How to grow your consulting business? In this post, I will share my story about how I grow my tax consulting business from 0 to 20 clients in 12 months while at the same time I run my brand and web design business here at Neoxica.
We will also explore some of the best practices and actionable tips that can help you grow your consulting business.
Let’s dive in!
My Story Starts Here
My wife Susan and I have always dreamed of living a more fulfilling life, one where we have the freedom to work from home and spend more quality time with our family. But Susan’s demanding 9-to-5 job as a tax consultant made that dream seem impossible.
One day, after yet another long day at the office, Susan came home exhausted and frustrated. She was tired of working for someone else and not being able to control her own schedule. We decided that it was time for a change. We wanted to create a business that would allow Susan to work from home and spend more time with our family.
That’s when we decided to combine our skills and start our own online tax consulting business. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we were determined to make it work. Susan would handle the tax consulting side of things, while I focused on branding and digital marketing.
Taking the First Step
Starting our own business from home was a no-brainer to me (as I already run my own home business at that time), but I had to convince Susan about the idea. She thought it might be too risky, and she had never done anything like that before.
But I really believed in our potential for success, so I worked hard to convince her. I did some research and found answers to her questions and worries, and I used my persuasive powers to show her why being our own bosses could be awesome.
It wasn’t easy, but I kept cheering her on and didn’t give up until she said yes!
Start with Simple Strategy
Although I was excited about the idea of starting our own business, I understood that it was a big leap for Susan. She was understandably hesitant about leaving her stable job to start something new from scratch. To help ease her worries, I came up with a simple and manageable action plan to get us started.
Here are the steps we took:
- Create Services List: The first item on our to-do list was deciding on our services. We settled on tax and accounting services, as she has a background in finance and it’s something she enjoy doing. With that out of the way, we moved on to the next step: identifying our target market.
- Choose Target Market: We wanted to focus on younger local entrepreneurs aged 30-45. They’re tech-savvy, driven, and likely to need tax consulting services as they grow their businesses. We felt that this demographic would be a great fit for our personality and our skills.
- Pick a Brand Name: Next, we needed to come up with a name that would resonate with our target audience. After much brainstorming, we settled on “Sandwika”. It’s a combination of our names, Susan and Kama, and we felt it had a fun and friendly vibe that would appeal to our intended audience.
- Create Attractive Visual Identity: With the name chosen, it was time to create an attractive brand identity and visual that would fit with our target market. We wanted something modern and professional, but also approachable and friendly. I do all the creative design work at Neoxica to design a logo, color scheme, and overall aesthetic that would represent our consulting brand in the best way possible.
In the end, our simple strategy plan provided us with a clear path to advance and develop our consulting business without being overwhelming for Susan.
Building Our Online Presence
I knew that if I rushed the marketing process, I’d risk wasting a lot of money and time on leads that wouldn’t convert.
Before running a marketing campaign, it’s crucial to have an appealing brand identity to attract the right clients + an effective website with conversion strategy so we don’t lost a lot of leads that come to our website.
We carefully selected design elements and wrote website content that resonated with younger entrepreneurs, our target market. Our website was a critical part of our business launch, and we wanted to get it just right. By emphasizing our USP, we were able to set ourselves apart from the competition and attract the right clients.
Landing Our First Three Clients
After spending three months working on our branding and marketing materials, including our logo and website, we were ready to start promoting ourselves.
We knew we had to be smart, simple and effective about how we marketed ourselves. So we decided to skip SEO marketing because it can take a while to see results. Instead, we chose to run a Google AdWords campaign with our limited budget to get clients quickly.
Waiting for those first leads to come in was nerve-wracking, but when they did, it was a rush! Our website, which was designed to convert visitors into clients, generated eight calls, and we landed three clients in just two months of running the campaign. Not too bad for a three months of quick business setup!
We wanted to get clients quickly so we wouldn’t lose momentum and could keep Susan motivated. That’s why we decided to run a PPC campaign instead of focusing on SEO at this stage. Looking back, it was the right decision for us. It gave us the push we needed to get our business off the ground and start building momentum.
It was really cool to see our marketing efforts pay off so quickly.
Building Momentum
After landing our first three clients, Susan decided to go all in on the business and resigned from her previous job.
With her full attention and dedication, we were able to continue our marketing campaigns and gain even more clients. Within 12 months, we had a total of 20 clients, which was beyond our initial expectations.
However, with this increased workload, Susan needed some extra help to manage everything efficiently. So we decided to hire one remote staff (and two others in the month 6) to assist with daily tasks and keep up with the growing demand. So now we have 3 remote staff in total.
Overall, our success in gaining 20 clients within a year was a huge milestone for our new consulting business.
We Are Living Our Dream Business
At the moment, we don’t have any plans to expand our tax consulting business. With 20 clients, we feel like we’ve hit the jackpot and it’s been life-changing for us. We’re still trying to figure out if we really want a massive business, or if we’re happy with what we have now.
So, what’s life like for us now?
Susan has more time to spend with our family, and she only needs 2 or 3 hours a day to work in the business and communicate with the team or clients via Zoom meetings.
As for me, I’m still busy with my branding and website design work in my design studio, Neoxica.
Overall, life is more enjoyable for us now. We’re able to work on our own terms, and we have more time to do the things we love. It’s been a challenging but rewarding journey to get to this point, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.
Maybe we’ll decide to expand the business in the future, but for now, we’re happy with where we are.
Are Your Ready to Grow Your Consulting Business?
Looking back on our journey, starting Sandwika Tax Consulting was a life-changing decision for us. We learned a lot and faced many challenges, but ultimately, we are proud of what we have accomplished.
One of the biggest benefits of starting a home-based business was the flexibility it provided. We were able to work on our own terms, from anywhere with an internet connection.
For those considering starting their own business, we encourage you to pursue your dreams. It may not always be easy, but with determination and hard work, anything is possible.
I hope our story can motivate others to embark on their own entrepreneurial journey and to keep moving forward. If you have any questions about building your consulting firm’s brand or creating an effective website, feel free to reach out to me.
Remember, success is not a destination, but a journey.
