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Examples of Business Consultancy Business Ideas Do you have a particular set of skills? Can you offer those skills to businesses? Then starting a business consultancy business could be right for you.

By Nicole Crampton

You're reading Entrepreneur South Africa, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

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A business consultant offers advice to companies in their area of expertise. You can consult businesses on everything from leadership development to stress management.

Here are 10 examples of business consultancy businesses you can learn from to help give your consultancy a competitive advantage:

1. Leadership/Team Building Consultant

Every business wants their employees to be top performers and work together seamlessly. An outside pair of eyes with experience in leadership development and team building can help businesses achieve this goal. Here is an example of a business consultant you can use to learn from:

Business Name: Arise Team Building

Website: https://ariseteambuilding.co.za/

About the business:

Arise Team Building bring together qualified facilitators who work closely with their customers and ensure that team building, and training activities are linked to measurable results.

Programmes are designed to enable organisations to achieve the ideals, attitudes and goals they are striving for.

Innovative business offering

Arise Team Building offers strategically planned team building events, presented by an experienced facilitator who understands business processes and who actively monitors the external environment and will act as a catalyst for achieving more robust strategies.

2. Advertising Consulting

Are you great at coming up with what could be the next viral advertising campaign? Then you should look at becoming an advertising consultant. Advertising is vital to any growing business, this is why different brands need to successfully promote their business to the masses.

Here is an advertising consultancy you can learn a few ideas from:

Business Name: Dragonfly Marketing

Website: https://dragonflymarketing.co.za/

Established Date: 2011

About the business:

Dragonfly Marketing create unique campaigns that can be run across the board. Their advertising campaigns integrate every type of advert from social media, print, outdoor and web.

Related: 25 Of The Most Successful Business Ideas In South Africa

They don't outsource any aspect of the work, and manage the campaign from start to finish.

Innovative business offering

Dragonfly Marketing also offers app development, branding, event management, marketing, social media management and website development, to ensure they can cater to all their client's needs.

3. Marketing Consultant

Do you have extensive marketing knowledge? You could become a marketing consultant and offer businesses your skills. You can approach smaller businesses that don't have a dedicated marketing team and offer your services.

Before you start your business, find out what your competition is doing and how you can remain competitive with this marketing consultancy example:

Business Name: IM Squared

Website: http://www.im2.co.za/

About the business:

IM Squared has over 10 years successful media and marketing experience in numerous industries. Their aim is to provide authentic and impactful solutions for the needs of their clients in the most suitable and effective way. IM Squared focuses on digital and social media marketing and has an excellent track record to match it.

Innovative business offering

Besides marketing they also offer brand development, a full digital strategy and media sales. The more services you can offer your clients the more reason they have to keep working with you, just don't overextend yourself.

4. Business Management Consultant

A business management consultant offers strategic, unbiased and objective advisory services, which assist a company in improving productivity and performance.

Does this sound like something you could do? Here is an example you can learn from before you launch your own business management consultancy:

Business Name: Analyze Consulting

Website: https://analyze.co.za/

Established Date: 2007

About the business:

Analyze Consulting was founded with the purpose to help businesses identify and solve their inefficiencies. They have a passion for quality business analysis and project management. They aim to be objective in confidently defining the best possible solution for their client's business.

Innovative business offering

Analyze Consulting also offer project and programme management, quality assurance, business process improvement, assessments and mentoring, as well as business and IT strategies.

Related: A Free Business Plan Example to Launch Your South African Business

This offering allows them to offer their clients a comprehensive solution to all of their business management challenges.

5. Efficiency Consultant

Time is money, which means every business wants to be as efficient and organised as possible. If you have the right experience and skills, you can offer your services to help them optimise their systems and processes. Before you launch your business, here is an example of a business consultancy you can learn from:

Business Name: Virtual Tag

Website: https://virtualtag.co.nz/business-efficiency-consultant/

Established Date: 2011

About the business:

Virtual Tag's aim is to construct web applications that can solve their client's challenges and increase efficiencies. They start out by discovering what their client's business needs to function efficiently and productively. Virtual Tag's team will then offer innovative ideas and solutions to meet their client's requirements.

Innovative business offering

Virtual Tag will create the web applications from scratch for their clients, as well as providing ongoing support to ensure they stay at the forefront of their industry.

6. Environmental Consultant

There is a global movement for corporates to reduce, reuse and recycle what they can. To ensure they do everything they can, some businesses are hiring environmental consultants.

If you have experience in reducing a business' environmental impact, this could be the business consultancy business for you. Here is an example you can learn from and use to ensure you remain competitive:

Business Name: PENSU Environmental Consulting

Website: https://pensu.co.za/

Established Date: 2017

About the business:

Natalie Pullen, an environmental scientist with 14 years field experience founded PENSU Environmental Consulting. They focus on Water Resource Management, Integrated Waste Management, Integrated Environmental Management, and Green Buildings.

Innovative business offering

PENSU Environmental Consulting approach environmental legislation as an opportunity to provide superior service to their clients and help them to run efficiently and effectively.

7. Financial and Retirement Consulting

Many people don't start saving for retirement until it's too late. A financial and retirement consultant will help staff to invest wisely so that they can retire comfortably.

Related: 6 Facts You Need to Know About Starting Your Own Consulting Business

If you have the right skills for this business consultancy business, you can offer your services to individuals as well as businesses. Before you start your business, use this financial and retirement consulting example to learn from:

Business Name: Alliant Retirement Consulting

Website: http://www.alliantretirementconsulting.com/

Established Date: 2002

About the business:

The goal of Alliant Retirement Services is to guide their clients through the decision-making process so they truly understand the challenges and choices properly. This enables their clients to make informed decisions and have the satisfaction that the most suitable choice has been made.

Innovative business offering

Not only does Alliant Retirement Services provide retirement consulting, but also extensive vendor searches and reviewing of investment analysis reports. They also strive to listen and understand their client's issues, challenges and goals to ensure the best possible outcome.

8. Risk Management Consulting

Do you have experience with risk management? As a risk management consultant, you'll advise organisations on any potential or existing risks to profitability of the business.

Before you get started, learn a few pointers from this example of a risk management consulting business:

Business Name: Phinity Risk Solutions

Website: http://prsworld.com/

About the business:

Phinity Risk Solutions aim to revolutionise the way their clients think about risk, by automating risk analysis and allowing resources to concentrate on risk management.

They use software that automates information requests, analysis and management of every risk using an effective risk treatment plan.

Innovative business offering

Besides the risk management solutions, Phinity Risk Solutions also offers vendor risk management solutions, ongoing risk assessments of all production processes and applications and project risk to help clients assess the potential impact of all real and perceived risk.

All of these services are then funnelled together so Phinity Risk Solutions can create an effective risk treatment plan.

9. Stress Management Consulting

Managing the stress of their employees is important for many companies who need their staff to remain at peak performance. You can offer a stress management consultancy to help staff to reduce their stress and remain productive.

Related: 4 Signs You're Expert Enough to Launch a Consulting Business

Here is a stress management consulting business that you can use to learn about the industry and to ensure you're competitive when you launch:

Business Name: Linda Thaper: Lifestyle Management

Website: https://www.lindathaper.com/services/corporate-stress-management-consultant/

Established Date: 2005

About the business:

Linda Thaper: Lifestyle Management offers stress management consulting for the corporate environment. They focus on helping their clients address their triggers and assist them in producing the workplace change they desire.

They focus on helping their clients become more time efficient, more organised, with improved confidence in public speaking, improved communication skills and teaching them how to become more empowered.

Innovative business offering

In addition to confidence coaching, Linda Thaper: Lifestyle Management also offer health coaching strategies, hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming and relationship coaching among other things.

10. Virtual Human Resources Consultant

Not every business can afford to have a staff member dedicated to human resources. This could be a potential business opportunity for you if you have the required skills and experience. Before you launch your virtual human resources consulting business, here is an example of a consultancy business you can learn from:

Business Name: Virtual HR Consultants

Website: http://virtualhrc.com/

About the business:

Virtual HR Consultants offer Human Resource solutions to small and medium business owners by handling tasks or processes that could be time consuming or that may require specific industry knowledge and experience.

Innovative business offering

Virtual HR Consultants will analyse their client's specific business needs and help them to gain access to a broader range of expertise for as long, and as frequently, as needed. They also offer virtual administrative and legal solutions to small and medium sized businesses.

Related: Why Building a Consulting Business Is Harder Than It Initially Seems

Nicole Crampton

Entrepreneur Staff

Sales Enablement - Content Developer

Nicole Crampton is an SEO specialist who contributes to Entrepreneur.com/za. She has studied a BA Journalism at Monash South Africa and has continued her studies with a Creative Writing degree from UNISA. Nicole has completed several courses in writing and online marketing, and continues to hone her skills and expertise in digital media, digital marketing and content creation.

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