Being a one-man-army consultant and coach is slowly becoming a very popular business, as it is a business that is very easy to start.
With virtually zero overhead and no real need for employees, starting a consulting or coaching business all by yourself is not only very easy to do, but it is cost effective in terms of time and money.
However, it is only cost effective if you do the right things. If you are not paying attention to the things you are doing, growing a solo consultant/coaching business will be a very long journey with success coming in very small bursts.
The following three things can optimize your consulting/coaching business without needing to hire employees or freelancers.
Choose a very narrow niche
Too many solo consultants or coaches make the mistake of taking on a very wide audience, thinking that they will get a lot of customers and conversions if they cast a very wide net.
While this makes sense logically, it is a less than perfect way to operate a consulting or coaching business.
The better thing to do is to take on audiences that are very particular in what they want. If you have what they want, they will trust you much more than a consultant or coach who does “a little bit of everything.”
Never forget the phrase: “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
You do not want to be a “jack of all trades” when it comes to owning your own consulting or coaching business.
Know the difference between consulting and coaching
A lot of people go into consulting with the mindset of a coach, thinking that they can help individuals with their “consulting” services.
They are going about this all wrong. Consulting has to deal with businesses offering services to other businesses, not individuals.
Coaching provides services and information to individuals, not other businesses. Most of this is done on a one-on-one basis as well. If you are calling yourself a consultant and you are apprehensive to providing services to businesses, consider calling yourself a coach instead.
On the other hand, if you are calling yourself a coach and you are not comfortable providing services on a one-on-one basis (or similar ratios), then learn how to provide those same services to businesses and begin calling yourself a consultant.
This makes a difference, especially in the business world where people think in terms of titles.
Determine if you have a local audience
Most solo consultants/coaches seem to be obsessed with doing everything online. They do not consider the possibility that they could have an audience in their own backyard.
If you are a consultant or a coach, you are likely operating out of your own home or out of an office in the place you live in. If this is the case, you should treat your business like any other business that sells physical products.
Do not be afraid to create signs that tell others around your home or office that you are a consultant or coach. And do not be afraid to place neon signs depot alongside these signs.
Will this feel silly, since your business is not a retail store or a restaurant which would stereo typically benefit from neon signs? It might.
But it will not be silly when more people than ever learn about your business and you begin acquiring local customers as well as customers that you acquire online.
Starting a consulting/coaching business all by yourself has never been easier. But just because something is easy to do does not mean that it will be easy to grow and maintain. Do these three things, and you will rise above your competition.
