🪖 Sell consultations, not just services

As always, a welcome to all new subscribers.

In this week’s issue (courtesy of your feedback to our poll): the market and latest news. The consultation side hustle with details. A longer listing of contract jobs. Federal gigs open. And diving into a side hustle success story.

A peak at last week’s poll results:

Roger that. And more coming up.

Read time: 4 minutes

📈 U.S. stocks ended the week mixed, with value stocks outperforming growth stocks as oil prices rose. Investors digested a mixed bag of economic data and strong retail sales data. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting this week. Get the latest business and tech news.

🗞️ The latest headlines:

• 5 Americans were freed in $6bn deal with Iran.

• Ukraine sues Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia - and fires six defense ministers.

• 4,000 dead, 9,000 missing in Libyan floods.

• North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un gifted rifle, bulletproof vest, and drone as he leaves Russia.

• F-35 fighter jet missing after pilot ejects.

• Biden’s son, Hunter, sues the IRS for unlawful release of taxes.

• UAW strike Day 4: GM threatens to send 2,000 workers home, Ford cuts 600 jobs.

If time is money, then expertise is the premium.

Instead of just selling a finished product that requires your full input, nearly all services have an expertise angle you can spin off into a win-win consultation.

For clients: they get front seats to your insights and only pay a fraction of what they would if you did-it-all for them.

For you: you get to charge an hourly premium for lifting the curtains for them.

But the real beauty is once a client gets advice that moves them forward in a way they couldn’t have/done easily on their own…they’ll keep coming back for more.

To get started with a consultation side hustle, save these 3 steps:

STEP 1: Target your target

Knowledge is the currency here, so ask yourself:

• What area/field am I an ace at?

• Have I achieved tangible results in them?

• Is there a crowd out there hungry for its insights?

While the niches you could go into are vast (and a great bet is to consult on whatever you’re knees deep in with your career), here are some low-hanging fruit:

• Personal trainer & nutritionist: can you help someone with their workout routines & meal plans?

• Home organizer: do you have know-how on the art of decluttering and using space smartly?

• Photographer: know camera techniques, top editing tools, and the ways of setting up a photography business?

• Event planner: can you advise on picking the right vendors, managing event timeline, and budgeting?

• Budgeter: know how to reduce debt, save wisely, and budget for singles/family?

STEP 2: Sell it

Begin by selling to the network you have. Then grow it from there.

In the world of business, a massive chunk of what people attach to ‘value’ is how certain are they that they can get what they want from you? In other words: what’s your consultation’s social proof?

The feed: 1) Get referrals 2) Get testimonials/reviews

Because once you bank in that proof—whether it’s via social media, your own website, or a freelance site like Upwork—then you can run from there.

STEP 3: Deliver it

From an arm’s length, a consultation may seem as easy as jumping on Zoom and knocking out an hour for good bucks.

But there is more to it.

Be sure to come prepared (all depending on the service: do an audit of where the client is right now, get that info in a short questionnaire/screening questions beforehand).

Give them a handy option of a recording instead (for those who can’t make it live, you can record a Loom video for them so they can watch in their own time)

Don’t skimp out on post-experience (offer things like voice notes, or a week of follow-up questions that you can charge more for, etc)

All extra work? Sure.

But this is the pot where glowing social proof, repeat customers, and referrals come from for your consultation side hustle.

…and here are the jobs. Good luck if you apply to any of these. As always, remember to do your due diligence when applying.

How Alex Hormozi grew a $46.2 million dollar business from consultations.

As an entrepreneur with near-celebrity status now, Alex’s elevator lift to success came from a consultation business.

He first ran Gym Launch as a service fully done-for-you. He would fly out, fix up gyms, and relaunch them in 21 days to bring an average increase of $42,000 in sales (then taking that revenue as his fees).

But having to fly out every single time and live out of motels quickly became a nightmare.

After re-launching 33 gyms, he called up a booked client to told them the polite version of ““f*** this s***, I’m not coming”. The client literally threatened him if he didn’t come over, but then light bulb came on.

Alex’s suggestion: I’ll tell you everything to do, but you have to do it yourself (i.e. he’ll only consult on his gym’s turnaround). In 30 days, without Alex doing anything himself, that client re-launched and made $44,000 in sales.

Alex’s realization that he could bring in them the SAME results without ever setting foot on a plan or motel, made him pivot his entire business into niche consulting.

His first year of profit after licensing? $17 million.
And in 2021, he sold Gym Launch for $46.2 million in 2021.

Hear his story and…

I have personally read both of his books, I highly recommend them.

Book 1 of 2: $100M Offers: How to Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No

Book 2 of 2: $100M Leads: How to Get Strangers to Want to Buy Your Stuff

Disclosure: Both are affiliate links. Highly recommend these books, regardless if you use these or not.

✉️ If you’re interested in going deeper into various financial topics, we recommend these newsletters:

• Houck’s Newsletter - For the business startup. Building, growing, and raising capital.

• The Sweaty Startup - Real estate deals. Business principles.

• The Money Maniac - Financial insight from a Wall Street analyst.

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- Nate

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