Noah Leyva is no stranger to the business world. With a BS in Business Administration and years of experience as a senior independent business consultant, his expertise has never failed to help his many clients achieve their goals. But what makes a successful business consultant? What’s is the drive behind a professional who is result-driven and passionate, one who aims to satisfy his or her clients and work towards a better overall understanding in his/her field of work?
There are dozens of business consulting fields in which one can get involved. According to Entrepreneur, some of the top business consulting fields include Accounting, Business writing, Career consulting, Insurance, Marketing, Computer consulting, Public Relations and many more.
Are you good at developing strategies and specializing?
Mr. Leyva notes that in order to become a successful business consultant, you need to have personal drive to take calculated risks. You have to be self-driven because a lot of the work you do will result from the person strategies you’ve created yourself. These are the strategies that will bring you success because they will stand you above and apart from the crowd.
Specializing in your field will bring you more accomplishment than practicing generally. Clients can be better targeted and it’s easier to become a respected expert in your field if you have a preferred niche within which you practice.
Expose your expertise
Write a book and get it published. An e-book will suffice, but you have to be willing to work at publicizing it yourself. Make use the tools at your finger tips – blogging and social media are great ways of getting people to notice you and what you do. A successful blog will not only underline your talents, it will also bring you clients if targeted properly.
Identify your obstacles
It’s difficult to be a successful business consultant if you are unaware of the obstacles standing in your way. If you’re aware of your enemy it’s easier to overcome it. It takes knowledge, qualification and substance to become a business consultant, but as Noah Leyva points out, it also requires integrity, decency, an interest in the world around you and a genuine yearning to satisfy the people who come to you for help. All these factors can help you identify the obstacles which may stop you from moving forward.
Know your market intimately. Also be aware of your competition and the avenues they’re making use of to advance in the business.
Don’t be ignorant of finances
Work out how much you’ll have to earn per hour (minus overhead expenses, taxes etc) to make it worth your while before you quit your job to start your business. Be responsible with what you’re charging your clients because fairness will get you a long way in the business.
However, don’t set your charges too low because you want to compete with other consultants. Clients will expect to pay a fair price for your services (especially if you’re seen as an expert), however, they will not be happy about being overcharged either.
Noah Leyva understands the importance of networking in business consulting
Don’t be afraid to use the contacts you made along the way. If you’ve served well in your organization, chances are clients may follow you or recommend you to others they know who’re in need of your services. There are several other ways you can build a contact list apart from blogging and writing.
· Advertize your services as a speaker and hand out business cards and tip sheets.
· It’s important for every business to have thriving social media accounts. If you can’t manage these yourself, budget to hire people who can set up and maintain a Facebook page, and LinedIn and Twitter accounts.
· Donate your book to libraries, universities or business bodies where potential clients can be made aware of your expertise and work.
· Don’t disregard the importance of good references. Your alumni can help, but so can friends and people for whom you’ve worked in the past. You can put these references in your book, on your blog and on your social media pages. Potential clients like to know what others think of the service before they take the plunge.
· Attend conferences. They may seem like a waste of your time and take you away from growing your business but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Noah Leyva confirms that conferences can establish your authority, sharpen your business and networking skills, and enable you to meet other like-minded individuals.
There are dozens of business consulting fields in which one can get involved. According to Entrepreneur, some of the top business consulting fields include Accounting, Business writing, Career consulting, Insurance, Marketing, Computer consulting, Public Relations and many more.
Are you good at developing strategies and specializing?
Mr. Leyva notes that in order to become a successful business consultant, you need to have personal drive to take calculated risks. You have to be self-driven because a lot of the work you do will result from the person strategies you’ve created yourself. These are the strategies that will bring you success because they will stand you above and apart from the crowd.
Specializing in your field will bring you more accomplishment than practicing generally. Clients can be better targeted and it’s easier to become a respected expert in your field if you have a preferred niche within which you practice.
Expose your expertise
Write a book and get it published. An e-book will suffice, but you have to be willing to work at publicizing it yourself. Make use the tools at your finger tips – blogging and social media are great ways of getting people to notice you and what you do. A successful blog will not only underline your talents, it will also bring you clients if targeted properly.
Identify your obstacles
It’s difficult to be a successful business consultant if you are unaware of the obstacles standing in your way. If you’re aware of your enemy it’s easier to overcome it. It takes knowledge, qualification and substance to become a business consultant, but as Noah Leyva points out, it also requires integrity, decency, an interest in the world around you and a genuine yearning to satisfy the people who come to you for help. All these factors can help you identify the obstacles which may stop you from moving forward.
Know your market intimately. Also be aware of your competition and the avenues they’re making use of to advance in the business.
Don’t be ignorant of finances
Work out how much you’ll have to earn per hour (minus overhead expenses, taxes etc) to make it worth your while before you quit your job to start your business. Be responsible with what you’re charging your clients because fairness will get you a long way in the business.
However, don’t set your charges too low because you want to compete with other consultants. Clients will expect to pay a fair price for your services (especially if you’re seen as an expert), however, they will not be happy about being overcharged either.
Noah Leyva understands the importance of networking in business consulting
Don’t be afraid to use the contacts you made along the way. If you’ve served well in your organization, chances are clients may follow you or recommend you to others they know who’re in need of your services. There are several other ways you can build a contact list apart from blogging and writing.
· Advertize your services as a speaker and hand out business cards and tip sheets.
· It’s important for every business to have thriving social media accounts. If you can’t manage these yourself, budget to hire people who can set up and maintain a Facebook page, and LinedIn and Twitter accounts.
· Donate your book to libraries, universities or business bodies where potential clients can be made aware of your expertise and work.
· Don’t disregard the importance of good references. Your alumni can help, but so can friends and people for whom you’ve worked in the past. You can put these references in your book, on your blog and on your social media pages. Potential clients like to know what others think of the service before they take the plunge.
· Attend conferences. They may seem like a waste of your time and take you away from growing your business but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Noah Leyva confirms that conferences can establish your authority, sharpen your business and networking skills, and enable you to meet other like-minded individuals.