Set the Right Marketing
However, this is usually not enough. Anyone who has ever run a business knows that it can be a risk to put all your eggs in one basket. What if your only client ends up needing your consulting hours? Make sure to have multiple customers! Make sure to market, at least with your own search engine optimized website and your own social channels. Make sure to be visible when your customers start searching. It is an advantage to have thought out how and what you will charge when the first customer knocks on the door. We can guarantee that the question how much does it cost is one of the first they will ask.
The first thing you should think about when it comes to prices is whether you should offer an hourly price or fixed pricing. The advantage of hourly pricing is that many customers are used to it and in many cases it can be easier to agree on. However, we recommend that you try to think of a fixed price in any case, as many consulting assignments are difficult to clock. At the same time, it can get so weird that as you get faster and faster at what you do, you earn less and less because you do the same job in fewer hours.
With a fixed price, you can also more easily agree on an assignment with your customer. You can even set a fixed price tag of the consulting agreement for the specific assignment. Don’t get us wrong! You should of course think about how long the task in question will take for you. But you do this calculation mostly for your own sake, so that you can calculate the right fixed price, for the right assignment, for the right customer, with the right margins.
Once you have recruited your client, it is important that you sign a consultancy agreement before you start working. You can see the consultancy agreement somewhat like an employment agreement; an agreement that specifies that a party undertakes to perform certain services for a client. Various details are also specified here, which may include information on price, length and scope of the assignment as well as various clauses.
Every company is required to book and report according to law, and consulting businesses are no exception. For a consulting firm, it is also critical that you keep track of your various projects and the time you spend on each, as this is the heart of the business model. If you tie together a complete business system consisting of time and project tools and an invoicing and accounting program, you can automate much of this job. Then you don’t have to spend precious time on administration and instead spend it on time you can charge!
