours
• You get to pick who you want to work with
• You get to determine how much you get paid
• You’re your own boss
• It’s flexible
• It’s fun
• You can travel if you like
• You can work from home
• Book vacations whenever you like
• Work-life balance is amazing
• You get to determine your stress levels
• You’re in control of your life
• It’s a business and you get to write “stuff” off
• You don’t have to have employees if you don’t want to
• If you have kids and a family, you get to spend way more time with them

What Are The Downsides?

You ultimately determine your success. It’s a business just like any other so your success is dependent on your persistence and dedication. If you’re truly motivated, there is plenty of work for consultants.

How Much Can I Make?

A lot!!! If you do it right, you can make your salary in multiples. Many consultants even make 7-8 figures. In the first few months, I was charging clients 15 times what I made as an executive.

What About The Competition?

Competition does exist but it’s nothing like the competition in the employee marketplace. Right now, consulting and coaching is still in it’s infancy so competition is fairly low compared to other industries.

Do I Have To Sell?

Depends on how you look at it. Offering your services to get others the results they want can be considered “selling” but I consider it to be helping. If you have something of benefit to offer another person, it’s our moral obligation to present it. Whether they choose to take it or not, is up to them.

What’s The Worst Case Scenario?

If you try it and it doesn’t work, you go back to what you were doing before. The good thing about being a consultant is that it’s a relatively low cost business to start.

What Are Clients Looking For?

Clients are looking for a consultant who can help get the results they want. Bottom line! And sometimes, what they want isn’t necessarily what they need so you may have to advise them about the differences. Essentially, they want a professional who is skilled, trustworthy and gets the job done within the parameters specified.

What’s A Good Way To See If It’s For Me?

It’s actually quite simple. Just try it out. You don’t have to quit your job or doing anything drastic like I did (I’ll save that story for another article). You can simply take on a client or two just to check out whether you like it or not.

Is It Too Good To Be True?

Absolutely not! If you’re good at what you do and you know how to market yourself properly, you’ll create a lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of having.

Do I have To Be The Best Consultant?

Heck no! Some of the wealthiest consultants aren’t even the best. There’s this massive misconception that the more knowledge and expertise you have about your field, the more money consultants make. Not true. The trick is in how you position yourself to your market. Proper positioning leads to wealth, not expertise. That why you can be an “average” consultant and still kill it.

How Do I Get Clients?

To simplify the answer, you market yourself. Check out my video on how to create a simple client acquisition system by clicking here. Again, just like any other business, you have to let people know that you’re in business. I have an entire program showing consultants exactly how to do that.

What Will Lead To Failure?

The consultants I see who don’t make it, do one or both of these: they half ass it and don’t put in the effort needed or they focus too much on trying to further their expertise rather than market themselves. Most of the time, consultants who aren’t confident with their current skills are the ones who feel like they have to be the “best” to get clients. Not true.

What Is The One Thing I Don’t Know?

From experience, the field that you think you’re going to be consulting in, might not be the field that you end up consulting in. I’ll share my example; I started my consulting business around profit growth through client retention. Now my business is focused around profit growth through Authority Marketing, client acquisition, developing a powerhouse mindset and business leadership skills for men in business. So don’t be dead set on your path because the market will tell you what the need is.

What Skills Beside My Expertise Do I Need?

It’s actually pretty basic. The easiest way to excel as a consultant is to create a system for your clients. That means you must create a “process” for them to be able to apply your knowledge. Think of it as a recipe book. You show them the ingredients and in what order to apply them. Aside from that, you should have basic people skills and strong communication skills are recommended.

What Is The Biggest Thing That Will Get In My Way?

This is another easy question to answer. Yourself! The demand for consultants is massive. The only thing that will hold you back is your own internal challenges and beliefs. For example, I’ve worked with consultants who didn’t believe they were good at a specific skill. Yet everyone around them would rate them a 10/10 on that skill. You need to learn how to get out of your own way.

It’s A Big Decision, Who Should I Speak To Before I Make My Move?

It’s a massive decision to go from a career to being a business owner. But just like any other decision, you should take counsel from people you trust. Not everyone will understand, but your immediate family should be on board. Having a supportive spouse helps tremendously, especially when things don’t go exactly as planned. And don’t worry about naysayers, their job is to hold you back. Just avoid them. When I quit my executive career, people literally thought that I had fallen and hit my head on something. Or maybe I got fired. They couldn’t wrap their minds around the fact that I had actually made the decision to utilize my skills for myself.

What Is The Toughest Thing About Being A Consultant?

The first is when you first start out. It can be scary to pick a specific niche to work in because our natural tendency is to go broad and not say “no” to anyone. It kinda feels like you’re pigeon holing yourself but you eventually realize the benefits of picking a specific niche. It’s a lot more lucrative. The second is when you go through “dry patches” and you’re not getting the volume of clients you want. Let’s be realistic, it does happen. You just have to weather the storm and let it pass because it does. In the meantime, you learn a lot about yourself and your determination.

What About My Benefits And Other Perks I’m Losing Out On?

When you’re making the income you’ve always dreamed of having, you can pay for your own benefits. I had a tough time with this as well. My education was paid for, 7+ weeks of vacation, travel paid for, pension contributions, an expense account, etc. My wife and I debated about this because it’s a form of security for the family. When you look at the big picture, it’s actually pretty small. Now, I can pay for all this and more with my current business.

Why Consulting Versus Any Other Business?

I thought about this one as well. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you’re always looking for opportunities. Here’s why consulting is extremely attractive. The overhead is extremely low and the profit margins are extremely high. On average your margins are 90%. Very few businesses (next to none) have margins this high.

What If I Fail?

What if you don’t…and you’re extremely successful? Bottom line.

Well “So And So” Did Consulting And They Never Made It?

Well that’s that person and not you. How many people do you think have never made it because they never tried? ALL OF THEM!

What Does It Take To Be Successful?

Two things: Being able to deliver on what you’re promising to deliver. And positioning yourself as an Authority. Business is fundamentally about getting clients and keeping clients.

What Is The ONE Thing That Will Better My Chances Of Success?

A mentor! When I first started, I spent $25,000 to spend two days with a consulting mentor. The best investment I ever made. Not only did he hire me on the spot to coach his team but with the knowledge I learned, I got my business rock’n and roll’n faster than I thought. You don’t have to spend $25,000 on a mentor but you definitely want to find someone who is a professional.

Where Do I Start?

Do some market research and stay open minded. Ask people what their biggest challenges are. From there, determine what expertise you have to help them fill in the gaps. Many people start with their skills and then go out to the market. That’s the complete opposite of what you want to do as a consultant. Trust me. I made that mistake myself. If you want more details on how I built my lucrative consulting practice, click here for FREE video training on how to create a WILDLY profitable consulting or coaching business. Once piece of advice, get started soon! Consulting is one of the fastest growing industries and the ark is about to launch. The sooner you decide, the better!

If you’re looking for more insight on how to start or grow your consulting business, feel free to contact us below.