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The Easiest Business is Repeat Business
Perhaps it seems obvious, but one of the very best places you can start to look for work is your existing network.
This can be family, friends, or former colleagues.
These are people that already know and trust you, or have seen your work first hand.
This makes for a much easier "close."
Start for Free
Work gets especially easy to close when it doesn't cost anything.
Now, I'm not saying do this forever, it's just for your first couple of projects.
Make a list of a handful of people that might need your help. A great first prospect? A smaller business that may not have much sophistication in the way of finance. This is a great opportunity for you to shine.
Send them an email or just pick up the phone, explain that you're doing some part-time Consulting, and ask if they could use an extra set of hands with something.
Most people will have something sitting in the "nice to have" bucket that they can give you, which is great, low-urgency work that allows you to test your wings.
(Also, very commonly I find small companies need help building a cash flow forecast, just FYI)
Be Honest With Yourself
One more thing -- be very honest with yourself as you do the work... do you enjoy it?
Is it fulfilling to work on your own?
Not every project is a home run, but try to assess if this is something you could see yourself doing part-time, full-time, or no time.
There's no point building a business if you won't enjoy the journey, so keep that in mind.
For many, part-time Consulting can be the perfect solution -- it's there when you want it, but you don't have to depend on it.
For now, just think about it.
Get Reviews
Once you've completed the work, your "compensation" is in the form of a review.
Do you feel like you did a nice job?
If so, ask the Client for a review -- they're typically more than happy to provide one for you.
What you're building here is content for your website (to come soon).
Reviews, or what people call "social proof," make it much easier to close new business when the time comes, and if you're going to scale this thing (even a little bit), you will need some "social proof."
Free Consultation
I'm putting this at the bottom because it's a little harder for finance professionals but can be really impactful.
If you can find a way to show some of your expertise for free, it gives clients a "no risk test drive" of working with you.
What I'll sometimes do is offer a 30-minute Zoom call to review a potential client's financial model.
If I can add some value there, it's pretty easy to close the business thereafter.
However, it's definitely a drain on your time and can be fruitless, so try to pick these opportunities carefully.
If you're in the software business, this can be a little easier and scalable because you can record a quick demo using something like Loom and tailor the pitch to common pain points. It's not quite as personalized, but it's something.
I'd propose keeping this approach on the backburner, but don't rule it out entirely.
Action Items
Start with that list -- who might be a good fit to reach out to as initial clients?
Then, draft your email, nothing fancy. Just tell them what you're up to and send a few out.
My first client? My father-in-law. Then, my Uncle.
From there, I went to former employers, many of whom still remain some of my best clients today.
But, you have to start somewhere.
That's it for today. See you next time.
—Chris
How I Can Help Further...
As finance professionals there's one thing we all have in common -- our financial modeling skills need to be dialed.
If you need to refresh or sharpen your modeling skills, you can learn to build the exact models I use with FP&A and Private Equity firms around the world -- check it out here.