One market that has been growing significantly over the past decade is that of the consultant. Consultants work to advise their clients on a subject they have specific expertise in, often working with business owners or decision-makers to make sweeping organizational changes. There are a lot of different niches, but which are some of the most in-demand and profitable? 

 

Branding 

Businesses are always paying for marketing and branding. It’s one of the areas that you business owners can’t easily learn. A good mind for aesthetics, for messaging, and for establishing a reputation can help you soar. Experience in some form of marketing is usually required to become a branding strategyist, but having good connections with marketers and designers in a range of fields can be just as good for offering your services.

 

Accounting

Money is what keeps the wheels turning in any business and, as such, business owners will seek the expertise of those who can help them keep their books in order and even save money. Bookkeepers are the most entry-level kind of financial consultant you can become, and with a little education, you can upgrade and start a tax business to help business owners prepare for tax season. Your income might be a little more seasonal if you only offer tax services, however, so it’s a good idea to offer bookkeeping in the off-season, too.

 

Project management

A skill that most professionals should have, there are plenty of teams and organizations that have yet to experience the benefit of real project management and will hire others to come in and not just help them manage a project, but teach them the skill, too. Project management is the process of establishing workflows, communication methods, and collaborative relationships that ensure that work can be done as effectively and efficiently as possible.

 

HR

One area in which employers need to be careful to make sure they’re doing their due diligence is in HR. Improper management of employees, their work hours, compensation, holidays and so on can be a legal minefield. As such, becoming an HR consultant can involve helping them set up the HR software systems they use to manage their needs, or helping them craft an HR policy to help them deal with disputes, reporting inappropriate behavior, and so on.

 

Compliance

When it comes to legal advice, hiring a lawyer is not the only step that businesses will take. Often, they will work with professionals that know the regulations and laws of a specific area, be it their data management, health and safety, environmental impact, or otherwise. Being trained as a compliance specialist by the regulatory body that oversees any one of these fields and auditing businesses, helping them become compliant, can be a very lucrative path.

 

If you have the expertise and professional history to justify it, then you can make a pretty penny running a consulting business. What’s most important is choosing a niche that you can offer value in, so don’t just choose one that’s profitable, choose one that you can profit in.