Identifying Profitable Niches In Consulting

Want to know why most entrepreneurs fail? They jump into markets without validating if they're profitable. Having helped a lot of entrepreneurs across various sectors find their niche, here's what I've learned: Most people do this: → Pick something they're passionate about → Create a product immediately → Hope customers will come Then 6 months later, they realize: - The market is too small - Competition is too fierce - Customers won't pay enough Here's how to actually validate a profitable niche: 1. Start with Pain Points - What problems do people complain about? - What solutions are they actively seeking? - Which problems do they pay to solve? 2. Analyze Market Size - Count potential customers - Calculate their spending power - Estimate market growth rate 3. Study Competition - Who else serves this market? - What are their weaknesses? - Where are the gaps? 4. Verify Profitability - Average customer value - Cost to acquire customers - Potential profit margins 5. Test Market Response → Create a basic landing page → Run small ad campaigns (£500 max) → Get on calls with 10+ potential customers The Key Questions to Ask: • Is the pain urgent enough? • Do they have money to spend? • Can you reach them affordably? • Is there room for another player? Red Flags to Watch For: - No one's making money - Customers are price-sensitive - High customer acquisition costs - Declining market trends Remember.. A profitable niche isn't about what YOU think is cool. It's about what OTHERS will pay to solve. The goal isn't to find a perfect niche. The goal is to find one profitable enough to build a business. Want to test if your niche is profitable? Start with these steps and save yourself months of wasted time. P.S. What niche are you considering?  Share below and I'll give you my thoughts 👇

The $57K placement fee that changed everything for me came from a niche the big agencies ignored. When I started my recruiting business, I was competing with everyone. Fighting for the same tech roles, the same sales positions, the same clients. Then I noticed something: While Robert Half and Korn Ferry dominated the mainstream markets, entire specialized segments sat untouched. No competition. Higher fees. Grateful clients. 10 years and hundreds of conversations with successful independent recruiters later, I've discovered a pattern: The highest-earning recruiters aren't competing with staffing giants. They're dominating spaces too specialized for the big firms to bother with. Here's how to find your profitable niche: 1. Look for high-complexity, high-compensation roles Big firms thrive on volume. They want repeatable placements with standardized job descriptions. The gold mine? Roles requiring deep expertise that can't be templated: • Specialized regulatory compliance positions (average fee: $25K-45K) • Hybrid technical/leadership roles (average fee: $30K-60K) • Emerging technology specialties with small talent pools (average fee: $35K-80K) 2. Identify transitioning industries According to Top Echelon's 2025 State of Recruiting Report, areas undergoing rapid transformation create natural gaps. Think industries where: • Regulations are changing quickly (fintech, healthcare) • Technology is disrupting traditional roles (clean energy, telehealth) • Two previously separate disciplines are merging (AI ethics, clinical data science) 3. Follow the frustration Where are hiring managers consistently let down? What positions stay open for 6+ months? A pharmaceutical client told me: "We've worked with three major recruiting firms on our GMP compliance role. None understand the specific regulatory background we need." That's not a problem. That's an opportunity. 4. Test before you commit Before going all-in, validate your niche: • Conduct 10 research calls with hiring managers • Review job boards for positions open 90+ days • Connect with candidates in the space to assess supply 5. Go deep, not wide A recruiter in my network focused exclusively on DevSecOps for financial services. Not just DevOps. Not just security. Not just any industry. Her first year: Four placements at $35K each. Year two: Eight placements at $42K each. Now: Clients call her before posting jobs publicly. The narrower your focus, the wider your profit margins. Large firms can't afford to specialize at the level you can. Their business models require volume. Your advantage is precision, not scale. What's the niche where you already have connections? Where you understand the language better than most recruiters? That's not just your specialty. That's your next $50K placement waiting to happen.

Every senior leader I work with hits this wall. (Here's how a Marketing VP overcame it) You know what's counter-intuitive about deep expertise? Often, the more comprehensive your knowledge becomes, the more challenging it is to articulate its value. I was recently working with someone who embodied this challenge. A VP of Marketing with two decades of experience. Despite his extensive track record, he found himself with a familiar executive dilemma: → How to package decades of sophisticated experience into a compelling market offering? Many accomplished leaders I work with share this sentiment. When you've spent 20+ years building a multifaceted career, normal "niche-finding" frameworks can feel minimizing. Here's the wall people hit: ↳ It's challenging to honor the nuanced complexity of senior-level expertise. ↳ It's easy to flatten expertise and end up with a watered-down product/service. So instead of constraining his experience into predetermined categories, we took a different approach. We conducted a thorough analysis of his career trajectory, uncovering the patterns in his success and his truly uncopyable assets. Here's what emerged from our work: 1. Architected his Niche of One • His distinct value wasn't merely in his deep knowledge, but in his ability to solve a specific challenge: Helping tech companies scale their marketing operations from $10M to $50M ARR. We identified this as his beachhead market.  2. Packaged his expertise • Rather than commoditizing his expertise into time-based services, we architected a productized advisory service. When you focus on such a specific outcome vs deliverables, the conversation shifts from cost to ROI. 3. Setup a client acquisition system • Targeting CEOs and Revenue Leaders at Series B/C companies with marketing growing pains. The result? After two months, he had launched his clearly positioned business and secured his first 5-figure engagement. ___ The transformation wasn't about repackaging skills. It was about shifting from capability-based consulting to outcome-driven advisory work. This is what distinguishes a premium advisor from a service provider. What’s one outcome you consistently help others achieve, even if it’s hard to articulate?

In consulting, what got you here won’t get you there. That lesson has never been more urgent. Some context: I run an automated market research prompt every Monday that probes industry conversations across Subreddits, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. This morning’s intelligence tells a clear story: Referral pipelines are drying up, generic lead generation is running out of steam, and consultants who built their practices on relationships are hitting a scalability ceiling. Economic headwinds and automation mean more consultants are chasing leads instead of attracting ideal clients. Many are busy BUT not necessarily profitable or positioned for growth. What does the data show? ✔️ Firms and independents thriving today clarify their unique value, shifting from generalist positioning to micro-niche mastery. In this climate, the smaller your pond, the easier it is to be the big fish. ✔️ Pricing and packaging confusion is rampant. Many resist raising rates or shifting to outcome-based pricing, even as clients demand more for less. But evidence shows those who specialize, clarify outcomes, and reframe pricing achieve greater stability. ✔️ Above all, AI and automation are shifting the landscape. With tactical tasks automated, consultants must lean into strategic advisory, change, and transformation. Survival depends on outcome-driven thinking, not billable hours. After decades in the field and hundreds of engagements, these findings resonate. Staying ahead means auditing your business model, repositioning toward bigger problems, refining your message, and focusing on measurable outcomes. Here’s my advice for the months ahead: 1/ Narrow your positioning so your ideal clients see you as “the” expert for their problem. 2/ Package services for clarity and value, not just for delivery. 3/ Prioritize advisory, transformation, and relationships as core offers. 4/ Track outcomes and be transparent with ROI; clients are more skeptical and data-savvy than ever. 5/ Don’t chase; attract. Invest in thought leadership, substance over volume, and marketing that reflects your expertise. The window for distinction and premium pricing is shrinking. Those who adapt now — building specialized, outcome-driven practices — will shape the future. Those who wait risk becoming casualties of commoditization and tech disruption. Sign up for my upcoming webinar series, "Future-Proof Your Consulting Practice," where we’ll tackle these trends and actions head-on. Watch for more in the comments. If you feel the market shifting under your feet, remember: consulting isn’t just about being the smartest. It’s being the most relevant, visible, and trusted for your clients’ greatest challenges. #Consulting #AI #Positioning

Most new AI agencies fail before they start—not because of tech, but because of niche selection. I've helped hundreds of entrepreneurs find their AI niche. The ones hitting six figures aren't in the "hot" spaces everyone shouts about (dental, real estate). They're in overlooked, weird little corners of the economy—where they have unfair advantages. The mistake: chasing "profitable" niches you don't understand. The fix: leverage what you already have. The 3-Factor Niche Framework 1. Real Interest If you wouldn't happily read trade blogs & talk ops with owners, you'll burn out. 2. Existing Connections People who'd actually take your call today = faster research, warm intros, borrowed credibility. 3. Growing Demand Labor shortages, new compliance, generational ownership change, analog processes ripe for automation. Hit 2 of 3 and you're dangerous. Hit all 3 and you're printing case studies. 7-Day Action Plan Day 1–2: Brain-dump niches across the 3 factors (no editing). Day 3-6: Shortlist top 3 and have 10 quick conversations per niche. Ask: - What's your most annoying manual process? - What's slipping through the cracks? - What have you tried that didn't work—and why? Day 7: Choose 1 niche. - Build a tiny solution for a repeated pain. Ship → get feedback → iterate. Use our proven script to get responses: "Hi [name], I'm exploring opportunities in [industry] and would love your perspective on the biggest challenges you face. I promise this isn't a pitch—genuinely trying to understand the industry better. Would you be open to a 15-minute call?" What to weight after your conversations: - Which niche had the most engaged discussions? - Clearest repeated pain points? - Business owners frustrated enough to pay for solutions? Pick that one. Commit 90 days minimum. Businesses don't pay for "AI." They pay to remove expensive bottlenecks (faster response times, fewer no-shows, cleaner data, fewer headcount hours). If you commit 90 days to one lane—learning the lingo, mapping workflows, solving 1–2 pains—you'll stop feeling like you're pushing water uphill. What kills success: - Switching niches after one bad conversation. - Analyzing instead of talking to real business owners. - Waiting for perfect market research. - Choosing based on what gurus say is profitable. - Your first niche won't be perfect. But you need to commit long enough to understand the industry and build something valuable. 👉 Want our Airtable of DOZENS of pre-proven niches + markets to work with? 1. Connect with me 2. Comment "NICHE" I'll send you the exact worksheet to choose a niche you can win in—fast. (Must be connected – prioritizing reposts first!)

Some questions hit my DMs and instantly tell me someone is thinking like a future consultant. Here’s one of them. “I’m leading regulatory affairs, active in industry bodies, and I’d love to take on advisory or consulting work on the side. How do I position myself?” This is the moment most people wait far too long for. They only think about consulting once they’ve left corporate - which means starting from zero. If you’re asking this now, you’re already ahead. From here, it comes down to four things: 1. Check your employment contract Not exciting, but essential. Some contracts block paid work that overlaps with your day job. Make sure anything you do is clean, compliant and conflict-free before you move. 2. Position yourself clearly “Regulatory affairs” is broad. “I help MedTech startups prepare for EU submissions with speed and confidence” is specific, valuable and memorable. Your niche is what people buy. And if you want to make your positioning crystal clear online, I’ve put together a free LinkedIn profile cheatsheet you can put into action straight away >>> https://lnkd.in/dZhubpFY ! 3. Decide how you’ll package your expertise Board advisory? Fractional? Interim? Mentoring? People won’t buy what they can’t understand. Give your expertise a clear shape. 4. Build visible proof Companies don’t buy years of experience - they buy evidence. Show the problems you’ve solved, the insights you share, the panels you contribute to. Make your track record easy to see. And yes, this approach works. A senior RA professional in our network picked one MDR pain point she understood deeply, shared short, practical insights around it, and within a few months she had inbound requests for paid advisory work - without ever leaving her full-time role. That’s the impact of clear positioning matched with visible expertise. If you’re thinking, “that could be me”, start small. Define your niche. Shape your offer. Get visible. Consulting isn’t about leaving your job. It’s about leveraging what you already know to create more impact, more influence and more income. What do you think - is consulting something you’ve ever considered?

𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀? 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 Is your cybersecurity startup struggling to gain traction in a crowded market? Many first-time CEOs in this space cast a wide net, hoping to appeal to everyone, but often end up resonating with no one. Imagine if you could pinpoint your ideal customer, tailor your services, and become the go-to security provider for a lucrative niche? 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆: Cybersecurity CEO Achieves 180% Revenue Growth by Focusing on Car Dealerships  𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: A first-time cybersecurity CEO with a strong background in penetration testing struggled to secure clients. Their generalized approach lacked focus, making it difficult to stand out in a competitive market. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲: To achieve rapid growth, the CEO needed to identify a profitable niche and develop a targeted strategy to attract and secure ideal clients. 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Through results-driven coaching, we: • Identified car dealerships as a lucrative niche with unique cybersecurity needs, particularly in protecting customer data and loan processing systems.  • Developed a specialized cybersecurity offering tailored to the specific vulnerabilities and compliance requirements of car dealerships.  • Created targeted marketing campaigns highlighting the potential consequences of cyberattacks on loan processing and customer trust.  • Coached the CEO on effective communication, emphasizing the value proposition and building trust with dealership owners.  𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁:  • Achieved 180% revenue growth within 6 months by focusing on the car dealership niche.   • Secured 8 major dealership clients, establishing the company as a trusted security provider in the automotive sector.   • Developed a strong reputation for expertise in protecting sensitive financial data and ensuring compliance. 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 1.  Have you identified a specific niche where your cybersecurity expertise can make a real impact? 2.  Are you effectively communicating the value of your services to your target audience? 3.  Do you have a deep understanding of the unique cybersecurity challenges and compliance requirements of your niche? 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:  • Niche down to dominate: Focusing on a specific industry allows you to develop specialized expertise and stand out from the competition. • Speak their language: Tailor your messaging to resonate with the specific needs and concerns of your target audience. 𝗟𝗲𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁!   If you're a first-time startup or midsize company cybersecurity CEO ready to unlock exponential growth by targeting a lucrative niche, DM me to discuss your challenges and how coaching can help. #Cybersecurity #Startup #TechCEO #Leadershipcoaching #CEOCoaching #ExecutiveCoaching #FirsttimeCEO

"Consulting is saturated. It's tough to make a mark unless you have a network." Not true, my friend. Apparently, there are 63 million+ MSMEs in India. Do you think there are anywhere close to even 6 million consultants serving them? The only way to making a living in consulting is not Fortune 500 clients or retainers. Here are some ideas to make money in consulting: 1. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 – Instead of selling hours, bundle your skills into fixed-price services with clear deliverables. - Hiring process audit - Rewards structure design - Variable pay calculator ⟶ Clients love knowing exactly what they’re paying for. Make it easy to say yes. 2. 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 & 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 – Companies have budgets for upskilling their teams. If you can teach leadership, strategy, or even compliance in an engaging way, this is a goldmine. ⟶ Don’t just offer workshops. Sell a transformation. “Increase employee retention by 20%” sounds way better than “HR training.” 3. 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 – One-off projects are exhausting. A small business paying you monthly for advisory support is stability. ⟶ Offer ongoing value. Regular check-ins, access to your insights, and priority problem-solving make retainers an easy go-to. 4. 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 – Many companies can’t afford a full-time CHRO, CMO, or COO but desperately need expertise. ⟶ Position yourself as an on-demand executive. “Limited invesment, limitless impact.” 5. 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 & 𝗖𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 – If you keep answering the same client questions, turn your knowledge into an online course. ⟶ First students come from your existing network. Teach live at first, then scale. 6. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 – Events and webinars pay well when you establish authority in your niche. ⟶ Even free talks lead to paid work. Show up, add value, and make sure your call to action is crystal clear. 7. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 & 𝗧𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 – Business owners want speed. If you have proven frameworks (e.g., an onboarding checklist, a pricing strategy template), they will pay for plug-and-play solutions. ⟶ Sell results, not documents. “This framework reduced hiring time by 40%” is compelling. 8. 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 – Startups and growing companies need strategic advisors. Many offer equity, and some pay cash. ⟶ Your insights are an asset. Position as a “board-level” thinker, not just an extra set of hands. Do I do all of these? Not really, no. But am I getting there? Hell, yes. Recently, I worked with a consulting firm that continues to struggle with its pipeline. Brilliant people, ridiculously poor sales engine. They rely on inbound leads, which meant that landing better quality clients isn't happening at all. Consulting is a skill. Many people have it. Till you merge it with a system, you're going to struggle. What do you think? #consulting #sales #productStrategy #strategy #systemsThinking #structure

Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from subtraction not addition. When Maria contacted me, she was offering seven different services through her consulting practice. Her website looked impressive, her expertise was broad, and she could help with almost any business challenge. But her bank account told a different story. She was working 50+ hours a week, bringing in $15,000 monthly revenue… yet paying herself only $4,000. The problem wasn’t her skills it was the complexity of managing multiple services with different marketing, delivery, and operational systems. Here’s how we simplified and tripled her profit: 🟩 Profitability audit – We calculated the real profit of each service after delivery costs, admin overhead, and time. Three of the seven were losing money. 🟩 Client quality filter – We identified which services attracted her ideal clients (strategic planning intensives) versus those bringing in budget shoppers (basic audits). 🟩 Offer consolidation – We eliminated the unprofitable services and built one signature 90-day program around her most valuable expertise. The results: Month 1: Revenue dipped to $11K during the transition. Month 2: Revenue returned to $15K—with higher margins. Month 3: Revenue hit $22K, and her personal income jumped from $4K to $12.5K monthly. The real win? She went from scattered and overwhelmed to confident, focused, and recognized as the go-to expert in strategic business planning. Lesson: Sometimes, the fastest way to grow is to stop doing what’s not profitable. Which of your services might be costing you more than they make? If you’d like help identifying your most profitable offers, the link’s in the comments. #strategy #business #creativity #innovation #richbutbrokenomorewithfran

As a management consultancy how do you outperform in today's market? An anonymous memo briefly circled the web in March.  The authors claimed to be former partners at Mckinsey and criticised the firm for years of “unchecked and unmanaged growth” and a “lack of strategic focus”.  There was a hint of trouble brewing at the firm. Not long ago the consulting industry looked untouchable.  Fees rocketed during covid due to digital transformation, supply chain diversification, ESG initiatives and a flurry of M&A deals.  Revenues were up 20% at the big firms slowing to 5% in 2023 (Kennedy). When demand looked limitless, consultancies hired and now layoffs in various guises have become widespread. The consulting industry has weathered its fair share of storms including the dot.com crash and the global financial crisis.  Recovery though could prove more challenging this time due to preference for ‘local’ firms, a waning enthusiasm for ESG, reputational issues impacting trust and data crunching often being done by software and data firms. No doubt it's a tough time in consulting. But there are consultancies that are bringing their A game and outperforming the market. So what were some of the trends that set them apart? ✂ Specialists – carved out a niche for themselves 📚 Really well-defined proposition that resonates with the new value creation focus C suite buyers ⌛ Focused on multiyear client relationships and engagements, trust has been established 💻 Tech enabled - have a few close vendor relationships that pull work through for them and vice versa 💡 Codified new sustainable IP so there is value beyond people and prioritised reoccurring revenue 👯 Stayed really close to the customer during difficult times so top of mind 👩🔧 Attracted and retained really good ‘been there done that’ talent in chosen niche 🚀 Used their entrepreneurial nature as an advantage  -Nimble at responding to opportunities  -Flexibility on commercial arrangements   -Agile as clients conditions changed 🏳️🌈 Focussed on strong performing geographies 📈 Quantified value in proposals and outcomes across all their channels emphasising quantifiable impact on a clients business. 💲 Focused on maintaining strong profitability 💪 Flexing on mode of support – consultant, coach, mentor, partner, implementer 🗾 Made the complex simple, execution focused What would you add? Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Unsplash