Starting a Consulting Business

If you're recently unemployed, don't despair, you can earn money fast as a consultant.  Not sure if you have what it takes to be a consultant? Then read on and I will show you that you do have what it takes.

Some of you may remember me saying that I spend a great deal of my time offline as a consultant. That, of course is a very broad statement, especially for those of you that don't know what exactly a consultant is.

Basically, a consultant is an individual that provides solutions to specific problems that arise for their clients. A consultant uses accumulated experience and expertise in a certain field to deliver reasonable and efficient recommendations and solutions to help save money and further the success of his clients business needs.

I call myself a Permit Consultant. I'm in the business of procuring any necessary permits that my clients need. In one segment of my business, I work with Architects, Engineers, Designers, General Contractors, Realtors and Home Owners. My expertise, experience and network of contacts allows me to streamline the complex bureaucracy and often problematic stage of procuring permits. In another segment, I work with Party Planners, Special Event Organizers and Film Producers to achieve their permitting goals.

I find it a very rewarding career. Monetarily, I have seen five figure DAYS, though I have also had my share of weeks without any compensation. I meet tons of people and am very much a people person. You have to be in order to be this type of consultant. I don't have to answer to a boss but I do have to answer to my clients. Every dollar I make goes into my bank account and not to someone else.

The best thing about being a consultant is that even though we are in a down economy, the gears of business still have to turn and business are more likely to turn to an outside consultant rather than hire a staff member to do a service that will only take a short period of time.

The way to find your niche in consulting is to do a self assessment. Write down all of your skills and training. Just as you would if you were making a new resume. Write down all your hobbies too. This is the most important part because the old adage is true "do what you love and you will love what you do."

Even if all you love to do is sit in front of the computer and surf all day long you have probably picked up enough skills to teach someone else how to do just the same. Just imagine how many people are in your local area that don't get online ever just because they are intimidated by it. My own mother would not get online because she had no idea where to begin. So, my 14 year old nephew taught her, step by step, how to get online, search for information, find entertainment and just about anything else she wants to learn. He then went on to some neighbors and friends of his grandmother and did the same thing. He wasn't going to accept money but his new "clients" insisted. Now he gets paid $5 for a half hours worth of training. It's enough to keep his Xbox Live subscription and a full supply of his favorite energy drinks and junk food.

Here are some more suggestions:

• Event Consulting (Parties, Weddings, Tours, Sight Seeing, Golf Tournaments)
• Arts and Crafting (Hold classes to teach your craft to others; My mom has been disabled for the past 25 years and could not work. She is an expert at crochet and we set her up at the local rec center where she teaches a small weekly class on the art of crocheting, she couldn't be happier)
• Writing ( Web sites like guru.com and elance.com are fantastic sources for generating money from what you already know how to do, write. There are hundreds of thousands of opportunities for writers of online content)
• Editing (On the flipside of writing, there are just as many individuals that need editing services. Article writers, ebook writers, off line writers and even college students are in need of good editors.)
• Off Line SEO (This is one of the most lucrative fields to come around in years. I have started doing this for clients as a side venture on my slow days but it's become a very healthy source of income. One that may even match my Permit Cosulting income. Read more below)

The fact is, the Yellow Pages are pretty much dead. Ask yourself, how often do you look up a business in the yellow pages compared to how often you look them up online. 10 to 1 you look online first now, like most people with internet connections do. Off line SEO is all about finding local businesses and helping them get the exposure they are missing out on.

As an off line consultant, you would approach small business owners, such as doctor offices, hair salons, auto shops, etc... and convince them that by providing an online presence for them, they will beat out all their competition and drive more local business to them. Why is it important to be online as a small business that does no business online?

1. The Yellow Pages are no longer an effective method of advertising
2. The higher you rank in Google, the more profitable your business can be
3. Google loves local businesses because it is run on by advertising and the more local a site can be the more advertising revenue Google can generate.

Like I mentioned earlier, I do this on the side but in the few short weeks that I have been employing this service for off line businesses, I have generated a healthy little income and I haven't even left my own neighborhood yet!  Plus, I've even been able to upsell this service to a couple of my current clients.