How To Become An Independent Consultant: 8 Step Guide
Independent consulting is one of the hottest gigs on the planet. It’s no surprise why: few other positions offer the freedom, flexibility, and income potential.
Think about it.
Can your job take you from Los Angeles to Switzerland in the same week?
Do you get to choose what clients you work with?
And if somehow you can do both of those, there’s no way you have unlimited income potential in building your own business if you’re at a 9-5 job.
Perhaps you are working a full-time job and want to transition to an independent consultant role. Maybe it’s already your side hustle and you want to make it your main hustle. Or maybe you are exploring career options and have always known that you love causing breakthrough results for businesses and for people.
Wherever you are, one decision to become an independent consultant can change the entire trajectory of your life. It did for me.
What Is Independent Consulting?
We can treat “independent consulting” as a subset of “consulting”, much like the words “eggs” and “bacon” are subsets of “breakfast foods”, or “red” and “blue” are subsets of “colors”.
And as we’ve defined in the guide what is consulting, we too need to define independent consulting.
Simply put, consulting is determining the needs of a client, and providing those needs.
Independent consulting is much the same, except you are location independent, and you work for yourself. This means that you can fulfill your responsibilities with your computer, a steady network connection, and a phone, all while acting as your own boss.
With a whopping $1.2 trillion in revenue generated by self-employed workers in 2017 alone, the industry is thriving and businesses are searching for freelance consultants who can help them maximize profits and business outcomes.
This trend will continue as businesses continue to prioritize results over traditional values like in-person meetings and daily access to their consultants.
Benefits Of Freelance Consulting
Consultants are consistent high-performers. Their aptitude for research, networking, and problem-solving make them extremely sought-after.
Now, that doesn’t mean it’s an easy responsibility.
However, successful consultants enjoy a variety of benefits:
- Being your own boss
- Working on your own schedule
- Interacting with and contributing to a wide range of clients and industries
- Living virtually anywhere in the world
- Extremely low operating expenses
- Near-endless prospects
- Constant training and development
As you can see, independent consulting can provide you with a top 1% lifestyle.
One that is on your terms, decided by you, and with a vast range of independence. You can’t get better than that.
How To Become An Independent Consultant
By following a proven formula for success, you will find fulfillment and satisfaction out of being an independent consultant.
Let’s break it down:
1. Become highly knowledgeable in your niche.
Find an angle that you can leverage. The best way to do this is by finding an industry you enjoy and can see yourself developing a skill set that is easily monetized.
Then go all in on this niche and seek to know everything you possibly can. Each nugget of information will help you to serve your future customers.
Here a few examples to inspire you:
- Consult hotels on how to make more money by eliminating vacancies
- Train businesses on how to expand their operations overseas
- Teach real estate investors on how to fix and flip properties
- Coach professional athletes on how to build a personal brand to monetize in their retirement
2. Get a website, state your services, and gather case studies and testimonials.
Your website will be where you direct all prospects. It is easily navigable, well-designed, and intuitive. They will learn about your offerings, read about the results you’ve produced, and schedule discovery calls all in one place.
This should be the central sales and marketing HQ of your consulting operation.
3. Set your rates.
Consultants are paid handsomely for their knowledge, strategizing, and execution.
A solid entry rate is $150.00 per hour or more.
You can also set up packages and up-sell your services as you produce results for clients (which we advise since charging per hour is really bad). For example, offer a six month retainer of $18,000 for your services, and be sure to provide more value than $18,000.
4. Network with family and friends or build a sales funnel.
Oftentimes, family and friends in your immediate social circles are searching for your services. Look out for social media posts and comments that show they’re in business and looking to grow. Next, create a sales funnel, and use paid ads or SEO to drive leads, to maximize your efficiency; then pre-qualified prospects will come to you.
5. Take calls and solve their pain points.
When prospects have seen your offerings and show interest by booking a call with you, be the person who listens. Ask what their current pain points are, or what goals they want to crush this year. Then, armed with exactly what they’re looking for, respond intelligently with how you can help.
6. Sign a contract.
Once you and the prospect have struck a deal, write up a proposal and go through it with them on the phone. Create a well-rounded contract including terms, deadlines, and cost, and send it to them to sign.
7. Do the work.
Through meetings, research, analysis, and expert recommendations, you begin working for your client. Create high-quality work that demonstrates your expertise and helps them achieve their goals.
8. Ask for recommendations and referrals.
Don’t forget that when you perform well, clients will be more than happy to write a review or recommendation. Use that on your website or sales funnel to increase your credibility as an independent consultant and land more clients.
How To Be A Massive Success
You can implement a few key attributes to your independent consulting business to ensure your future success and growth:
- Set clear expectations: Ensure everything on your contract is exactly what you agreed upon. Make room for any unexpected work you may have to fulfill. Stating that you will build two landing pages, three Facebook ad campaigns, and one presentation deck of recommendations for client growth is better than saying something vague like “I will grow your online traffic”. You are equal partners with your client. Be straightforward and confident in what you will provide.
- Get paid upfront each month: There’s nothing worse than worrying about not getting paid after a month of intensive work. Getting paid upfront shows the client that you are to be respected and seen as a partner in this working relationship.
- Communicate often: Use your preferred methods of communication (phone call, email, Slack) to stay in touch with the client, and ensure they know the preferred communication method. Providing regular updates is a sure-fire way to build trust and rapport.
- Stop working if you’re not getting paid: In the case that the client has not paid you when they said they would, it’s your call to continue working or not. However, time is money, and if clients don’t take you seriously, clearly state to them that you will cease working until the agreement has been met.
- Don’t be afraid to up-sell: If a client loves your work, they will be open to what else you can provide as an independent consultant. Let them know what else you can offer, and state how it plays into what you’re already doing for them. For example, if you sell social media marketing, share how paid ads will get them more exposure in front of their customers. If you don’t feel qualified to deliver, you can still up-sell and partner with a PPC agency for a commission.
- Enjoy life: Friends, family, entertainment, fitness, eating clean, and self-care are essential components of being a successful independent consultant. By winning in all areas of life, your business will thrive by virtue of living a well-rounded life.
- Always be grateful: If you love helping people, then seeing clients win is a huge source of fulfillment for you. Not only that, but you are creating wealth for yourself and those you wish to share it with (such as a spouse or children). This lifestyle is hands-down one of the best out there. Remind yourself often of your good fortune, as it will put jet fuel into your business and light a fire underneath you.
Take Action To Become An Independent Consultant
You’ve got enough information by now. You’re obviously motivated or you never would have read this far. So, what’s left?
It’s time to do the work.
To become a successful independent consultant who works when you want, for who you want, and for how much you want, you can’t roll out of bed and say where do I sign up.
You need to go through months and years of trial-and-error. Struggle to find clients who respect you and who you can actually help. Know when to raise prices, systemize your business, and outsource work.
You can’t skip these growing pains if you go out on your own. Show up every day and, as a result, it’ll happen faster than you think.
This is essentially you receiving consulting, on how to become a consultant.
Cheers to the future consultant in you!