I have a master's in stats from a top tier university. But I'm unemployed. Join the club right? What I have done in my free time is a couple side projects, one for a close friend, the other for a family member. In both cases I evaluated their business--all aspects of it. I was able to make suggestions on how to increase profits and decrease losses. In both cases their revenue went up substantially. One was a hair salon shop, the other a dental office. I LOVED the work too. Is there anyway I can parlay this into a career? I'd seriously love that.

The problem I foresee is demand. How am I going to find (small) businesses that even know I exist and will be willing to pay me for this. Furthermore I have no clue what I'd even charge or how the best way is to charge them...hourly? Flat fee? The 2 projects I did were both on a pro bono basis.

Any suggestions would help!

Thanks & good luck to all of you in all your pursuits. :-)

My agency gets most of our business through referrals either from our partners, previous clients, VCs, people who come to our conferences and so on. For the projects we couldn't handle we had an independent consultant we would send projects below our budget and he got instantly full. So it's going to be about building relationships and probably an uphill battle if you haven't already been getting the word out there so I wouldn't expect a quick turnaround.

It's not about demand at all - clearly, every business would love to make more money.

Consulting is about networking and always selling yourself. If you're a social butterfly whose face is always out there, you will make it work. If you hate to network and go out to all sorts of events, it will suck as a career choice.

The expert from afar can get some form of respect and contracts, but in the end if you don't have real world experience to back up your analysis, you become just another snake oil salesman.

Efficiency experts are all over the place, because its really really easy to spot problems, but solutions that actually work (not just theoretically) are difficult. And once you've earned the reputation of a flake, its very hard to change peoples minds. It is a fairly small world out there.

The fact you posted this shows a lack of experience. You'd be far better off volunteering your time to a non profit to build credibility.

Meh I both agree and disagree with cres, it actually sounds like he does have some real world experience, certainly enough to start. I'm not saying go in acting like god's gift but just be honest about where you are at.

Very much agree it's easy to spot problems and affecting change is the key to success but that's not to say you can't be very consultative. In my experience the stuff that people pay you $500/hour for is answers/consulting rather than doing "things." Counter intuitive but true. That said I think one of the best things you can is really figure out the context of how and why the business built the faulty processes the way they did, that will let you affect the change and get buy-in from your clients.

Billing for consulting is definitely strange, I don't think not knowing that is a problem at all. I would avoid hourly rates for longer term contracts and take on the risk yourself (I will deliver xyz for $5000 for 3 months etc). Nice for clients and let's you pay yourself more as you get better at it. Another big recommendation is as an independent automate everything that isn't your core business (recurring credit cards, billing that kind of thing).

This is a great example of how to break into the business. Be willing to offer a free review & consultation, where you will look for an area that your client WILL benefit from your service. If you can't help, then they're not billed. Many see it as a free labour service, but in reality it's the same as generating proposals and bids, part of the costs associated with prospecting new clients.

You need to be cautious on how you report, too much info and they have no need for you and your fees. To little, then you might not be taken seriously. In the beginning, better to give more than they pay for. Call it brand awareness cost.

In terms of what to charge customers, a lot of consultants, in terms of what you are proposing, receive a percentage of the money they save.

The reason this will not work in small business setting is because there is really only so much you can save a hair salon, or sandwich shop.

This works where multi-million dollar companies are able to save millions of dollars across their distribution networks or something.

What suggestions did you have for the hair salon and dental office?

I've actually been on both sides, as a management consultant for PwC and independent, but all the network I made was when I was with PwC and the other firms I took a senior position in.

1. Everyone who says networking is a key part of it is absolutely correct, but in the case of small businesses, I'd say the referral part must be a big part of it. If you're independent for projects that are plus 1m or so then its basically they bring you in because you are an ideal guy for a specific role that they don't have access to inhouse, but for small businesses, it would be for the general need of 'doing better as whole'.

2. You may want to specialize in few types of small business, now that you got background in a salon and dental offices.

3. In charging your rate, keep in mind, 'most actual' consulting happens when businesses are usually in a state of growth and have issues maintaining it, so they don't mind to pay to take care or manage the overload, so as an independent, you may just need to play it by ear, also, you need to maximize your time allocation: 33% on 3 different projects and when they will be finished etc, and then pricing and taking on projects accordingly.
If I take on a consulting gig for xxk amount per month, that is likely going take up 80% of my time etc, so I might squeeze in a couple smaller projects that I can sort out within a month or so.

But, I guess there are 2 sides to this: as an independent professionally experience consultant, I know how much my time is worth per month, but if you're making a business, for future earnings and getting that consistent pipeline going, you may want to target simply based on what you need to survive well, an then take it from there.

But the biggest thing is for smaller businesses, unless they are referred, then they may not think they have any issues, and if they are in problem state, consulting as a turn around situation is extremely difficult and what you are looking at may just be a success fee, but even if you make them stable, they really won't be able to pay you much, just a great referral, but the growth gigs are obviously much more plus EV in every respect.

4. I'd maybe look to join some small business associations, put your academic qualifications first and make a website if your serious about it - and look to really scale your business if you think you're on to something. But the issue with all consulting firms is that, when it's a growth period or your rep is good, money is raining down with projects, but the well can run dry out of the blue and if your rep takes one hit as an independent, then you're screwed and if you staff up and the well runs dry, you're screwed and while this is true for a lot of industries, the degree is pretty severe for consulting.

5. I pretty much agree with everything so far in this thread, but taking on some smaller projects for a lesser cost to get a rep, would be good, with some companies who's owners are well known and sociable in the industry. At the end of the day, getting projects in the pipeline consistently is what will make it a business rather than just pocket money. But in address to how much you really can charge, you really could go for volume, assuming that most small businesses issues are actually just because they are ignorant of some basic business fundamentals. But again, I'd say, do some projects right off the bat for a low cost with some key figures, you may think about doing some free feasibility assessments, but I don't know if doing a free feasibility assessment would be good in this case as a sales strategy if the issue is just basic business fundamentals.



6. I'd suggest though, unless you've been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, even joining a boutique consulting firm will help your knowhow immensely in terms of procedures for billing, client relations etc. Do it for 2 years, cut your teeth, and then when you make a site, you can list the firms you've worked with etc and just position yourself as more a small business consultant by choice as you feel that supporting the local grassroots community is your passion etc and making this service accessible for the local business community etc.

But good luck and cheers,
in business, as long as it works and you get the results,
everything else is just formatting, so if you don't know, just make up a procedure that makes sense for you (but getting the knowhow really is a great short cut) =)

I have posted in a few threads about business consulting previously, Ill try link them when I get a chance,

Currently I work in the Gaming industry for a software company that provides end to end solutions that manage scheduling/payroll time attendance etc

The irony is we have had US job listings for similar positions for months, with little to no applicants. You would be surprised how hard it is to find suitable candidates, who can agree to the following:
- Travel 75% of the time
- Complete contracts working solo
- knowledge in IT, and can portray this knowledge in client interactions

As eluded previously in this thread, networking is key unless you are under the umbrella of an existing company. Checking Monster using key words such as "Implementation consultant", "Project Consultant" or "Implementation Specialist" will reveal a ton of opportunities that allow you to explore your idea.

I would recommend that when applying for these position's to include cover letters or letters of recommendation of your past projects. Also start a linkedIn account highlighting past projects, using the key words above. I had to remove "Implementation" from my LinkedIn account due to the spam of job offers being sent from headhunters.

This field is an extremely lucrative field, especially when you start to get a list of clients/past projects, as every company is forever expanding. Its amazing the lack of labor savings and efficiency that are not present in the majority of industry, especially considering the US economy.

Ill check back on this thread later, ask away if you have any questions