You've probably heard someone in real life or on tv say "I'm a consultant" and thought cool, what a vary generic term which probably means you are a drug runner or money launderer. If you ask the person, what do you consult for and they say "various things", then they probably are.
But seriously, what is consulting?
The answer to this question lies in the definition. The following is taken from Oxford Languages.
con·sult·ant 1. a person who provides expert advice professionally.
con·sult·ing
engaged in the business of giving expert advice to people working in a professional or technical field.
WHO CAN DO CONSULTING?
I know you read the definition above which means literally ANYBODY can become a consultant or start a business consulting.
In order to start consulting you simply have to be knowledgeable about the subject matter. Actually you have probably been consulting on many topics for a decent part of your life.
As anyone asked you for a advice on fixing a car? relationships? grilling? gardening? cleaning?............
Congratulations!! You are a consultant. You just didn't get paid for it and you weren't consulting in a professional capacity.
The difference between consulting and giving advice has to do with the following things.
1. Are you very knowledgable in the subject matter?
2. Is someone paying you for you advice?
If you satisfy the above criteria you are a consultant in the professional sense of the word. It does not matter what you are consulting on. Legal or illegal, consulting is just a blanket term for advice you are being paid to give.
WHO IS GOING TO PAY ME FOR CONSULTING?
Wrong question. The right question is what knowledge do I have and how do I find people who are willing to pay me for that knowledge.
If you start off by believing that there is no one willing to pay you for you knowledge then you are starting off at a loss already. There are people out there who are willing to pay for the knowledge of a variety of things because it SAVES THEM TIME.
By someone consulting with you on a specific topic they are saving themselves the time doing research and the opportunity cost that can be associated with trying and failing.
Remember when it comes to consulting YOU ARE AN EXPERT IN YOUR FIELD.
This means that you have already put in the time and energy that is required to fully understand the subject you are consulting on and that is worth MONEY.
HOW DO I FIND PEOPLE TO CONSULT FOR?
1. Choose a subject to consult on
2. Figure out what type of businesses or people could benefit from your knowledge
3. Build a portfolio or resume that highlights the specific thing you are consulting for. (If you do not have any experience you can put on paper either get some or offer consulting service for free until you can build a portfolio.)
4. Contact these people directly and offer your service
5. Market yourself on platforms that you know your target will see.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I CHARGE FOR CONSULTING?
How much are you worth? Haha, bad answer.
Don't worry about price. By the time you get the point where you have to worry about price, you are probably staring at your first client.
The price you charge will largely depend on what you think is far based on the subject you are consulting on.
EXAMPLE:
Consulting For High Profile Companies
Aerospace Engineer: $$$$
Surgeon: $$$
Tennis Player: $$
Massage Therapist: $$
Mechanic:$$
Consulting For Small Business or People with Limited Funds
Aerospace Engineer: $$$
Surgeon: $$
Tennis Player: $
Massage Therapist: $
Mechanic:$
This gives you a very rough idea of pricing but I think you get the idea. Once you have done all the steps you need to do in order to begin consulting I would suggest looking up what other consultant charge in your field either or google or youtube.
