I have an idea for a type of consulting business that is very new. (hope it's OK to not be specific here as to what the business is) Anyway, I tried searching for a business in my major metro area that is even close to comparable, but didn't find anything until many hours of researching my idea. And even then I was only able to find 4 anywhere in my area (and they were not easy to find). Anyway, I'm wondering if anybody else has had this issue. What I'm discovering is that it's hard to determine prices, and even determine what to use as a selling point. This isn't something that you can get a degree in, and though there are some certification programs for various services in this business, many aspects will have to be self-taught. How do I promote this? I have almost nobody to compare myself to in terms of what I should be doing for this business. Though it's nice to have such limited competition, it's actually a bit of challenge. BTW, I live in the Denver area, just so you understand that it's a pretty large area. Just curious if anybody else has had this issue and if you have any tips or ideas. I didn't know which board to post this on, so it might appear on a couple.

Thank you so much in advance for reading and any help you can give! I hope this post makes sense...basically if you wanted to start a business teaching people how to pat their head & rub their tummy at the same time (that's not my business idea, so if you want to take it it's yours), how would you express your qualifications, and how would you set it up if there were no other similar businesses to compare with??

Thank you
Angel :9

Will you be finding your clients or will they be finding you?

If you want to figure out your pricing... just jump in and offer your consultations at a ridiculously low price. This will first of all, get you in the door and will get your some names that will serve as referrals down the road. It will also get some income coming in and you will find out what you can be charging as you are already in there helping your clients.

An example. Years ago, when I started painting murals (www.NightSkyMurals.com) for people, I offered to paint a ceiling for $30. That covered part of my costs. Then, as I saw what different ceilings would need as far as time to paint and other factors involved... I started adjusting my pricing. Now, for that ceiling that I used to charge $30 for... I now charge about $500. But, I had to put in the time to get in there and get my hands dirty and just start doing it.

So... just jump in and see where it takes you. You will find out much quicker by actually working with your customers... rather than wondering what to charge.

Good luck!

Jeff S.
www.NightSkyMurals.com (the product)
www.DarkSkyMurals.biz (the bus. opportunity)

Hi Angel,
 
Other than being self-confident here are some ideas,
 
Write a short how-to book...you could self-publish it
Make sure you have a professional website
And of course be good at what you are doing (or have a good
product to sell)
 
I read the 4-hour work week a few months back and he had some
ideas in that book, the only one I remember is getting
speaking gig at a University on the topic so you can reference
that and promote yourself that way.
 
Hope this helps.:)