How to start a consulting business

How to start a consulting business, step by step

1. 01

   Name the problem you solve

   Clients don't hire "a marketing consultant". They hire someone to fix a specific problem: a paid search account that stopped converting, a warehouse that ships late, a sales team without a process. Start with a problem you've fixed in a real job and can explain with numbers.

   Write one sentence: who you help, what you fix, and what changes for them. "I help Shopify brands doing $1 million to $5 million a year cut their return rate" gives a buyer a reason to reply. "Growth consulting" doesn't.

2. 02

   Package it as an offer

   Turn your expertise into two or three products a client can buy without a long sales call. A common shape is a short paid diagnostic, a fixed-scope project that implements the fix, and an ongoing advisory retainer for clients who want you around after.

   Each offer needs a scope, a deliverable, a timeline and a price. "A two-week audit of your fulfillment process, delivered as a written report and a 60-minute walkthrough" is easy to say yes to, because the buyer knows exactly what arrives and when.

3. 03

   Choose your pricing model

   Hourly billing is simple but caps your income and punishes you for working fast. Project fees reward speed and are easier for clients to budget. Retainers give you predictable monthly revenue in exchange for ongoing access. A common mix is a project fee for the main work and a retainer after it.

   For a reference point, the BLS reports a median of $48.97 an hour for employed management analysts. As an independent, your rate has to cover unbilled time, sales, insurance, taxes and benefits that an employer used to pay, so expect to charge well above it.

4. 04

   Write one proposal and contract

   Build a proposal template you can send within a day of a call: the problem in the client's words, your offer, the timeline, the price and the payment terms. Pair it with a contract that covers scope, who owns the deliverables, confidentiality, how changes get priced, and how either side can end the work.

   Bonsai's cheapest plan with proposals, contracts and invoices costs $25 a month, or $19 a month billed annually. A clear scope is what stops a fixed-price project from turning into unpaid extra work.

5. 05

   Register and insure against mistakes

   Get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and use your own business email. You can start as a sole proprietor and form an LLC when contracts get larger. Larger clients may ask for proof of professional liability insurance before they sign.

   Professional liability, also called errors and omissions, covers claims that your advice caused a client a loss. Insureon reports that consultants pay an average of $62 a month for it, with annual policies from around $400.

6. 06

   Publish proof and a booking link

   Your site needs your one-line positioning, your offers with starting prices, two or three short case studies with before-and-after numbers, an about page, testimonials, and a way to book a first call. Replo builds that site from a description of your practice and puts it live on your own domain.

   Replo doesn't schedule calls or send invoices. Embed a Calendly or Cal.com calendar for discovery calls. Replo checkout can sell a fixed-price strategy session or diagnostic in USD, so a buyer can pay before the first meeting.

7. 07

   Book first clients from your network

   Your first clients will most likely be people who've already seen your work. List 30 former colleagues, managers, vendors and clients. Send each a short personal note saying what you're doing now and the one problem you fix, and ask who they know who has it.

   Offer the paid diagnostic first. It's a small yes for the client, it pays you to learn their business, and it usually ends with a clear proposal for the bigger project.

What it costs to start a consulting business

What it costs to start consulting from home with a free calendar and annual software billing. Insurance is the biggest monthly line; skip paid software until you sign a client.

Your first 30 days

1. Week 1

   Pick the problem and offer

   • Write one sentence naming who you help and what you fix.
   • Define a paid diagnostic, a fixed project and a monthly retainer.
   • Set a price and a timeline for each of the three offers.
   • Get your EIN, a business email and a business bank account.

2. Week 2

   Paperwork and proof

   • Draft your proposal template and a contract with a clear scope.
   • Write two case studies with before-and-after numbers from past work.
   • Quote professional liability insurance and buy a policy.
   • Launch your site with offers, case studies and a booking link.

3. Week 3

   Tell your network

   • Send 30 personal notes to former colleagues, managers and vendors.
   • Book discovery calls from every reply within two days.
   • Send a proposal within one day of each call.

4. Week 4

   Sign and deliver

   • Sign your first diagnostic and collect payment before kickoff.
   • Deliver the diagnostic early with a proposal for the next project.
   • Ask for a testimonial and add it to your site.

Build your consulting site

Frequently asked questions

How much money do I need to start a consulting business?

Very little. A domain, a free EIN and free calendar tools cost about $11 to start. The real monthly costs are insurance and software, about $88 to $104 a month in our table, plus enough savings to cover the months before clients pay.

Will AI replace consultants?

Not the ones clients pay for judgment and accountability. The BLS projects employment of management analysts to grow 10 percent over its ten-year outlook, much faster than average. Use AI tools to research and draft faster, and sell the decisions and results.

Is 40 too old to get into consulting?

No. Consulting rewards experience, and someone with 15 or 20 years in an industry has more problems they've actually solved. Clients hire for proof that you've fixed their problem before, and that proof usually comes from a long career.

Is $100 an hour good for consulting?

It's a reasonable starting rate for many independents. The BLS median for employed management analysts is $48.97 an hour, and your rate must also cover unbilled time, insurance, taxes and benefits. You can also quote by the project, so clients compare outcomes, not hours.

Do I need an LLC to start consulting?

No. You can start as a sole proprietor with a free EIN from the IRS and form an LLC when contracts grow. An LLC separates business debts from your own, but it doesn't replace professional liability insurance for claims about your advice.