Become an independent consultant: instructions

Do you dream of more freedom and autonomy and want to become an independent consultant? Then, you knocked on the right door!

Find in this article all the information you need to carry out your project, including advice for writing a business plan for an independent consultant.

Carry out market research in the consulting sector

To begin, it is essential to carry out the market study of your consulting activity to verify the viability of your project, but also to look into your future marketing strategy.

To carry out this market study, you will need to think about current trends in the sector, analyze the competition in-depth, and study in detail the needs and expectations of your future customers.

The French consulting market

Conjuncture

The consultancy market in France is booming and achieved growth of 3.1% in 2015, for an overall turnover of 4.1 billion euros. Nevertheless, the sector remains fragile and sensitive to budgetary restrictions and the global economic context.

The number of independent consultants continues to increase. Over the past ten years, it has tripled to the detriment of large consulting firms, particularly those nicknamed the "Big Four."

The financial sector is the one that employs the most consultants, followed by industry, the public sector, sales, and health. Regarding skills, technology, digital, management, and strategy are the most in-demand, while risk management and IT security have recorded the strongest growth.

Future trends in the French consulting market

The growth potential is extremely important: large consulting firms mainly target large companies, while almost 97% of French companies are small.

Some aspects of the regulation of the consultancy sector

The profession of the independent consultant is very little regulated. The existing rules are mainly tacit and relate to respect for professional secrecy, the obligation of means, or even possible non-competition clauses.

Becoming an independent consultant does not generally require specific training since it is, above all, a question of enhancing one's existing expertise while being self-employed. Only certain activities must comply with particular formalities: to become a consultant trainer, for example, it is necessary to obtain an accreditation number.

Choose a field of activity as a consultant.

The possible areas of intervention for an independent consultant are many and varied: one can choose to become a recruitment consultant, HR management consultant, marketing consultant, strategy consultant, information systems consultant, etc.

Your abilities will mostly determine the option you choose. It is recommended that you specialize as much as possible or target a niche within which you may provide high-value-added services to stand out from the competitors.

Where to set up your consulting firm?

Many freelance consultants choose to start their businesses working from home. Others work directly in the offices of their clients throughout their mission.

If you want a real office for your business, there are many possibilities, from renting a full-time office to day rental offices and even co-working spaces.

The choice will depend essentially on the need or not to be able to receive your customers. But also your marketing strategy: do you want to display a prestigious address on your business cards? Do you need to be close to potential customers, for example, in a business district or an activity zone?

Choice of the legal structure of your consulting activity

Becoming an independent consultant requires choosing from among legal statuses: auto-entrepreneur, sole proprietorship, or single-member company. This is an important decision that will directly affect your company's taxation (tax on income or profits) and your social system as a manager.

The marketing plan for your consulting business

To recruit your first customers, then to succeed in sustaining your activity, it is essential to think about a marketing strategy before you start.

Several means are at your disposal here; you can, for example:

• Create a showcase website highlighting your know-how or case studies on the missions you have carried out for your customers
• Prospect on LinkedIn using an updated profile, advertisements, or instant message canvassing
• Prospect by email or phone, by buying, or by creating a list of contacts
• Advertise on the Internet, including buying keywords related to the services you offer
• Set up a lead generation strategy: publish articles highlighting your expertise, white papers, leadership conferences, etc.
• Have you been listed in directories or on marketplaces offering matchmaking services?
  
  
  

The human and material needs necessary to become an independent consultant

The requirements for launching an independent consultant activity are relatively small.

In terms of equipment, you will need:

• Computer, printer, and other IT equipment
• Furniture for your office
• Possibly a professional vehicle.
• Depending on the planned activity, documentation or professional software
• The possible purchase of databases for prospecting

Your main expenses will be, first of all, your remuneration and your social charges, any rent for your office, your travel and catering expenses, and the costs related to prospecting and administrative management (in particular if you employ staff or a company to help you with this).

For managing your accounts and your cash, it may be necessary to get help from a chartered accountant. Taking out professional liability insurance is also essential, in particular, to be covered in a dispute with a client.

Write your business plan as an independent consultant.

Essential document to become an independent consultant, the objective of the business plan is to allow you to ensure that your company will be profitable, to plan its development in the years to come, and to serve as a reference document for the search for financing.

If you're new to writing business plans, a good solution is to use online business plan software.

Using specialized software has several advantages:

• You are guided in writing by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can draw inspiration from business plan templates already written
• You easily make your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the accounting aspects for you
• You get a professional document, formatted and ready to be sent to your banker

If you are interested in this type of solution, you can try our software for free by registering here.

Once your independent consultant business plan is completed, the last step in launching a consulting activity is the search for financing.

Finding funding to become a consultant

Often, becoming an independent consultant only requires minimal start-up capital, especially if you want to become a freelance consultant.

Nevertheless, obtaining an honor loan to strengthen your cash flow or financing for a professional vehicle is sometimes necessary.

Different financing options are available to you (bank financing, business start-up assistance, etc.). You can find more details about this in our guide to project funding.