by Jon Westenberg
Dear would-be entrepreneurs.
I’ve got something I need to explain to you. You don’t need to go and found the next Google to call yourselves entrepreneurs. You don’t need to be building Snapchat, Facebook or anything else. You don’t need to be searching for investors for your latest idea. Because there is a business you can start without doing any of that.
The simplest business that you can start right now is a consulting company. It’s a business with the lowest barrier of entry, because you can found it with a phone, a laptop and plenty of chutzpah.
When you’re starting out in business, you’re going to hear a lot of statements about what business you should start. What business you must start. What business you can’t start. But here’s the thing – none of those rules are worth anything.
The right business to build is the one you want. And a consulting company is a great option. Here’s a few reasons why…
- It pays. A consulting company can let you go from zero to profitable in the space of 30 days. It’s entirely possible to do that – as long as you can get out there and find the work, you can accomplish that goal.
- It pays well. A consulting company has pretty low overheads. You don’t need the fancy office, the fancy software, the teams of employees…you need a few key tools and you need to be able to communicate with people and do your best work. That means the majority of the money you bring in is going to be pure revenue.
- If you manage your clients effectively, you can set your own time. As long as you’re not letting every client run you, saying yes to everything and doing whatever they want whenever they want, a consulting company can actually give you a great chance to work when and how you want.
- You can go anywhere. One of the best project management apps, Basecamp, was designed by a company who were originally a web design consulting firm. Now, years later, they have transitioned and grown into being a company with millions of dollars in revenue from the product they initially designed to help them provide a better service.
That’s why we build Creatomic to be a consulting company as much as a publishing company. We’re building exactly the business that we want. We can offer the services people want, to the customers we enjoy working with. We love it.
If you want to be an entrepreneur, starting a consulting business is a great entry point. It’s worth doing.
Love,
Jon.