If you have the expertise that will be useful for others in their career or business, then you should consider consulting as a business venture. There are many consulting business ideas you can start now and make money from.
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Consulting is a profitable business for experts in every industry. It means getting money doing what you love to do or already doing. It is for those who have encountered many challenges, were able to solve them, and can pass on that knowledge to upcoming businesses in their field. Simply, consulting means turning professional knowledge into value-added services for clients.
There is no industry that you cannot grow to become an expert in. There are consulting opportunities in the health industry, fashion, engineering, accounting, education, etc. And, you can offer as many professional services as long as it is within your scope. Consulting offers job security, flexibility, diversity, and many more.
There are several opportunities in business consulting as long as you have the experience, skillset, research-based knowledge, and can implement new strategies. Going forward, we will explore these consulting business ideas. Fasten your seat belt and stay with me.
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Top Trending Consulting Business Ideas In Nigeria
An expert in the following field can offer consulting services to different business owners. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the different consulting business ideas you can explore.
Accounting Business Consulting
No business can successfully exist without accounting services. The job of an accounting consultant is to advise companies on all financial related matters.
Accounting consultants are leaders in the accounting field and can offer financial advice and solutions to businesses and individuals in the areas of bookkeeping, tax, etc. They specialise in compliance, auditing related services, internal control, etc.
If you are interested in this consulting business idea, you need a degree in accounting and must have attained a level in the professional cadre. Also, you need professional qualifications like Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA), etc. Then, you need an understanding of different accounting software which will help you expand your knowledge.
Leadership Consulting
Business leaders need to annex all possible skills to inspire their teams for optimum productivity. It is why businesses hire leadership consultants to train and motivate their teams.
Leadership consulting involves offering holistic services to help people develop leadership skills within their organisation so they can collectively achieve the set business goals. They coach executives and help them assess and refine the necessary skills they need to perform as leaders.
If you aim to be a leadership consultant, you must be able to help companies uncover their leadership challenges and opportunities using a number of tools. Afterward, you will suggest the best ways to address the outcome of the assessment.
Aside from having a degree in management, business, and psychology, etc., leadership consultants have strong verbal and written communication skills. Also, they possess vast experience in leadership, the ability to listen to others’ concerns, and strong motivational skills.
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Business Management Consulting
Many businesses understand the importance of involving a business consultant in their start-up and formation stage. So, they hire business managers who are vast in their field to guide them through the formative stage. This can involve guiding them on how to manage available resources and how to overcome different challenges involved in the business.
A business consultant does not only provide services to help businesses start, but they also serve as mentors to prospective entrepreneurs. They understand the challenges of starting a business and so use the knowledge to help start-ups succeed in trying times.
To be a business consultant, you need a background in business administration and a number of certifications in business consulting courses.
Career Counselling
Career counselling is one of the wide consulting business ideas that offers services to people of different backgrounds. It offers career advice, training, and mentorship. It involves using past experiences, evaluation tools, and knowledge to help clients find possible career choices.
Career consultants provide advice to clients on employment options, career change, and progression, training, work-life balance, etc. They ask questions about the client’s current situation, desired future, skill, talent, and advice based on the response. They may also administer a test, offer practical assistance and organise workshops, seminars, etc.
Career consultants often possess degrees in human resources, psychology, human relation, etc. They have good interpersonal skills, strong verbal and written communication skills, and unbiased sense of judgment, etc.
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Human Resources Consultant
HR consulting is one of the most profitable consulting business ideas that HR experts can do in Nigeria. Since humans are important to business growth, there is a need to properly manage them. These days, companies hire HR experts from outside to provide high-level solutions and make recommendations to the team.
HR consultants help businesses understand how to better deal with humans so as to have a better output. They deal in talent management and retirement, onboarding of employees, organisational structuring and culture, and can also transform the organisation.
If you wish for a consulting career in Human Resources, consider having a degree in human resources management or organisational leadership.
Educational Consulting
This is one of the lucrative consulting business ideas to venture into. They offer a wide range of services like; admission into school, promotional campaigns, school management consulting, premium staff training, educational techniques, and technologies, education print production services, parents’ and students’ connections to affordable schools.
Educational consultants are trusted individuals that give advice to students on the best universities to attend, the best course to apply for, and then facilitate quick admission. They partner with international schools and agree on sourcing qualified candidates who can apply for admission while they receive a commission for a successful enrollment. Also, they can consult for governmental bodies or individuals who wish to open educational institutions.
They are people who have built a high profile in the educational sector, served as school administrators, and have succeeded in their task. If you want to be an educational consultant, you must have a degree in education.
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Nutrition And Exercise
This is a consulting business idea fit for nutritionists, dieticians, professional fitness coaches, or those in the fitness industry. It involves advising people on the right food and the right exercise to stay healthy and happy.
Offering goal-based nutrition planning services for optimal health, sports performance, muscle building, fat burning, etc are the activities you will find in this field. A consultant in this field can offer one-on-one counselling session with clients, patients, or groups of people.
Want to know the most lucrative business ideas you can start now? Get 35 Booming Business Ideas And Step-by-step Guides To Start Them; A Strategic and Financial Breakdown of the Most Lucrative Businesses in Nigeria.
Agricultural Consulting
Today, this is one of the most profitable consulting business ideas to venture into because farmers face different challenges daily. Agricultural consultants proffer solutions to agricultural challenges and suggest ways to help farmers boost their output. They may also provide advice on how to get financial support, make more sales, etc.
Aside from having an educational qualification in agriculture, if you are a layman with experience in agriculture, starting a consulting business while you also run your farms is a good way to generate more revenue.
People with the following degrees; Animal Science, Agric Economics and Extension, Horticulture, Crop, and Plant Science, etc. can serve as an agric expert.
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Safety Consulting
This is one of the consulting business ideas in high demand in Nigeria. It involves advising companies, individuals, hotels, schools, etc on the right safety measures.
They may also provide training on health and safety, review safety manuals, analyse incidents, monitor construction projects, etc. A safety consultant should have a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or relevant certifications.
IT Consulting
Information and technology is a growing industry with a promising future. With IT, there is no limit to who you can connect with in the world. Similarly, its impact on this modern-day cannot be overemphasized. IT consulting involves advising companies on how to use IT tools to their advantage. They specialise in delivering technology solutions to meet clients’ needs.
If you’re knowledgeable in any of the following IT fields; networking, programming, web and application development, user interface design, SEO, database handling, then you can consult for companies.
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Marketing Consulting
The importance of marketing in business cannot be overemphasized. In order to get the steps right, companies hire the services of marketing consultants to use their knowledge and experience in the field to bring more customers to the business.
Marketing consultants work with companies to create and implement marketing strategies. They evaluate the current marketing efforts, analyse and suggest ways to improve it. They carve marketing messages and suggest how to get it to the target audience using online and offline channels.
If you have the relevant certification with a proven record of how your marketing prowess has impacted businesses, this is for you. As a marketing consultant, you will be saddled with the responsibility of coming up with practicable ideas on how to drive traffic and increase patronage to a business.
Legal Consultant
This business consulting idea is for lawyers. It involves providing advice to clients on legal matters and offering legal solutions based on the constitution binding the practice. For instance, you can advise on tax-related matters, business registration, corporate matters, family matters, properties, etc.
Other prominent consulting business ideas include;
- Fund-raising Consulting
- Editorial Consulting
- Writing Professional
- Public Relations Consulting
- Engineering Consulting
- Advertising Consulting
- Event Planning Consulting
- Fashion Consulting
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Step By Step Plan On How To Start The Consulting Business Ideas
Knowing the right consulting business idea to venture into is one thing, understanding how to commercialise the skill is another. We are going to look at how you can turn each of these consulting business ideas into a business.
Step 1: Pick A Niche And Plan
Your experience and expertise should inform your choice of the right consulting business. This should be an area where you have the skill, knowledge, and passion to help upcoming businesses grow.
Therefore, in selecting a niche, consider the kind of businesses you want to consult for. Are you planning to consult for only start-ups? Do you want to offer all kinds of consulting services or tailor to specific industries? It is important that you specialise your services and differentiate yourself from other consultants.
Then, write a business plan. A business plan will serve as a roadmap to what you want to achieve, how and when? It should outline your goals, objectives, and the entire framework of the idea.
A viable business plan should have these information;
- Executive summary
- Company description
- SWOT analysis
- Market research
- Market strategy
- Organisational structure
- Product
- Pricing
- Financial plan
- Appendix
Step 2: Register Your Company
To be seen as an authority in the industry, it is important to register your business outfit with the Cooperate Affairs Commission, an agency responsible for business registration in Nigeria.
In case you find the registration uneasy, hire the services of an experienced business consulting firm like ReDahlia. ReDahlia is located at 43B Emina Crescent off Toyin Street, Ikeja Lagos. They can be reached at contact@redahlia.com. They make the process seamless.
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Step 3: Set Up An Office
A consulting business can start from home and expand into a full-staff office as time goes on. While you do your business from home, you can always step out to meet your clients in their offices or other serene locations. Besides, you can also try working in co-working spaces to reduce the cost of setting up an office.
However, whatever location you are choosing, ensure it is strategic and easily accessible to your target market.
Some of the items you need as a consultant include; computer, printer, telephone, furniture, stationeries, internet, etc.
Step 4: Hire Employees
Although you may start a consulting business on your own, as the business expands, you will need to hire an assistant or co-consultants. This will make your work easy and possibly boost your services. You can have a client service manager who answers phone calls, responds to emails, receives visitors, schedule meeting, and keeps day-to-day records.
Also, consider hiring a marketing manager to get more clients and close more business deals. This can happen in a case where you are not very good at sales.
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Step 5: Brand Your Consulting Business And Build An Online Presence
Consulting business is synonymous with branding. If you do not present yourself as an expert in your field, you might not be patronised. Branding requires you to build a profile that makes people want to do business with you. It involves having a unique logo, brand message, business card, flyers, and brochures that communicates what you do and who you represent.
It requires having a website that is simple to navigate, and beautiful to behold. Your website should include your contact address and showcase your previous achievements. It should contain the logo and the testimonies of clients who have hired your services in the past. It should also show your upcoming events and a summary of what those who want to hire you should expect.
In addition, create social media pages. The importance of social media in growing a business cannot be overemphasized. Social media can be used to drive traffic to your website and business. To get more out of social media, you have to have a plan and ensure that your content is tailored to your audience.
Step 6: Market Your Consulting Business Ideas
There is no consulting business if you do not have customers. So, you need to have a marketing strategy in place to expose your business to the right clients. If you do not know how to advertise, you can employ the services of marketing experts and allow them to do their job.
To get customers, you can create a database of potential clients and reach out to them. You can target companies that you have noticed a loophole in what they are doing and feel you can offer them more value. Tell them the services you offer and why doing business with you will improve their business.
Also, advertise on social media, print, and digital media platforms. For instance, create videos, animations, or text content and promote across all social media platforms targeting the right audience.
Also, speak about your business offering in events and places where you have your target audience. Then ask for referrals from friends and families.
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Important Tips To Succeed In Consulting Business
Now you know about the different consulting business ideas you can start and how to start them. You need qualities like excellence, hard work, consistency, patience, being result-oriented, and goal-driven to succeed. Aside from these qualities, the following tips will help you succeed;
Belong To A Professional Body
You can get more business opportunities and let people see you as an authority by belonging to a professional body that is in line with your field. This requires joining a related institute, and actively participating in its advancement. This way, you can improve your profile and stay up-to-date on relative trends.
If you are an accountant, consider joining the institute of Management Accountant, Institute of Financial Accountants, etc.
Networking
Networking is never an option for a consultant. It is highly critical to the success of all of the consulting business ideas that we mentioned. You need to develop a relationship with companies, high net-worth individuals, or small businesses and potential entrepreneurs. You can also build a relationship with other experts in your field and leverage their knowledge. Your network can refer you and vice versa.
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Price Right
In a consulting business, your charges should not be too high neither should it be too low. Rather, it should be competitive. If you are finding it difficult to charge, make a research on what others in your field are charging. Ask questions and find out any likely variations.
Have Other Sources Of Income
If you are building your consulting career, it may take some time before you build your authority. At those early stages, you may not have clients constantly. So you have to have other means of income that will also help you build your expertise in your field. Consider organising monthly webinars, writing books, developing online courses, etc.
These types of activities will ensure that you have revenue coming in on a regular while building your authority in the industry.
When you are not consulting, do well to reinvest your time into personal and business development. This is because the industry is constantly changing. What was obtainable about 5 years ago may not be relevant today. And as a consultant, you must stay abreast so that customers will trust your judgment and believe in what you are offering.
In conclusion, building a brand as a consultant demands patience because success does not happen overnight. You can’t just announce your business consulting service today and expect to get thousands of clients the next day. You need to distinguish yourself by offering excellent services, staying consistent, working hard, and smart. With time, clients will trust you and refer you too.
Want to know the most lucrative business ideas you can start now? Get 35 Booming Business Ideas And Step-by-step Guides To Start Them; A Strategic and Financial Breakdown of the Most Lucrative Businesses in Nigeria.
We will put your business in the spotlight and tell your story in a way that resonates with your customers. Contact us today to make your brand the preferred choice for our audience of entrepreneurs and business leaders.
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