According to coworking space comparison service Seekspaces, the majority of their clientele are consultants of various types. These include experts in social media, search engine marketing, cloud solutions, video production, and many other kinds of specializations. It would be no exaggeration to say that the boom in coworking spaces that we see today is fueled in a big way by consultants for various business functions.
Given the popularity of this line of work, it is reasonable for you, budding undergraduate entrepreneur, to wonder how you might get started on this path?
To share with us their entrepreneurial journey we have 3 consultants / entrepreneurs. They have taken different paths to where they are today and through very different industries. Through this they can shed some light on some of the challenges faced by those who would follow in their footsteps.
Hong Kong And Natural Resources
Our first subject is Jason Lavis, founder and member of the Natrespro Community. Jason began his career as a digital marketer in Hong Kong, where he currently resides. Over time, he became close to some of his clients in the oil and gas business, and subsequently devoted a lot of time into projects like Natrespro.
Jason shares that consulting has been rewarding for him. The natural resources mining community is highly specialized and rarely sees outsiders such as himself from a different background entirely. For that reason, his skills in digital marketing have been invaluable to engineers more familiar with grease and gears than bits and bandwidth.
“Consulting has been good, but it takes years before you are familiar enough with oil and gas that the professionals involved trust you” said Jason. “It isn’t something that one just walks into”.
Singapore And Web Development
The sentiment is echoed by Szetho Changsheng, co-founder of AgileLab, one of Singapore’s boutique Ruby on Rails development houses. The company had been profitable for a number of years before dipping their toes into the nascent space of AI chatbots. Their first product was Chatobook.com, a restaurant chatbot that made it easy for diners seeking information as well as a reservation to get both without human intervention.
Chatobook is one of a handful of restaurant-oriented chatbots that lead the niche. However, chatbots as a category have not seen the exponential growth that was once expected of the niche. Against that backdrop, Changs expressed his relief that theirs was an optimistic side project of a viable company, rather than an unviable company embarking on an optimistic project.
“The foundation of stability that AgileLab provides allows us to take small risks in search of both expertise and opportunity“. It also helps that prospective clients are impressed by their ability to build websites that work for real-life business projects, and not just ever more creative ways to show a portfolio of designs.
Like many software development companies, Agile Lab drew inspiration from the pioneers in this field – 37 Signals. They parlayed expertise in client software development into their award-winning Basecamp project management software, and their bestselling magnum opus in thinking outside the box about work – Rework.
According to Changs, web development is by far the most popular field of work for young graduates wanting to bootstrap their way to a successful entrepreneurial career. As a result, it is the most competitive, with low prices and high quality.
“To succeed in web development is to deliver at the lowest cost and highest quality. That leaves little time for entrepreneurial pursuits.“
With the white hot competition of web development burning up the energy and dreams of young graduates, it is high time for budding entrepreneurs to look for alternative methods of supporting themselves. Fortunately their options are growing. Specialists in Google Ads, as well as Facebook / Instagram ads find themselves in great demand as the pool of companies with profitable websites grows.
Malaysia, E-Commerce And Digital Marketing
One of the entrepreneurs in Malaysia leveraging on their success in digital marketing is Jian Leen Ng. He serves most of his clients in Singapore while living in Petaling Jaya (in Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state).
From his apartment in Ara Damansara, Jian Leen manages client ad accounts but also his own. With his expertise in ad copywriting and landing page design, Jian Leen has embarked on his latest venture vending quality floral tea.
“When you look at ads on Facebook and Instagram, it is plain that unique products do very well on these platforms. Without the need for the financial risk of a physical store, these products can find an audience in the most cost-efficient way possible”.
For Jian Leen, companies are eager to attract customers to their websites but are afraid of throwing money away because of a lack of expertise. This opens up the opportunity for consultants to step in and offer guidance. Ads, landing pages and campaign configuration are technically simple to set up. The challenge for consultants is in bringing together the above with an understanding of the client’s customers.
For now, there is a wealth of options for the apprentice digital marketing consultant. While a grasp of the fundamentals of both Google and Facebook’s ad platform is de rigeur, familiarity with Google Analytics and landing page builders like Unbounce is low. For eager graduates with time and the malleability of mind to learn, analytics and landing page design represent a clear opportunity for entry into the world of digital marketing consulting.
These are merely 3 of the ways that one can profitably be a consultant in IT services. It appears that consulting for side income is not the most practical path for an entrepreneur looking to support himself. However, with a little more effort, it can be a highly professional and rewarding calling.
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