Consultants work in virtually every industry, providing their clients with essential advice and guidance to improve their business or lives. While there is money to be made by choosing a broad consulting speciality, you could be overlooking a potentially lucrative niche market.
Providing consulting services within a niche market can set you apart from the competition. By focusing on a more specific area, you can market yourself as a true expert in your field. It can also help you find clients looking for the particular guidance or advice that you provide.
Here are five niche markets for consultants that you might consider working in.
1. Career Consultant
The changing job market means that career consultants may be in high demand in many areas. Workers are keen to find better paying employment or further their career. Career consultants can help them navigate these changes and stand out against the competition.
Though career consulting is its own area of expertise, you might consider going even more niche in the services you offer. The job market is currently made up of four generational groups—Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z—each with their own career needs. As a career consultant you could provide extra-personalized services to one or two groups. For example, Boomers may need help starting late-in-life second careers, while Gen Z might need guidance as they enter a quickly evolving job market.
2. Image or Style Consultant
We all want to look good. Whether it is for a job interview or just in our day-to-day lives, image and style consultants can help clients clean up and dress right.
Image and style consulting is another area where you could offer focused advice to specific groups. One market is business professionals looking to convey confidence and expertise through their wardrobe. Another niche market are clients needing help dressing a “new body.” This may come after a life changing event that changes how a person looks and feels, such as pregnancy or weight loss. An image or style consultant can help their clients better understand how to dress their new proportions in a way that helps them look and feel good.
3. Organization Consultant
Home organization is big business thanks to the popularity of shows like Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and Get Organized with The Home Edit. Clients may want a tidy and organized home like they see on TV, but don’t have the time to quickly achieve those results. Organization consultants can help them get there.
Organization consulting isn’t always about tidying people’s homes. You might also help them organize other areas of their home, like creating a family schedule to track where everyone needs to be each day. Organization consultants can also work with businesses by providing solutions that help improve efficiency.
4. Sustainability Consultant
Living and working in a way that is sustainable for the planet is becoming more important to clients. People are often looking for more ways to do this beyond recycling or adjusting the thermostat. Sustainability consultants can help clients find more ecologically sustainable ways of co-existing with nature.
Sustainability consultants are knowledgeable of the latest “green” trends and can help their clients incorporate them into their living or workspaces. One aspect of this may be identifying government incentives for going green and helping clients apply for them. This often takes the form of tax cuts for taking steps such as switching to solar power or buying electric vehicles.
5. Home Security Consultant
After spending more time at home during the global pandemic, many people are placing more importance on having a safe and secure home. Home security consultants can provide solutions for securing homes, such as security systems, automatic lights, and window locks.
Security consultants can also specialize their services even further by providing advice to those working from home. Clients running a business from their home may need extra security to protect their files, petty cash, or customer details. You might help meet small business needs by recommended wall or floor safes or helping them secure their home internet connection.
Protecting your consulting business
No matter what niche market you consult within, you should consider protecting your consulting business. Professional Liability insurance for consultants could help safeguard your finances and professional reputation against certain types of claims that may be made by unhappy clients.
Also known as Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance, a Professional Liability policy protects your business against claims of negligence, misrepresentations, or mistakes. Professional Liability claims are typically made by clients who allege some form of financial damage as a result of your services, products or employees.
BizInsure makes it easy to find Professional Liability for consultants. Receive quotes from multiple insurers in minutes, click to buy, and you’re done! We’ve simplified the process so you can quickly get back to what you do best—helping your consulting clients.
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