A Major Opportunity for Consultants

Because of an unusual set of circumstances, the next few years are a key time to start a consulting career. And I happen to be in a position to recognize the new opportunity as well as offer general advice about being a consultant. Why should you listen to me? I don’t claim to be the best consultant in the world, and I don’t represent the biggest firms you may have heard of. But my firm (Solutions 21) and I have provided consulting services since 1994. We achieved $1 million in revenues after three years in business, and have been a multimillion-dollar firm ever since.

With offices in Pittsburgh and Phoenix, at any one time we may have 25-30 consultants on engagements, and we have served 50+ clients every year for many years. We have worked on assignments that have rescued dying companies, expanded firms 1700%, opened shuttered manufacturing plants, quadrupled the number of employees, implemented programs that made employees feel more valued, created strategic plans that produced some “best-ever” performances – and that is just a sample. We have served clients like Heinz, Bayer, Schering-Plough, Dress Barn, Merck, USX and Pfizer. We have worked on four continents and with people from 35 countries. Many of our clients have been with us almost from the beginning, and have used us on projects every year, and we get much of our business from referrals. Sometimes our problem is not finding business, but finding competent consultants to do the work.

Personally, I’ve written a couple of books that ended up giving me some insight into the current situation that consultants can take advantage of. And I’ve done proprietary research on world-class performers in many areas that’s given me information about the traits and habits of very successful people.

I believe the time is right for experienced professionals to join the ranks of independent consultants. If you have years of experience as a professional and you are unemployed, underemployed or want to try something new, NOW is the time to make your move. I will show you how you can take your experience and become a “solopreneur” consultant; the market is demanding your skills.

In 2009 I finished writing a book called Gen Y Now: How Generation Y Changes Your Workplace and Why It Requires a New Leadership Style. The research for that book and the subsequent consulting we have done have given me some new insights into the current work world. We have discovered there is a dramatic shift occurring in regards to how businesses obtain talent.  This shift is not temporary. It is the “new normal” and it is a huge opportunity for independent consultants.

The Baby Boomers – those between 1946 and 1964 – have been the dominant generation in this country since the 1960s. As discussed in my last book (Gen Y Now), Boomers’ dominance is waning as they age and leave the workforce. On January 1, 2011 the first of the Baby Boomers turned 65. This makes 1/11/11 a demographic “tipping point.” For the next 18 years, 10,000 Americans a day will turn 65, one every 81⁄2 seconds.

This article is an excerpt from Buddy’s latest eBook "Experience Matters: How to Succeed as a Consultant in Today’s World." To download your free copy of the full version, CLICK HERE.