Thread by @SeanODowd15

Independent consulting can be extremely profitable.

$200K-$500K a year is normal in your first year

...if you can find clients

Here are the five best ways to find clients

(hint: the "best" way is different for everyone)

Strategy #1: UpWork

UpWork is a freelance platform that matches consultants and clients together

This is best for beginners. You can find a client TODAY on UpWork

There are more clients on UpWork than everything else on this list combined

I believe 99% of beginners should start on UpWork

(it's where I started back in the day!)

If you have a full time job, UpWork is especially a good fit for you.

The sheer amount of clients on UpWork means you'll find a client to work with when you aren't at your day job

Strategy #2: Catalant

Catalant is the exact opposite of UpWork

There are very few clients, but they are very high paying

Since they are high paying, they are competitive to land

Only come to Catalant after you've done UpWork first

OR

If you have a ton of experience

Strategy #3: Linkedin Jobs

Most people know that you can find full time jobs on Linkedin

Very few know that you can find consulting gigs on it

Go to the "jobs" section, then search for "Contract" gigs

CRITICAL: Set seniority to "mid-senior" & "Senior"

By searching for these roles, you'll see just high paying consulting gigs

These are great because you make more money than UpWork or Catalant (those platforms have a fee)

I've landed multiple Fortune 500 clients this way

This works best if you already have an LLC set up

Strategy #4: Your Network

It's worth mentioning to past colleagues that you now work in a consultant capacity

Many independent consultants first get their start via their network

This is especially true IF you have 10+ years of experience, or very specialized knowledge

Strategy #5: Outbound
Outbound means cold emailing or DM'ing potential clients

This is, by far, the hardest out of all five.

It can be the most profitable too, since it's the most scalable

This only works for very specialized consulting, where every project is the exact same

A good example would be building pitch decks for companies to raise VC $$$

You could run a cold outbound strategy, because each project is the same (make a deck)

The client is the exact same too: a small VC startup looking for their next round of capital

If you do more specialized work, like my friend @polak_jasper does with project management, then cold email doesn't work

That's because each project is unique, and each client is unique

It's also why you need to be thoughtful about which strategy you should use to get clients!

@polak_jasper I hope this was helpful! Let me know of any questions! :)

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