When addressing the question who hires consultants?, the definition of being a consultant needs to be settled first. It is simple enough. It is generally accepted to be a person who gives expert advice professionally (Oxford Concise English Dictionary).

In business-survival language, a person determined to become an independent consultant has to approach his search for clients with some kind of presumption that he will be able to establish good business relationships with enough people (especially business decision-makers) who will be prepared to consider hiring him (or her) for the expert advice he will be able to offer them and the style and manner with which he will offer it.

Two other important questions to be considered are: who hires the experienced independent consultants that have grown strong reputations over the years and who already have a large network of regular clients? And who is it that will likely hire the aspiring independent consultant who is just starting out?

Accepting that the established consultants will have been newcomers to their marketplace at some time in the past, the now-settled reality will be that they will have built up a reputation and will have proved themselves to be invaluable to the clients they have accumulated since they set-up business They will be hired because of these attributes: the services they offer will have become sound and well-suited to the individual clients. They will have developed an understanding of the businesses and have a serviceable relationship with the personalities they have to interface with; and they will be reliable.

The consultant will provide them with on-call access to his expertise, but only when they need it. They do not need to employ an expert member of staff (with all the attendant liabilities) and find other work for the staff-member to do to fill-up time. Nor will the client need to pay for holiday time or time-off-sick. All these savings are likely to matter particularly to smaller businesses interested in economies wherever they can be found.

Equally importantly, a consultant is likely to be especially-valued if he is known to reinforce his existing expertise continuously by buying the journals and keeping-up his memberships of the professional bodies that will ensure he stays fully up-to-date on professional matters, and even to spend money on essential training courses, sparing clients the need to include any of these often substantial annual training costs in their own budgets.

But perhaps the most fundamental reason why an established consultant will be consistently hired is that most old-fashioned ingredient: reliability. He will be going out of his way to make sure that his clients can feel confident he will always be there for them, ready to help them sort out their problems. Quite often they can’t be confident their own staff would be that diligent.

It is worth noting that an aspiring independent consultant looking to establish himself in any type of consultancy will have a tough job ahead. At the same time as there is more awareness among business managers of the valuable role that consultants play, and many more employees are being exposed to the work that the consultants are doing for their bosses and think to themselves, “perhaps I could do that and do a lot better for myself.”

If they do take the risk of breaking away from employment, the majority of them survive for a time on work passed to them by former managers who thought well-enough of them when they were employees. But today – especially – it needs a very clear-minded and determined would-be entrepreneur to find and set himself up in a consultancy business niche where he will survive and, in due course, prosper.

Market research is an essential part of the aspiring independent’s business planning. This period also provides an excellent opportunity to ask for meetings with business managers who do not yet use consultancy services – planting a seed that can be nurtured in the months ahead, so that a portfolio of prospects can be developed.

So who will hire him? Well it depend on how well he has marketed himself and what expertise he has to offer. “Hello Mrs Prospect, we spoke before and you have explained why your company doesn’t need consultants. Well I have thought more about our conversation and I wondered …