Everyone in business today has two businesses they know and can do really well, but most people are only doing the first of these businesses. They ignore the second, and leave a lot of money on the table in doing so.
What are your two businesses, and how can you make money by ramping up the second one?
Your first business is your main business—the one you know you are in. The first business of a personal trainer is to help clients exercise properly and get fit. The first business of a chiropractor is treating patients.
Your second business is the one you automatically qualify to be in as a result of the first business.
A personal trainer, for instance, has to know a lot about fitness, exercise, and nutrition just to help his personal training clients get fit. In addition to helping improve health through spinal adjustments, a chiropractor also knows how to run a chiropractic practice.
The “hidden profit center” in your business is the knowledge you gain—indeed, have to possess—to deliver your main product or service. You can tap into that profit center and make it a second, lucrative business by sharing the knowledge you have accumulated as a CONSULTANT.
A personal trainer, for instance, could, for a handsome consulting fee, show local corporations how to manage and run an effective wellness program for their employees.
He might only be able to charge his training clients $50 to $70 an hour. But a corporate client might pay him $10,000 for just a couple of days work in advising them how to set up a wellness program.
Big companies have deeper pockets than individuals paying for their own training. And the benefits to the company of sponsoring such a program—increased productivity, reduced absenteeism—can be enormous.
Or take the chiropractor. If he is successful, there are plenty of other chiropractors who would pay him handsome consulting fees to share his proven practice-building techniques with them.
Take a look at your business or job. Do you know something that others also want to know? Of course you do.
Well, don’t let this knowledge go to waste. Share it with others in a variety of forms—as speeches, seminars, workshops, information products, and in one-on-one private consultations.
Travis McFee, a successful dentist, decided to show other dentists how to make more money. He made a small fortune with his Profitable Dentist conferences, newsletter, and products.
Here are the steps you need to take to convert your knowledge into a lucrative second income from your own consulting business.
First, identify the knowledge you have that others are willing to pay for. This is typically knowledge about how to run your type of business (e.g. a dry cleaner can teach “how to make money in dry cleaning”) or about your skill, service, or expertise (a psychologist might advise a corporation on how to hire the best employees).
Next, who is your audience? Will you market your consulting services to individuals or businesses? If businesses, what kinds of companies? Local or national? Small businesses or large corporations?
Third, decide how you will deliver your information to these clients. Will you teach public seminars? Conduct on-site training classes for corporate employees? Coach individuals over the Internet? Have private consulting sessions with CEOs in person or over the phone?
Fourth, how will you market your new consulting business? By word of mouth? By using search engines to drive traffic to your website? By networking at Chamber of Commerce meetings?
Fifth, what will you charge? You’ll discover what the market will bear as you progress. But what at the beginning, what should you ask for? Fees vary, but $1,000 a day is a safe starting place for many beginning consultants. (Experienced consultants can earn two to four times that amount or more.)
Bob Bly is the author of “World’s Best Copywriting Secrets” and has written copy for more than 100 companies including IBM, Boardroom, Medical Economics and AT&T. He is the author of more than 75 books and a columnist for Target Marketing, Early To Rise and The Writer. McGraw-Hill calls him “America’s top copywriter”.

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