Looking for the next big opportunity to take your online business to the next level? Want an EASY, ethical and exciting way to turn your PASSION for people into perpetual piles of profit? The truth is, the next, BEST and most inspiring way to share your flare with an evergreen audience of clients and potential partners is becoming a crowdfunding consultant.

If you aren’t entirely sure what crowd funding is… look no further than mega sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, Gofundme and tons of small niche oriented crowd sourced communities for live examples of this model in action.

What does a crowd funding consultant really do? Is it hard work? Do you need to be a guru or an expert or a social media superstar to help people raise funds for things that they care about?

The funny thing is, like ALL online marketing oriented offers… the crowd funding consulting space is now starting to become a bit over-run by the spammers, the scammers and the get rich quick crowd (no pun intended…) as more and more people jump on the Kickstarter consultant wagon.

But here is the thing -

The BEST way, at least in my view and what I’m working on in my own consulting practice – is leveraging the tools and technology that are available to help entrepreneurs raise money, with existing areas of my own expertise. (and most likely, if you are reading this… YOURS as well)

For example?

Content is still king when it comes to creating campaigns that convert.

So too is generating BUZZ for your brand and business… if you want your campaign to stand out in the sea of sameness where others swim.

As a consultant – you can literally use very conventional online marketing tools and techniques to help your clients raise tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars from scratch.

(I recently spoke to a guy who helped a small group of entrepreneurs raise over 10 MILLION dollars on their own self started crowd funding campaign they hosted and ran by themselves… using a WordPress plugin that cost about 80 bucks!)

As a matter of fact, the 6 common elements to ALL successful marketing campaigns are equally as important equally as well as they would if you were launching your own life coaching business, or writing your first ebook, or selling your first group consulting gig in whatever niche you already know, love and do.

For example?

If you look at the 6 C’s that make up the Content Community Continuum I’ve been preaching on here for years (Content, Character, Community, Conversation, Curriculum and Conversion) they apply here equally as well as they would if you were launching your own life coaching business, or writing your first ebook, or selling your first group consulting gig in whatever niche you already know, love and do.

So while the “niche” may be new… the concepts are not.

When it comes to crowd funding… CONTENT is more important than ever. So too is CONVERSION. (getting people who may be interested in your campaign to actually feel compelled enough to contribute)

And you can’t do ANY of the above without a COMMUNITY. (whether you are leveraging Kickstarters captive audience, or building your OWN campaign using low cost technology works amazingly well for self starters like you and I)

So too are the other “C’s” like the CHARACTER you set forth to entertain, engage and inspire your ideal audience to get involved.

And the CONVERSATION you create that keeps people updated, interested and keeps your project (and passion) top of mind for those who may have stopped by to take a look, but haven’t yet funded your gig.

And your CURRICULUM is obviously the product, the service, or the deliverable that makes the entire campaign worth pitching in the first place.

Follow the approach above – and you won’t fall victim to the sort of low brow strategies many consultants are offering that ultimately will poison the space. (as described in the article below)

If you truly want to learn how to integrate this approach in your own consulting business – drop me a note and I’m happy to share some free strategies we’re using now to build BOTH a niche crowd funding portal – and to help a few small local businesses create their own campaigns – it’s a lot of fun – and the personification of PASSION and purpose in entrepreneurial action!

It can be difficult to start a business, especially without professional help. Business development consultants can help new business owners with a variety of important tasks such as brand development and writing copy.

Business Plans

Every new enterprise needs a strong and realistic business plan. A good plan will help a business succeed, but it can be difficult to create a strong plan without the help of an expert. Development consultants can help new companies create a detailed, professional plan that establishes realistic goals, forms a proper mission statement, and decides what marketing methods to use.

Budget

A consultant can also create a budget for a business. All companies need a budget to make sure that they do not spend too much and put themselves in debt. A new business can’t afford to be in serious debt because they didn’t plan out how much they would spend for the year. Moreover, running a business is a difficult endeavor, and creating a budget can be a time-consuming, complex process. For instance, a company that makes baked goods will have to figure out how much flour, sugar, and other ingredients they will need and how much it will cost. Prices could increase over time, too.

They must calculate how much they will have to charge customers so they can get the money they need. A development consultant has the experience and skills to help businesses create a detailed budget. With a proper budget, these can avoid disasters.

Marketing

Marketing is an important way for any company to advertise their products and services. Marketing can also give businesses the exposure they need. There are many different marketing techniques to choose from, some more effective than others. New ventures that are trying to decide how to market their products and services can be overwhelmed by the many different techniques available. Furthermore, some of them might spend their entire marketing budget on one technique just to find out it wasn’t the best method for their business.

A business development consultant has the knowledge and experience necessary to find the best methods to use, and they can help companies market very effectively and stay within the allotted marketing budget.

Brand Creation

New enterprises need to create a memorable and appealing brand to increase their customer base. It can be difficult to design a unique and professional logo as well. Business consultants know what customers like, and they can guide companies to create a memorable brand. They’ll make a legible, attractive logo that a firm will be able to use for a long time.

Writing Articles

Most businesses will need to have articles written for anything from brochures to websites. Having professional articles shows clients capablity and ability to deal with them in a professional manner. Articles with several spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors can cause a company to lose many potential customers because these unprofessional pieces of writing will make customers believe the business is not trustworthy or capable. A development consultant can help these create professional articles and advertisements.

When starting an enterprise, a proper business plan and budget is needed, and a strong marketing strategy must be created. An appealing brand and professional articles are also necessary, and business development consultants can help start ups with all of this and more.

As the title suggests, Risk Management Consulting is a process in which the consultant aims to identify and detect any factor, which can cause any possible loss to a company or a business. Once the harmful factor has been identified, he has to suggest ways and take the necessary steps which would result in the elimination of the threat which the company may face. In cases where the loss and damage has already occurred, he needs to recommend the right measures which would minimize the damage done. Therefore, in a lot of ways, this process is like a ‘shield’ which protects the company and business from going downhill.

The kind of risks which a company or a business may face may be of various kinds; it may be of a technological sort or it may be some kind of financial setback. Each risk would bring about its own kind of loss; therefore the consulting services would be also be according to the kind of risk which the company is facing. Basically, this process involves specialized advice which is given to companies and businesses so that they can look out for potential danger and avoid it.

However, it is not always possible to avoid every risk and threat, and sometime or another, the company may find itself in deep waters. In such situations, the company would need fast, effective solutions to get their work back on track and this area, too, is covered by these consulting services. So here’s where you need the right services for the protection of your assets.

For a successful business, it is necessary that the business earns does more profit than loss and this can only be possible if it is not exposed to risks and dangers, every now and then. Although, Risk Management is relatively a new field, its importance cannot be overlooked. This consulting service guides the company before they agree into some kind of a settlement with another party. Their main task is to ensure that the deals etc are safe and would work out in the best interest of the company.

The advantage of these consulting services is pretty self explanatory, they help the company avoid risks and damage, the company, in turn can focus more on their work and produce more and consequently, the losses decline. Therefore, it is always a good idea to refer to a professional consultant who could help you expand your business with his valuable advice.

Clients often wonder why an attorney charges for the initial consultation, which may occur before the client has decided to proceed, or chosen the lawyer he or she wants. The reason for this was summed up by Abraham Lincoln, who said that “a lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade.” During an initial consultation, I expect to spend some time with the client, and give him or her the benefit of my knowledge and experience. Lawyers don’t want to give away their “stock in trade” for the same reason that any other business expects its customers to pay for what they purchase.

Sometimes, a consultation is all that the client wants or needs. In other cases, at the end of the consultation the lawyer is able to offer the client one or more options on how to proceed, and the client can then make an informed decision about whether to proceed, and also whether this is the lawyer they want to retain.

There are some lawyers who offer free consultations, as a way to bring in additional business. I have come to believe that this doesn’t work well, in the long run, for either the attorney or the client. If the attorney spends the amount of time on free consultations that is needed to analyze the client’s situation, he might spend all day working without getting paid – not a good business model! Other attorneys might offer “free” consultations with a strict time limit: you get 15, or perhaps 30 minutes for free, and then the meter starts running. That seems a little deceptive: the free part is taken up by the introductions, and the client’s description of their circumstances. For the client to receive a real benefit, they will need to pay for the second half of the consultation.

There are some exceptions to this rule. Attorneys almost never charge for the initial consultation in a Personal Injury cases; these are cases where the fee is normally based on a percentage of what the attorney recovers for the client. In Social Security or Workers’ compensation cases, charging for a consultation would actually be illegal: the agencies that administer these benefits must approve any fees that lawyers charge.

Many lawyers also accept a limited number of cases “pro bono”, or without charging any fee. These are often referred to the lawyer by a local legal services organization, who determines the client’s eligibility based on their financial circumstances.