How to start a career as a consultant
Companies know that having all the skills within them is the best thing but they still have an accountant, an occupational physician, a corporate security consultant. The web and advertising are followed by an agency and they call the gardener to cut the grass and prune the trees. If you think companies don’t hire external staff, I have just shown you the opposite. The companies turn to consultants for the most varied reasons and if you think you can make your contribution you are in the right place to understand how to start.
The consultant’s job is to advise. There is no magic formula that makes a consultant better than the others.
How to be a better consultant than others If it is true that anyone can be a consultant for you who wants to start a career in the consulting world, it is better to make a small difference.
When a company chooses to take advantage of an external consultancy it has a wide panorama of choices but it is likely that it will give the job to referenced consultants. For you who have yet to begin it seems that it is already over but I assure you that it is not so: you have to show the customer your passion and your desire to excel . Between an excellent consultant and a motivated consultant many companies prefer the motivated one so for you the way is more than open. When you have made a name for yourself, more customers will come, it’s clear, and you’ll be worried when it’s time. Meanwhile it begins.
Take your nose out of the house and put your ideas to the test .
What are you expert about?
It is highly probable that your training on the subject you are familiar with is far above the average of other people. If you feel competent in any area, whatever it is, you are already a reference for all those people who know nothing about it.
With this consideration on your professionalism, you have to ask yourself a question. I know it is annoying to ask questions and give answers but I assure you that it is not a Marzulliano game and that it is really necessary.
You only have to make a little effort and only once but if you don’t answer the question I asked in black at the beginning of the paragraph you will start limping your career as a consultant so: what are you an expert?
Marketing - do you know all the best campaigns and new strategies?
Web - can you create websites and WebApps that make money?
Creative finance – do you know how to make ends meet legally?
Model aircraft - did you build your drone with Arduino ?
…
Whatever it is, know that you can be an important resource for someone. Now you need to find your first customer.
What to check before starting
Before going ahead, you need to make sure you have all the papers in order. It is a short list that you should read:
Do you need licenses for what you want to do?
It may happen that for certain topics, qualifications are needed to be able to give advice. The possibilities are 3 but in 2 cases out of 3 you can start working immediately.
– Do we need certifications and do you have them? Set off.
– Do we need certifications and DO NOT have them? I am almost certain that there are courses that will solve the problem and probably also exist in teleformation. Search on Coursera or LifeLearning .
ATTENTION: verify that the course to which you sign up gives you a certificate legally recognized with which you can start working.
If you know areas where the certification for counseling cannot be obtained online, comment on this sentence. 😉
– Do you need certifications? Set off.
Are you updated on the latest news?
If you were an expert on a sector a few years ago it may be that something has changed. Before starting your search for your first customer, check that you are aware of the latest news. A few days online and you will be realigned: Industry Blogs, Discussion Forums, Facebook Groups, Channels on LinkedIn, Quora, Twitter and throw in some Youtube to let your eyes rest from reading.
Also consider sources in other languages.
Are you organized enough?
Do you want to have all the days planned?
Can you manage time?
To begin your work as a consultant at large you must answer “YES” to all 3 questions.
How do you deal with Public Relations?
Yes, unfortunately you read that right. Public relations. It is not possible to start any business by staying in the office to fix the door. You have to go out, meet people and find ways to talk about your work.
While talking about your work, try also to network. Find interesting contacts and engage them in your business so that they can talk about you when the opportunity arises. Public Relations, in fact.
It would not hurt even an advertising campaign and an active presence on social media but I will recommend these aspects in a little while. First of all, go for free and then invest the proceeds of your work.
Have you set any goals?
Another thing to check before starting is your medium and long term goals. Have you fixed them? The reasons for this banality that everyone says and few explain can be found below:
• Achieving goals will be an unequivocal sign that your activity is giving the desired results and a stimulus to achieve ever greater goals.
• The push to achieve the goals will put some pressure on you but it will be a useful pressure to work better and more effectively.
