More people are embracing the “work from home” lifestyle and starting their own businesses to help create an even better work-life balance. Consulting is one occupation that’s in-demand that you can easily do from the comforts of your own home.
Small businesses in many often hire freelance consultants to work on different projects, rather than putting payroll towards a full-time employee. Individuals also seek out consultants to help them with professional or personal projects. Regardless of what types of clients you work with, a consulting business could be a fulfilling and profitable career.
Let’s take a closer look at seven consulting business ideas that you can run from your home.
1. Career Consultant
Economic downturns lead many people to seek out the services that a career consultant provides. The job market doesn’t need to be tough for workers to want your help, however. People looking to start a career in a new industry or seek better employment may also benefit from career consulting.
Career consultants help people stand out from the crowd during their job search. You may assist them with rewriting their resume, crafting a great LinkedIn profile, prepping for interviews, and anything else that goes into finding a new job. You will need to be on top of hiring trends and the local job market, perhaps specializing in a particular industry or type of position.
2. Marketing Consultant
Marketing is a broad area that potentially allows you to reach many clients. Small businesses may seek you out to help grow brand awareness and attract new customers. Your services might be especially important for small start-ups or businesses that need to rebrand.
A marketing consultant may work across several areas, or you might specialize in a specific area of marketing. This might include website building, SEO, content creation, email marketing, or advertising.
3. Social Media Consultant
Though a part of marketing, social media is becoming so important that small businesses might hire a separate consultant to help manage their accounts. You could also offer your services to individuals looking to spruce up their professional accounts.
As a social media consultant, you can help with all aspects of building an online presence. This could range from deciding which platforms to focus on and building out the actual accounts to creating a social media calendar and managing paid ads.
4. PR Consultant
Public relations (PR) consultants help businesses or individuals improve their public perception. A PR consultant might be hired by a company looking to rebrand, reach new customers, or protect their business during a crisis.
PR consultants use different tools to help build goodwill for their clients. They may write press releases, work with influencers and the media, or organize public events and sponsorships. Having connections at local TV stations, newspapers, and other publications could make your job as a PR consultant easier.
5. Financial Consultant
A big part of any business is maximizing the bottom line. New and more established company’s often hire financial consultants to provide an objective view of their financial statements.
Financial consultants help businesses identify savings opportunities and improve their profits. You might be asked to review all parts of a business’ books, from payroll to purchasing. The work you do could help small businesses weather a tough year or free up money to invest in other areas of the business.
6. IT Consultant
Just about every business in operation today uses computers. Email, websites, cloud storage, and processing e-payments are all becoming the norm. Small business may hire an IT consultant to help them manage all this and more.
IT consultants often help small businesses improve productivity through software and tech solutions. You could do anything from installing computer and phone systems to helping move data over to a new system.
7. Legal Consultant
Small business owners often take on many roles to get their business off the ground. However, legal matters are an area where they may need professional assistance. Accidentally running afoul of the law can get businesses into big trouble, and legal consultants may be able to prevent this.
Legal consultants can help small businesses with several important tasks that can have legal consequences. You might be hired to write or review contracts, review advertising or other customer-facing content for legal issues or help assess a business for liability issues.
Protecting your consulting business
Turning your skills and knowledge into a consulting business can be a great way to work from home, and for yourself. Regardless of what area you focus on, Professional Liability insurance for consultants could help protect your consulting business.
Professional Liability insurance (also known as Errors & Omissions or E&O insurance) can protect professional service providers from potentially devastating financial damages resulting from alleged negligence or error in the delivery of your services. This type of policy can help shield your business finances against potentially damaging lawsuits that could drain your bank accounts.
BizInsure can help you find Professional Liability for consultants in almost any industry or specialty.
