How to Start Your Remote Consulting Business
If you’re looking to start a remote consulting business, it’s the perfect time to do it. These days, everyone is online, with many startup teams being completely remote and bloggers being more numerous than ever. Entrepreneurs are making money from drop-shipping, and even startup leaders like Brian Magierski are upping their social media presence online, writing for platforms like Medium. So if you’re ready to take your expertise and start your own remote consulting business, you’re in good company.
There are some great strategies you’ll want to use so that you get enough clients and get your new business off the ground. So if you’re ready to learn about them, read on.
Connect with your contacts
The first thing you’ll want to do is spread the word that you’re starting a remote consulting business.
For example, if you’re a good lawyer, you’ve got some clients who have worked with you already. And partners, too, from all the projects you’ve done with other offices, whom you can consider hiring if you choose to run a consulting business with a whole team. So email everyone, and let them know that you’re starting a new company of your own. Offer old clients discounted rates or percentage off service if they refer a friend to you.
Additionally, remember to use LinkedIn to make contacts throughout your industry. Now that you’re based online, you can work with anyone, anywhere, and because this platform had 660 million users as of now, it’s a great way to get started. Don’t forget to buff up your personal and business profiles, too. You’ll also want to set up accounts on popular social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. This will help you find customers all over the world.
Create an awesome website
If you’re creating an online business these days, then an important factor is your place of business. In this case, your place of business is your professional website. Even if you’ve already got a great LinkedIn profile and clients you connect with over email, it’s time to step up your game and create a professional website.
Here you’ll want to include some information about yourself, a summary of your experience (or a portfolio, depending on what kind of consulting you’re doing), information about your rates and services, and a blog (which we’ll get to in the next section).
Additionally, your website needs to be beautiful. Luckily, site builders such as Wix and Weebly already provide templates you can easily personalize, which means you won’t have to hire a designer. Do remember to invest in a domain name; anything else will look unprofessional.
Finally, don’t forget to make your website mobile-friendly. These days, we’re spending six hours a day on our mobile devices, so it’s likely your customers will come across your website on their tiny phone screen instead of on a computer.
Start blogging
One of the best ways to get new customers interested in your services is by blogging. That’s why there should be a blogging portion of your site, where you offer simple solutions to problems they come across in your industry every day.
For example, if you’re running an accounting consulting business, you can write articles like “How to Get Your Taxes Ready as a Freelancer” and “5 Tips for Filing Your Taxes Fast.” If you aren’t sure where to start, take a look at what your competitors are blogging about in your field.
Additionally, researching your customers and understanding them is hugely important. This will help your blog posts show up at the top of search results anytime someone Googles the information you’re providing; the fancy term for this is Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which you’ve surely heard about. Knowing how old most of your customers are, what their jobs are, what their ages are, and other details will help you choose what keywords to include in your blog posts.
You’ll also know how long to make your articles, and whether they should be shared on LinkedIn or Instagram. In short, you’ll be needed to create a buyer’s persona. By using these action plans, you’ll soon be up & running a great remote consulting business.