Imagine having 20 -30 regular clients that pay you what you may be getting now as a wage or even better. There are no systems or courses but just some enduring advice that has helped me establish my first business which paid for me to have a year of travel. Here are some very practical tips on how you may start your consulting business by using teaching:
Identify your unique skills and knowledge that can be shared, it may be that you are a bookkeeper with expertise in accounting software for medical centres. These unique skills could come from your job, a hobby, study that you have done, or just something that you are good at. Focus on the ability to share your knowledge.
Look at existing courses being offered by private, community colleges and other educational institutions or offered online. Examine the content, popularity and reviews of each course...and the cost. From understanding this you may be able to figure out your angle. It may be that there are lots of courses offered on software but there are ones missing or could be more focused on a target market.
Think about your value proposition, your target market, and how you could deliver your course - online or in-person. For example, it may be that you are a flight attendant who creates an online course on customer service with the target market being business and your value proposition being that you have 10+ years of customer services and have tips and tricks that could result in top reviews. See what other people are doing in this area and refine your value proposition using theirs.
Develop your courseware and keep them to short bite-sized chunks that have people wanting to come back for more and have a review at the end of each session. A computer and smartphone is all that you need to get started to create your content if you are creating online content - there are some great courses on udemy.com or youtube.com that show you how to create online content.
See how you can use other people's platforms or venues to conduct your course. Again udemy.com may be a great place to start and put your course up. For in-person courses, community colleges are great as they offer a wide range of opportunities. The best thing here is that you get paid to teach in some cases.
Deliver more than the participants expect but also call this out. For example, if you are teaching excel then add in a bonus chapter or session that people find value but didn't expect.
Develop Goldilocks pricing - not too expensive not too cheap. Look at the pricing of other courses and the reviews that they have. In some cases, you won't be able to control the pricing - especially if you are working under an educational institution.
What is your hook? So people have done the course and in some cases may need help in implementing what they have learned. In my first consulting business I was teaching business planning and as a result, after the course, the participants would want assistance with creating their own customised business plan. Ultimately then the business plan would present an opportunity to sell other services. Some hooks maybe a free follow up session, checklists or a sample. Have a time limit on the hook though so there is some urgency in taking you up on that.
What we haven't covered here are some of the details of setting up your business, legalities and other things you need to do before you set up a business. You should consult financial/legal professionals before setting up any business - your accountant and lawyer are also a great place to start.
Any questions on how you can turn teaching into profit and fun contact me on the website. Happy teaching.
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