How to Become a Freelance Business Consultant

freelance business consultant

When it comes to business consultancy, any experienced, skilled and qualified individual can perform the job from home, without really being tied to a 9-5 job. This is where the concept of freelance business consultancy comes into being. A freelance business consultant is a professional who is self-employed and provides consultancy services to businesses independently.  There are some who may get into freelancing from the very beginning of their career while others may first gain a few years of corporate experience and then start their own business consultancy as a freelancer.

In the field of freelance business consultancy, the opportunities are growing with each passing day. The demand for freelancers in every industry and segment of work has been gaining momentum and the same is true for business advice and consultancy as well.  Those who work solo in this field enjoy the benefit of being their own boss, choosing their own clients and charging their own desired payment.

But to become a consultant, It may take months to develop the ability to hunt for clients, bag projects, build a clientele and get the cash flowing.  To do so, it takes a lot of skills, qualities and also a lot of patience! To know more about how you can become a freelance business consultant and a successful one at that, you can read on:

Job Duties For Freelance Business Consultant

If you are aspiring to be a freelance consultant, then you must be ready to handle the many duties and responsibilities that it comes with. Business consultancy is a service that you are selling and thus needs to be top-notch for you to retain clients. The following are some important duties that you may need to fulfill as a freelance business consultant:

  • The number one duty which comes along with this work is to find yourself work or clients. To do this, you may need to send across CVs, make proposals and state your price.
  • To understand the client’s business history and to perform research on the business condition so as to be able to give advice.
  • To do market research to help the client’s business stand apart and make the right decisions.
  • To review financial statements, analyze the business practices and study competitors to be able to provide the right advice.
  • To suggest changes to the client as far as the business model or practices are concerned.
  • To use computer systems to create future plans for the business to do well.
  • To manage finances, collect payments and work on marketing skills.

Business Consulting Skills

Any freelance business consultant will need to have or develop certain skills that can help him thrive in the competitive field of work. While some of these skills are technical, others are personal skills that can take you a long way ahead on this road. Some of the most important freelance business consultant skills include:

  • Exceptional understanding of the industry in which he/she specializes as far as a consultancy is concerned.
  • Excellent marketing sense, sales sense, knowledge of financial statements and economic trends.
  • Ability to do market research and evaluate business models.
  • Good business skills, mathematical skills, analytical abilities, and strong interpersonal skills.
  • Good accounting skills, managerial abilities, knowledge of the law, communications and business development consultant skills.
  • Strategic thinking, ability to think out of the box and good listening qualities.
  • Self-promoting skills, strong ability to promote or market oneself on social networks or other professional channels to be able to attract clients.
  • Self-discipline skills to be able to set a disciplined work ethic.
  • Exceptional educational qualifications and academic certification

Being Successful As A Freelance Business Consultant

There is no fixed mantra to succeed in the field of business consultancy on a freelance basis. The fate of each freelancer in consultancy depends on the way he handles projects, creates job opportunities for himself and completes projects at hand. But the following are some special ways that can help you inch closer to success as a freelance business consultant:

  • Being on toes at all times as far as applying for jobs is concerned is a good way to stay ahead in the road of success.
  • By showcasing exceptional overall business sense, one can retain clients and this can lead to constant work opportunities.
  • Staying abreast of the latest business news, trends, market behavior, and customer expectations can prove useful for the job of this nature.
  • It is highly important for a freelance business consultant to register himself on job finding portals and freelancing websites such as Freelancer.com, PeoplePerHour, etc. so as to stay in touch with the latest job opportunities.
  • To create a strong profile step by step and develop a list of clients by delivering the best consultancy services.
  • By polishing skills continuously by being in touch with the latest technology, computer systems and gaining experience.

Business Consultant Salary

The field of freelance business consultancy is getting highly competitive every day. Every business needs proper advice and this is where the role of business consultants comes into play.  Freelancers often choose to get paid on a per hour basis and this can create a distinction in salaries of all the consultants. But on average, you can expect to take home a salary of $48000 per year as a freelance business consultant. This figure can vary greatly or may be influenced by many factors such as industry of employment, the scope of work, size of Business Company, per hour rate, skills possessed, experience in the field and number of jobs.

Finding Work

If you are just starting out as a freelance small business consultant, then finding enough work may be difficult. But as you gain experience and add stars to your portfolio, you can attract more clients and find sufficient work. For freelancers, the best way to choose from many clients and projects is to register at Elance.com which is one of the best freelance work websites. (1)  Some others include O-Desk, PeoplePerHour, and Freelancer.com. Besides the online method, you can also send out CVs to companies looking for business consultancy services.