Although I started my online business as a freelance writer, I now do a lot of coaching, training and consulting as a part of my business. In fact, the ability to add consulting services to my freelance business seemed like a completely natural progression as my online presence grew. People just started asking me if I could coach them, and I happily obliged.
The truth is that once you’ve been running a business for a while and start seeing some success, people are going to naturally start asking for your advice. Rather than letting them pick your brain for free, use it as an opportunity to add consulting services to your business.
The Advantages of Adding Consulting Services to Your Freelance Business
The option to add consulting services to your freelance business comes with several advantages. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- You create a multiple streams of income.
- Since consulting requires a lot of your time and expertise, you can charge a premium price for it.
- You never run out of content ideas because your clients are always inspiring you.
- It’s almost like getting paid to do market research because you’re in constant conversation with your clients. They tell you what they need and you can use the information to deliver products and services.
How to Add Consulting Services to Your Business
Once I’ve explained the advantages of adding consulting services to a freelance business, the next logical question I receive is “Okay that’s cool, but how do we do this?”
People tend to overcomplicate this. They think they need a coaching certification (I have one but I don’t think it’s entirely necessary if you have experience), a perfectly planned out syllabus, and like they need to be the epitome of a perfect business owner.
In reality, the only way to add consulting services to your business is to just do it. For example, did someone ask to pick your brain? Respond by saying you offer consulting packages at X rate. There, you’ve just added consulting services to your freelance business.
Is it really that simple? Yes! If people are already asking you for your advice anyway, all you need to do is stop giving it out for free.
There are also several other ways you can offer consulting services in your business. Having consulting sessions on the phone isn’t the only way to do it, it’s just the fastest. Here are some of the other ways you can add consulting services to your freelance business:
- Create webinars where you teach something related to your area of expertise. You can charge for the class or teach free webinars to build your list.
- Teach workshops in person. I have a coaching client who loves to do this so that’s what they focus on.
- Write books you can sell on Amazon for passive income.
- Create on-demand classes you can sell over and over again.
- Create a group coaching curriculum where you teach a small group.
Many of the ideas mentioned above don’t just help you add consulting to your business, they also help you scale. That’s just another reason why adding consulting services to your freelance business may be a good idea.
