Make Money By Consulting.

Consulting: Sell Your Knowledge

Consultants offer their services or advice for a fee. For instance, you may help a new non-profit organization develop a plan for fundraising, and then oversee the process. Or you may help a new company garner media attention by writing press releases and then distributing them to the proper channels.
Individuals use consultants, too. Some people use consultants for tax or financial advice, while others may pay a consultant to teach them how to set up and maintain a garden.
Basically, if you have proven skills in an area, you can market yourself as a consultant and provide your services from home. Breaking in isn’t always easy, though, so consider these topics:

• Experience. Whatever area you want to work in as a consultant, you must be able to show clients that you’re qualified to advise them. If there are organizations related to your field, make sure that you’re a member of them. Similarly, if you can take a course and become certified or registered in your field, do it and then add that to your credentials.
• Work Space. When acting as a consultant, the probability is high that clients will be visiting your home office. Therefore, you need to have a neat, professional home office that is welcoming to guests. Try to locate your work space in a quiet, even secluded, area of the house. A converted garage space with its own entrance works well, giving you a private space for work and adding to your credibility.
• Marketing. When operating as a consultant, you won’t necessarily be marketing your company; you’ll be marketing yourself. You’ll have to “package” yourself in a way that makes people trust you. For instance, if you’re marketing yourself as a financial consultant, ask yourself why someone would trust you with their life savings, and then figure out a way to convey that to potential clients. It might be in the form of a brochure, a portfolio, a sales letter, or all three.

To get the word out about your services, you’ll have to talk to a lot of people. Attend functions where your typical client would hang out. That may mean the local agricultural department’s classes if you’re a gardening consultant, or Chamber of Commerce meetings if you’re a business consultant.