Starting your own business is always going to be a big financial investment and it would be wrong to imply otherwise. Even if you are in a business such as consultancy which has minimal expenses and no stock outlay, premises or similar, the loss of income alone (if you’re comparing to a traditional employed role) is going to be significant.
Something we get asked a lot by HR professionals interested in working with us is how long it will be before they can rely on a regular, decent level income from their new HR consultancy. Of course it is impossible to give anything like a definitive answer to that. While we know that there is the work out there, and all our territories are designed to ensure that, there are many variable factors involved which mean we really can’t tell with any certainty.
Our marketing system and other resources, guidance and training certainly means consultants with us make money quicker than they would on their own, but like anything, you get out what you put in. Those who follow the guidance and training carefully and enthusiastically, and are motivated and engaged with the process will earn sooner than those who take things more slowly, put less time in, or do things differently.
That all being said, we normally recommend that anyone starting their own consultancy business ensures that they have funds in place to cover all their business and personal expenses for at least the first six months. Whilst clearly we would hope and expect you to be earning during that time, there will naturally be a number of months of low and/or inconsistent income while you build yourself a client base and establish your business, and assuming you’ll be able to rely on a good level of regular income quickly would be risky to say the least, and would place a lot of stress on you.
Of course this does mean that realistically, starting their own business may well be financially out-of-reach, or extremely challenging for some, or may be a longer-term goal than desired. While this is frustrating, we want this to be an enjoyable and rewarding challenge for those taking it up, and unrealistic expectations and financial problems will seriously inhibit the chances of this being the case.
If you’re thinking of starting your own HR consultancy and would like to discuss becoming a partner, do get in touch.