Consulting occupies a leading position in the market of providing services for business.

For entrepreneurs who are interested in how to open a consulting firm from scratch, and how profitable this field of activity is, a detailed business plan is drawn up with a profitability calculation.

What is consulting?

Consulting is the provision of consulting services to firms, enterprises, individuals on business development. The consulting agency employs specialists in analysis, finance, marketing, management, personnel, and IT technologies.

The organization can hire a permanent consultant on issues of interest. Then it will be internal consulting.

External consulting is the conclusion of a service contract with a consulting firm. Most requested consulting services:

1. Business process analysis and performance evaluation.
2. Suggestions for improvement.
3. Training and selection of personnel.
4. Activity audit.
5. Credit advice.
6. Development of tactics and strategy.
7. Assessment of activity risks.
8. Registration, certification, licensing.

Advice on organizing and conducting business activities is required for representatives of both small and large businesses. Therefore, the consumer audience of consulting agencies is huge:

• trade enterprises;
• light industry;
• heavy industry;
• building sector;
• financial sector;
• energy;
• mining and processing enterprises;
• the field of telecommunications.

There are main types of consulting:

1. Financial.
2. Managerial.
3. For tax matters.
4. In the field of design work and medicine.

The work of the agency is usually organized according to the principle of sending specialists to the enterprise with which the contract is concluded. Consultants collect information, delve into the business processes of a particular organization, then to draw conclusions and provide recommendations to increase productivity and profitability.

Business plan

Before you open a consulting firm, you need to draw up detailed instructions for launching a project, calculate the amount of initial investment, plan expenses and income.

• business registration;
• office location;
• equipment;
• staff;
• advertising;
• financial calculations.

One of the areas of consulting activity is assistance in starting a business for novice entrepreneurs, which includes the development of a business plan and assistance in its implementation.

Download for free as a sample.

registration

Experts recommend opening a consulting company in the form of an LLC. A legal entity inspires more confidence in clients than an individual entrepreneur, and reputation is the basis for successful business in the consulting business. Another argument in favor of an LLC is that the legislation for individual entrepreneurs provides for restrictions on the number of employees, taxation and types of activities.

It is more difficult to register an organization than an individual, you need to collect a package of documents:

1. Charter.
2. Memorandum of association.
3. Establishment decision or protocol.
4. Confirmation of payment of the state registration fee.
5. Certificate of legal address.
6. Statement.

The statutory documents contain the name of the company, its choice must be approached with all responsibility - this is not as easy as it seems. Firstly, given the huge number of already operating enterprises, it is difficult to choose a unique name. Secondly, the name should correspond to the direction of the agency, be not too long and easy to remember.

Legal entities operate by bank transfer, so you need to open a current account in a reputable bank with more than a five-year history of existence, which will also positively affect the reputation.

Starting a consulting business does not require special permissions and licenses. You need to register with the tax office and choose the optimal taxation system.

room

You can open a consulting firm without an office space. In conditions of shortage of funds, the best solution would be to organize work over the phone and on the territory of the customer.

If you immediately put the business on a high level, then a spacious office in the business district of the city will give additional weight to the company in the eyes of wealthy clients. When concluding an agreement with the landlord, it is necessary to stipulate the possibility of redevelopment of the premises. Each employee will need to allocate a separate office, as well as organize a large meeting room and receive visitors.

A reputable company will always offer drinks and snacks to its customers, so it is necessary to provide an area for storing kitchen utensils and making tea.

The premises in the office center are most likely already prepared for work and equipped with electricity, heat supply, water supply and sewerage. It is enough to make cosmetic repairs in a strict business style, bring in furniture and appliances.

Equipment

The main criteria for choosing office furniture are practicality and comfort. Since the work in a consulting agency is mostly sedentary, it is better to take care of clients and employees, purchase comfortable chairs and armchairs.

The list of necessary furniture, equipment and materials includes:

• computer tables;
• large table in the common room;
• cabinets and racks for documentation;
• computers;
• office equipment;
• means of communication;
• blinds;
• lighting;
• Electric kettle;
• microwave;
• stationery.

In consulting, the client and the customer often correspond by e-mail, so it is necessary to ensure constant access to the Internet.

Employees

Consulting as a form of business is completely based on the professionalism of employees. The company's income and the success of the entire project depend on the qualifications, experience, knowledge, and communication skills of the staff.

You can open a small agency with 2-3 generalists. This will cost less than hiring an employee for each consulting area.

To provide consulting services on a wide variety of business issues, a consulting firm must have experts in:

1. Financing.
2. Lending.
3. Accounting, tax, production and management accounting.
4. Property appraisal.
5. Business analysis.
6. Enterprise management.
7. Legal issues.
8. Selection and training of personnel.
9. Marketing.

To confirm the qualification, the applicant must have diplomas, certificates, recommendations, evidence of work experience in the consulting field.

At the initial stage, the founders of a consulting firm can invest in specialists with high salaries or hire employees through a recruitment agency, where the rates will be at the average level for the industry.

It is almost impossible to open a consulting company and attract clients without advertising. In order for potential customers to decide to contact the agency, you need to place information about the services provided on the Internet, business magazines, catalogs, on the streets.

The internet is the best place to find clients. You need to create a website, fill it with quality content, pay for promotion to the first lines of search engines. You can use social networks and banner ads.

At first, the cost of promoting a business is up to 50-70 thousand rubles a month, which pays off in the first half of the year.

Video: how to open a consulting company?

Economic calculations

To draw conclusions about the profitability of the consulting business, a calculation of initial costs, planned income and expenses is made. For example, a mid-market company with an office in a business center is taken.

Starting investments:

Monthly expenses:

With the development of the company and an increase in the volume of orders, expenses will increase due to the costs of staff development, bonus payments and other motivational activities.

The agency's income in the first months of its existence depends on the advertising campaign and employees who have their own experience and client base. New customers are easy to find among start-up entrepreneurs. Pricing policy is developed on the basis of the average cost of services in a given market sector. Clients are offered several types of payment:

• hourly;
• fixed;
• each service is priced separately.

Permanent cooperation will become more attractive to customers if discounts are provided depending on the volume and time of work.

The average profitability of the consulting business is 25%, the payback period is 1 year. For this, the agency must receive 220,000 rubles per month. income.

Consulting is a low cost business based on the intelligence and professionalism of consultants. The more clients apply to the agency, the higher the income and profitability of the enterprise.

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