Getting Started as a Business Consultant
SO, I’M GOING TO BE A BUSINESS CONSULTANT
It’s time to quit the corporate career and strike out on my own, putting to use all that management experience and costly training.
Being a consultant is going to be easy, because of the skills and knowledge I’ve acquired.
And the pay is good. I know that, because I’ve seen those eye watering invoices from consultants and trainers.
But the big question is, how do I get started?
There’s some guaranteed time from my ex-employer and from a couple of suppliers and a customer, all people I’m close to. But I’m going to need more than that to secure long term revenue. How can I be sure that the income will keep flowing, like my salary used to? And what about expenses?
There is also the issue of working from home and doing so without a PA. I’m fully computer literate and quite organised but I’m not used to detail. Then I need a business bank account, a business development loan and a ltd company.
How will I manage the bookkeeping and invoicing? I’d better find an accountant.
What about a website, and what will be my marketing message and strapline? Where can I get help with that, I’m no techie?
So, there’s a lot of admin and thinking before I can get started. More than I thought when I first decided not to waste time job hunting at my age but to create something for myself.
It’s all going to cost money which has to come from savings which will dwindle until I have some serious recurring revenue. I do need to watch the pennies, yet I understand that I must speculate to accumulate.
I’m OK for a few months, maybe a year. So that’s the time I have to get it all organised and generate the marketing that will bring me new clients. I can’t rely on the income I have now – in my heart I know they are really doing me a favour, which won’t last.
So, let’s look at the market, which I have researched carefully.
It seems to split into 3:
8000 big corporates.
They only use the Big 4 consultants. So, I’ll chat up people I know at EY / PWC / KPMG / Deloitte
I see, they told me the work they do is specialised into expert divisions and client types and sadly, I don’t fit any of them.
200,000 middle size businesses.
They use 1000 specialist consulting firms with employed consultants and have close ongoing relationships. My skills are general management / business strategy and since all these businesses have MBAs on the payroll I’ll be blocked as too competitive with them.
5.8m microbusinesses.
These are the guys I can really help. Government research shows that they don’t use consultants unless they are stuck, and only then for the odd day. They clearly need lots of help and I’m sure I can assist. There may not be much budget initially but if I pick winners that grow, they can keep paying me more.
So, microbusinesses will be my focus, whilst also keeping an eye on the medium sized businesses. And I’ll need to figure out how to reach decision makers whom I can impress with how good I am!
I’ve invested in a snazzy SEO-enabled website setting out how my business development products will help them – all the stuff I used so well in corporate life, and getting connected by offering free business assessments.
I’m getting emails out to people I’ve tracked down on Google and in LinkedIn but no positive responses coming back yet. I must keep trying lots of different messages to see what works.
Meanwhile I’m networking. I’ve joined the business clubs: Chambers; BNI; Enterprise Nation; Growth Hubs; Local Enterprise Partnerships; banks; trade associations; FSB. These folk are connected with all the local businesses, so hopefully worth the £1000 it’s cost me to join them all.
I’m now at lots of events which are certainly well-attended but everyone here seems to be looking for businesses to whom they can sell their services: accountants; lawyers; designers; IFAs; consultants (even). There aren’t many true businesses here so, I’ll chat to this lot to see if I can get access to their clients.
Lots of follow up meetings, where we explore what we can offer one another which seems promising until they discover how few clients I have, at which point they lose interest in me.
Damn. I’ve just had an email from one of the 3 clients I started with. He says they’ve hit a cashflow problem and will have to put my work on the back burner. He’s terribly sorry and will get back to me when the problem is over. After several follow up calls, he stops answering.
Meanwhile I’ve met a very interesting chap. He’s a consultant who was having the same struggle as me to find clients when he started out, until he discovered a consultancy network which has found him lots of work. It’ll cost me £10K to join and I get extensive training, marketing of me, introductions, access to the big national contracts which they tender for and win, and a network of colleagues with whom to refer work to and from. He’s adamant it’s the complete answer and he’s never looked back.
I’ve discussed it with my other half, and she is sceptical. Whilst she has a good salary and I still have savings, my cashflow is still negative. We’re OK but I’m not making much progress as a consultant after 6 months. We had agreed to give it a year, but she now thinks I should cut my losses and look for a job.
I don’t agree - I’m determined to make this work.
So, I pay the £10K and get into the consultant programme.
But as insurance I also join a NED network. It doesn’t cost that much, and they say they have numerous organisations looking for my type of general management skills to advise boards. A few of those at £1000 per month would relieve all my financial pressures.
This is more like it.
The consultancy training is a revelation. I see so much of what I’ve been doing wrong and they’re a good bunch of people to work with. It’s the fun of being back at work but still my own boss.
I’m doing all their marketing stuff, using their business databases and telesellers. It’s extra cost on top of the £10K but it seems to be paying for itself as they are lining up lots of appointments for me. And head office has added my name to several public sector tenders.
Very promising.
Well, 9 months in
…and I’ve had 8 days work playing a small part in a big local authority project. The day rate was poor, I’m still waiting for my money and I had to pay for my own digs and travel, 200 miles from home.
Between times, they made me 25 appointments with small / medium businesses, 15 of which were actually there when I turned up, 10 were not decision makers and have referred my proposal upwards. I keep calling but most have stopped picking up. 5 business owners have persisted with me and 2 have agreed on projects which I’m about to start. It’s not big money but will hopefully lead to more work or even a NED position.
The other 3 prospects always take my calls, speak at length about their problems and ask for my ideas. We get on very well. They have my proposal which they say is very interesting and assure me they are running it past their team and their accountant, to make a decision soon. ‘Happy to keep talking’.
And I’m ashamed to say I’ve got into the habit of claiming skills I don’t have as I feel desperate to get the order when in front of a decision maker. It hasn’t caught up with me so far!
We’ve just done the 12-month hard review that I always promised my other half.
It’s been a torrid year, full of disappointment and hard work but with a few highlights that made it seem worthwhile at times and gave me hope. I’ve picked up 3 small clients with whom I’ve got a great relationship but not much revenue yet. But it pays the bills.
All but one of the clients I started with have disappeared. Same script ‘sorry, something came up, back burner for now, will get back to you’. None have. I understand that means the end – I’ve grown used to it after many conversations, pitches, follow ups and brain picks which I know to be the reality of self-employed consultancy.
No NED positions have been forthcoming, but lots of unsuitable public sector openings and numerous ‘pro bono’ situations were offered, and refused.
The consultant network investment has yet to deliver a worthwhile return. I spent a lot of time in strategy type meetings, I was included in several competitive pitches for big public sector contracts and I gained 15 days of boring, low paid public sector work, with no expenses.
Colleagues privately admit that it’s the same for them, but as there is a good commission (£2000) for introducing new consultants to the network, they are reluctant to quit or criticise the guys running it.
And that has confronted me with the moral dilemma of recommending it to the new consultants I often bump into at events who are keen to know how well it works. My partner says, “say it’s great – they did it to you”.
So, what to do?
Pro…
I enjoy the freedom and control over how I spend my time
I’m motivated by understanding business problems and solving them
I could enjoy this life for the foreseeable future
I’ve learned a huge amount
This would be the perfect job, if I could only get a salary, expenses and a pension plan
Con…
Lack of reliable income
The sheer difficulty of finding and retaining clients.
My partner is fed up with my moods, long hours spent seeking new clients and erratic cashflow.
Moral dilemmas
Decision…
I’ve agreed to look for part-time salaried work locally to stabilise my income. I will continue as a part time self-employed consultant, so I don’t waste the investment by keeping my opportunities open for the ‘big deal’ to come my way, as surely it must?
Sad - is there a better way to be a business consultant I wonder?
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