Consulting Based Business Ideas (Consulting Businesses)

Creating a Consulting Company is a feel good job that can leverage your existing skills to improve others and allow you to create a whole business out of it.

Consulting Based Business Ideas offer a variety of broad and niche skills that you can root your business in. Check out our favorites and get inspired to create your own!

In this article, we have outlined our top Consulting Based Business Ideas. Some of these consulting based business ideas are perfect for those with a desire to help others help themselves. Some of the main goals of any consultant are rooted in solving problems so your clients can solve it themselves later. These business ideas are meant to inspire you to start your own consulting company from the ground up with the knowledge needed to succeed. 

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Consulting Based Business Ideas

1. ART CONSULTING BUSINESS

A large painting being examined.

Art consultants serve two separate (but related) business functions. They may work with artists to help them find their best target audience and to promote the artist's work to increase sales. 

An art consultant may also work with collectors who wish to acquire specific kinds of art or galleries who wish to commission specific work from specific artists. Either way, a consultant is an important way for a community's artistic presence to grow and thrive.

Learn how to start an art consulting business.

2. Business Consulting Firm

A person writing on a tablet.

Business consultants provide a necessary service to startup businesses and entrepreneurs. They help the business get off to a good start by providing the know-how and resources necessary for success. A business consultant usually retains a book of clients and may limit his or her business to just several hundred (or fewer) businesses or entrepreneurs.

A business consultant usually retains a book of clients and may limit his or her business to just several hundred (or fewer) businesses or entrepreneurs.

Learn how to start a business consutling firm.

3. Cloud Consulting Business

Two people looking at a large black cloud server box.

A cloud consultant provides advice, services, and instructions to businesses who want to move their data to the cloud. They may hold formal classes to bring people up to speed on the new protocol for organization, security, and storage.

Learn how to start a cloud consulting business.

4. Customer Service Consulting Business

Two people shaking hands at an office.

Customer service can make or break a business. When a customer calls in with a question, problem, or concern, the way they're treated often determined whether they will remain a customer or buy from a competitor. Service also determines how well a customer's problem is addressed and, ultimately, whether the business does a good job solving it.

This is why a customer service consulting business is so valuable. It helps businesses and firms improve their customer service by doing customer surveys, offering customer service training lessons, examining the workflow of customer service processes, or trying to develop an improved culture of service.

Learn how to start a customer service consulting business.

5. Energy Consulting Company

Person Pointing at a graph

Projects for energy consulting companies on a smaller scale include conducting an energy audit of a single-family home. Larger commercial projects include making recommendations for large data centers that use massive amounts of electricity, government organizations with many public buildings, and major national companies with multiple locations.

Energy consulting companies provide energy audit reports to their clients that make specific recommendations for energy conservation and improved efficiency. They also provide information to clients about possible tax incentives for investing in alternative energy systems. Some companies in this sector sell, install, and maintain equipment such as solar panels, wind farms, geothermal systems, and bioenergy projects.

Learn how to start an energy consulting business.

6. Fashion Consulting Business

Two people checking out a new outfit.

A fashion consulting business can exist with a variety of scales. For instance, the business may be run by a lone consultant or as a major firm, and the clients may be individuals, retail stores, or major brands.

The job can effectively be run from your home, which allows you to do this as a “side job” before making it your primary line of work.

Learn how to start a fashion consulting business.

7. Financial Consulting Firm

A calculator, and two pens on a desk with papers all over it.

A financial consulting firm helps individuals and small businesses manage and grow their wealth. You are more likely to service individuals than large corporations, but your small business should be prepared to do both.

Clients will look to you for detailed financial information, informed financial forecasting, and ways to invest to achieve their short-term and long-term goals.

Learn how to start a financial consulting firm.

8. Fundraising Consulting Business

A group of people talking around a table.

Nonprofit organizations rely on volunteer efforts and donor contributions, so they often need help raising the support they need. Fundraising consultant businesses help nonprofits develop and implement strategies that raise support.

The National Center for Charitable Statistics reports that there are over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. With so many nonprofits, there is a significant demand for consulting services.

Learn how to start a fundraising consulting business.

9. Human Resources Consulting Firm

A fancy notepad with human resources printed on it.

Businesses have certain requirements they must meet when employing workers, and many need help adhering to legal regulations and overcoming practical challenges.

When they need help, businesses that don’t have in-house HR departments turn to human resources consulting firms. A human resource consulting firm business may help other businesses with employee handbooks, personnel forms, benefits programs or any other employment-related issue.

Learn how to start a human resources consulting business.

10. Legal Consulting Firm

A person going over legal documents at a desk.

The inherent complexity of business contracts, consumer protection laws, and regulations in many (if not all) industries means that lawsuits are a natural part of doing business.

he risk of those lawsuits necessitates council and advisory firms to help contain costs and defend companies against claims. This is what a legal consulting firm can help with.

Learn how to start a legal consulting firm.

11. Local Business Consulting Firm

three people shaking hands at a law office.

Local business consulting firms offer the guidance, planning, tools, and solutions local small businesses need. By focusing on growth and scale simultaneously, a local business consultant helps decision makers create ongoing solutions while being able to support themselves.

Learn how to start a local business consulting firm.

12. A Museum Consulting Business

an art museum with a bust as the centerpiece.

Museum consulting is the business of assisting museums in attracting customers and developing captivating spaces and exhibitions.

Museum consulting businesses offer their clients consulting services that are relevant to the museum. The scope of museum consulting can range from museum planning, exhibition development, and interior design to marketing support, project management, and a litany of other tasks.

Learn how to start a museum consulting business.

13. Online Dating Consulting Business

a computer with lots of online dating sites open

An online dating consultant helps people navigate the complicated online dating world. A dating consultant doesn't have to be strictly used for finding a spouse. They may fill a variety of needs from serious to casual.

Consultants create unions that strengthen neighborhoods with positive relationships. In addition to helping to create a better community, children of well-matched couples tend to be more responsible members of society.

Learn how to start an online dating consulting business.

14. Project Management Consulting Business

six team members sit around a table and plan their project.

Managers who have to juggle complex business projects are under a lot of stress. This is why project management consultants are so valuable. They use their expertise within a specific field to help other businesses and firms to develop and manage a project. It reduces the stress managers experience and helps a business complete a project on schedule and within its budget.

Consultants typically assist upper level management in overseeing a project from its beginning to its completion, providing a "soup to nuts" service that's often very "hands on."

Learn how to start a project management consulting business.

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