How to start a Consultancy Business in India?

• Posted on Mar 25, 2021
• |
• By Shrotriyo S

It isn’t uncommon for industry specialists to wish to start their own consultancy business. However,  not knowing how to start a consultancy business in India is common. The following are some steps you should take if you’re willing to start a consultancy business of your own.

Identifying field of consultancy

The primary task before setting up a consultancy business is to identify the field of consultancy. There are various fields in which an individual can be a consultant. 

Some of the fields include

Marketing

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Taxation & Auditing

Human Resources (HR)

Business

Insurance

Career consultant. 

Licensing & certification

To be in the consultancy business means you need to have immense knowledge & experience in a particular field. However, some fields need licenses as a prerequisite to operate. Based on profession, aspiring consultants need to have certification and licenses. These certifications will not only validate your business but also assure clients of quality and professionalism. As an example to be a legal consultant the candidate must be a licensed advocate with the state bar council. 

Identifying Target market 

Once the aforementioned steps have been taken, for a consultancy business successfully identifying its target market is most important. The target market can be a large scale business, mid or small capital business, NGOs. You must correctly assess your business and its relevance. For example if your field of expertise is business, accounting or human resources (HR) then you’re catering to large scale (capital) business. If fundraising is your field, you might consider working with non profit organisations or NGOs. For a consultancy business correctly identifying and marketing it in the target market is the key to success. 

Appropriate location and staffing 

When you’re  starting a business it is very important to correctly set up base in an appropriate location. In the primary stage of the business you might even choose to work from home. Furthermore, to be successful in the consultancy business you must staff wisely, start small and slowly hire more people with your operations growing. Your staff could mean the difference between success and failure with your clients. 

Highlighting Core Strengths 

Once you have successfully incorporated your consultancy business, the next logical next step is to market yourself to attract prospective clients. 

A consultant is primarily hired due to his/her expertise in a particular field. But, the consultant may be hired due to the following reasons as well :-

To identify problems 

To supplement existing staff 

To create a new business 

To train the workforce 

Ensure you have highlighted what you have to offer. Therefore, giving prospective clients a reason to hire you. Additionally, write client proposals to illustrate how you can serve and solve their issues. Highlighting core strengths correctly is directly proportional to your clientele.

Advertising, marketing & Online Presence

It is hard to imagine any  business being successful without advertisement. The present market condition demands each and every business to advertise their products and services, irrespective of their stature. Advertisement has changed a lot over the years.Local advertisement , word of mouth and Recommendations will not suffice. A parallel online presence is extremely important.

The primary tool for your consultancy business is the website. The website is your  primary marketing tool and an effective way to let prospective clients know the work you do. If your website is search engine optimised  then it can push huge traffic to your consultancy business. 

Lastly, building a presence on social media and inking your website to it is a simple yet effective way to let prospective clients reach your consultancy business.Furthermore, mark your store on google maps to make your consultancy business seem more professional. Marketing online is going to be the backbone of your business. 

Manage Income and Billing 

Once you have successfully set up your consultancy business, managing your income and billing is of utmost priority.

To set up your prices first, you must consider all your expenses correctly and only then set up your rate. However, your rates cannot be too high as that would drive away clients and it cannot be too low as running operations would need finance. The easiest way to set your rates is to find out what your competition is charging, a simple phone call, brochure or the website could give some insight on it. 

Once you have set up your rates, keep in mind your rates should be on the basis of the kind of work your services are rendered for. The rates fixed could be on:

Hourly basis

Project Basis 

Working on a retainer basis. 

This could be some of the ways you could set your rates when running a consultancy business. 

Conclusion 

Once all the aforementioned steps have been taken it can be assumed you have successfully  set up your own consultancy business. While setting up the business is only the primary stage, getting your business to grow is on you. Whether your consultancy business is online or office based, economical or expensive, you must have resourcer, experience and confidence to be successful. To be able to efficiently manage workflow and expectations is key to success in the consultancy business.

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• Posted on Mar 25, 2021
• |
• By Shrotriyo S
• |
• 0 Comments