How to Start a Consulting Business

The dictionary defines a consultant as "an expert in a exacting field who works as an adviser either to a company or to another individual." Sounds pretty unclear, doesn't it? But unless you've been in a coma for the past decade, you almost certainly have a good idea what a consultant is.

Businesses certainly understand what consultants are. In 1997 U.S. businesses spent just over $11 billion on consulting. According to Anna Flowers, spokesperson for the Association of Professional Consultants in Irvine, California, the association has recently noticed an augment in calls for in turn from people who want to get into the business. "The market is opening up for [the consulting-for-businesses] arena,"