How To Run A Consulting Firm

what it takes to run a consulting firm crum consult founder management consultant business

The consulting industry is far from easy to crack, with names like Accenture, Deloitte and Bain being the pillars of the sector. Despite these heavyweights taking center stage, Crum Consult continues to make strides to becoming one of the fastest growing consulting firms in not only the UK, but globally. 

Crum operates in the digital, consulting, tech and operations services sector, with experts in every industry and offices around the world. 

What Does A Management Consulting Firm Do? 

Management consulting firms, like Crum, specialize in growing businesses and improving their operations. It’s not just private sector companies that get consulted, we work with public sector organizations in order to build their services and improve their cost efficiency. 

There are different types of consultancy firms, with different firms specializing in specific areas. Some firms will provide financial consulting, others, IT, finance and technology. There are many different areas of focus and those mentioned are only a few, larger firms will cover many types of consulting areas. 

Who Does Crum Consult Works With? 

Many consulting firms only work with clients of certain size and in specific sectors. At Crum Consult, we have experts that consult in almost every sector and work with clients all the way from startup size to multinational conglomerates. 

In the past, we have worked with clients in every sector and of every size. Each of our teams is dedicated to providing clients with a solution that far exceeds expectations. As ever client is different, we cannot approach all projects the same, but our approach follows the same ethos. This ethos is to complete client projects within a set time- frame and to the highest possible quality. Crum Consult is seen as the gold standard in consulting as we raise the bar within the sectors that we operate in. 

What It Takes To Start And Operate A Consulting Company 

Starting a consulting firm requires experience in running previous businesses. It is virtually impossible to provide clients with insight into their sector and overall business operations if you do not know yourself. For me, this experience came from growing news and media startups for years, being an executive at a large sports supplement company and consulting in the digital sector for an extensive period also. 

Many people ask me what it takes to be a successful consultant and the answer to that question is more complex than they might expect. Firstly, what determines the hard skills required to be a consultant depends on what type of consulting that you are providing. Technology consultants will need an entirely different skillset than a financial consultant. 

To give a suitable answer to the question, I’m going to focus on the soft-skills that you need, as they are the same for all consultants, regardless of the field that a person is consulting in. 

Experience And Insight

To provide a service that will fulfill client requirements and needs, the consultant set the task needs a level of insight that cannot simply be found via Google search or elsewhere. This experience comes from years of working in a sector at a high level, typically as an executive. 

Communication Skills 

As with all career paths, communication is a tool that will always be beneficial. However, in consulting, having good communication skills is more than beneficial, it is essential. Traveling around the world, conversing with clients regarding complex theories requires you to articulate yourself and convey across every detail regarding the project. Sometimes you will find yourself explaining an immensely complex theory such as artificial intelligence implementation to someone who may not completely grasp the idea themselves. 

Perseverance And Determination 

Consulting can be a demanding line of work, meeting targets within a limited time-frame and constant pressure mean that if you’re shy or can’t handle pressure, then consulting may not be a suitable career choice. However, despite the often-demanding tasks that you will embark on, there is a strong work-life balance in the consulting sector. 

Being a consultant means a great level of freedom, not often seen with other careers. It can be exciting at times, since you don’t always know what type of project you will be next working on and in what capacity. For many consultants, like myself, it is a dream job since I get to work in a sector that I enjoy. 

Consulting Conclusion

To conclude, starting a consulting firm requires even more experience and resources than becoming a freelance consultant or joining a firm. Although, if you posses the required skills and initial capital, it can provide you with an incredibly enjoyable career path and allows you to impact businesses and entire sectors that would not otherwise be possible.

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