Here’s How I Make Money Daily as a Business Consultant in Nigeria: My 7-Step Strategy

Fifteen years ago, I left banking and went straight into business consulting. I knew nothing about offering business consultancy services at the time but armed with my banking experience, I was convinced I could do it. I was wrong. 

Reality soon hit me hard in the face. My high hopes of making millions within a few short months were dashed. My experience in the market was nowhere close to what I expected. I almost backed off. Thank God I didn’t. 

Like me, maybe you started a consulting business full-time or as a side hustle. You had high hopes because the prospect of earning a decent income seemed high, but the stacks seemed all up against you a few months down the line. You are wondering, what is the problem? Where have I missed it? You are probably thinking, should I back off? 

Listen, don’t back off. Offering business consulting services is highly lucrative in most parts of the world especially emerging economies like Africa and Nigeria. 

What started as a one-man company based on my passion for advising small business owners has now grown into a successful consulting practice that brings in daily revenue. Along the way, I have had to manage my way through challenges and the unique demands of consulting in Nigeria’s vibrant yet young business landscape. Through trial and error, I discovered a series of strategies that sustain my business and ensure the daily inflow of income.

In this blog post, I will share with you, the secrets to how I make money daily as a business consultant in Nigeria using my 7-step Strategy that has been the backbone of my consulting success, so you can apply them to your journey and unlock consistent income too but first:

Why Should You Be Interested in Business Consulting?

There are several great reasons.

1. Global Expanding Market: Globally, the Business Consulting market valuation is estimated at $354.b in 2024 while revenue from IT Consulting and Implementation alone is estimated at US$74.89bn in 2024. 

The global consulting market was valued at around $702 billion in 2023. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3% through 2027.  African Market is valued at $ 2.5 billion while Nigeria alone is estimated at ₦40 billion annually and growing according to Consultancy.org

2. Consulting Fees: In the US, business consultants charge between $100 to $500 per hour for their services. Some independent consultants can earn over $150,000,p/annum with top-rated consultants often exceeding $500,000 annually, depending on several factors 

Average consulting fees in Africa vary by country and industry, but business consultants in Nigeria typically charge between ₦50,000 to ₦500,000 per day. Some business consultants with a strong niche and established networks earn between ₦5 million to ₦50 million annually, depending on their specialization, industry, types of client, and project size

3. Industry Growth: The consulting industry in the US is estimated at USD 59.03 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 82.28 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 6.87% during the forecast period (2024-2029)

A survey also showed that over 75% of Nigerian businesses use external consultants for business strategy, financial management, and digital transformation services among others

Here’s How I Make Money Daily as a Business Consultant in Nigeria: My 7-Step Strategy

Developing and sustaining a regular income stream is critical to your financial stability as a business consultant.  Strategic planning, consistent marketing, and effective client management are vital to helping you achieve your income goals.

Let’s take a deep dive into the 7 proven strategies I used to build to generate daily streams of  income as a retail business consultant

1. Be Good at the Service You Offer

To make money daily by offering business consultancy services, you must be good at what you do. You must be good at the service you offer such that clients can’t do without you. Be the go-to person for that service in your niche. 

Focusing on a particular niche will make you a recognized expert in that niche. It will help you become an authority figure or firm. It will also help you develop a depth of understanding that your clients will always value.

Being the best at the services you offer begins with developing and auditing your skills, depth of knowledge, and experience in a particular service, sector, and industry. Don’t be everywhere because you can’t be everywhere successfully

When I started business as a retail business consultant several years ago, I  described myself as a “Business and Management Consultant”.  

My idea was to offer  Business and Management Consulting services to as many clients as possible, and in any industry irrespective of the size of the business. I had no clear Ideal Customer Profile(ICP), no specific industry, and no clear niche except the “SMEs sector”. I was desperate and thought I could do everything!

I soon discovered that my approach was the worst strategy any beginner business consultant could adopt.  

When my marketing efforts started bringing in clients, I soon started struggling. I couldn’t offer quality services to many clients because I accepted too many unrelated projects at the same time, in different industries, not minding the size of businesses in those several unrelated sectors. 

Don’t do this. 

Do just one thing and be so good at it that you become the go-to person or firm in that service or sector. Remember, as a consultant, you will be considered an expert in your field, so your depth of knowledge and skills must be top-notch, current, and relevant. 

2. Conduct Market Research to Discover the Potential of Your Niche

Not all niches and targets are profitable and worth your time, effort, and resources. If you want to make money daily as a Business Consultant, you must first and foremost understand : 

• That your prospective clients are “located” in certain “markets”, sectors, and niches and not everywhere. 

• Many competitors already provide the same services you wish to offer or are getting ready to serve the same customers that you are targeting. 
• Not all “markets”, sectors, and customer segments are profitable and worth your effort and labor

Conducting market research will help you uncover market dynamics to conduct in-depth, Niche, Customer, and competition analyses.

Niche Analysis

Your niche is your unique sector of core expertise, experience, passion, or interest. Your niche is that unique space where you can offer your services at a profit.

When conducting Niche Analysis, you must ask yourself questions like how broad, active, and profitable is this market or niche.

You must understand that a niche can be broad and active yet unprofitable, therefore not worth your efforts and time.

A broad niche has several sub-niches or micro-niches. Identifying a great niche to determine size and profit potential is a function of research and market analysis

Niche market research will enable you to identify broad and profitable niches,sub-niches, and markets that could readily accept your services. It can also help you identify small or micro niches that could be under-served yet highly profitable. 

Customer Segment Analysis

If you hope to make money every day in business consulting as I do, it is important to carry out sector-by-sector or niche-by-niche customer analysis  to determine:

a) If that market has sizeable and viable customer numbers to support your business goals of making daily income

b) If those potential customers will need your product or services

c) If they can pay for your product or service

d) If the industry, market, or niche have a future

Find customers who have big problems that you can help them solve, customers who need your products or service, and can value and pay for it. Offer services that can solve customers’ real problems, not “me-too” products. 

Customer segment analysis will help you identify active and lucrative customer segments to deploy your resources and make money every single day.

Competition Analysis

Competition is at different levels with different levels of threat to your success. Some are larger than you with enormous resources and capabilities, some are at your level, and some are below your level. All levels of competition are important since they legitimately share parts of your customers’ minds, pockets, and bank accounts. Never underrate any competitor

You do not need too many customers at the beginning, a few profitable ones are enough, so identify all competitors, develop strategies to counter their threats, and clinch your most important customers.

3. Market and Sell Your Services or Product every day and at every opportunity

If you want to make money regularly from business consultancy, you must market and sell your services every day and at every opportunity. You must acquire new clients and retain old ones at all reasonable costs.

Marketing and Sales are two-fold: Prospecting and Key Accounts Management (KAM) or Key Customer Management.

Prospecting

Prospecting is the process of identifying and reaching out to potential customers (prospects) to turn them into buying customers. The goal of prospecting is customer acquisition. 

Prospecting implies looking for and talking to target customers every day to turn them into buying customers. In sales, prospecting is generally regarded as hunting. It is just like a hunter who goes to the forest daily to hunt for a game. The relationship is purely transactional and the goal is customer acquisition. 

Prospecting must occur using the channels that your target customers use predominantly e.g. if they use social media, radio, etc, reach them through that medium.

Ensure to look for your target customers where they can be found. If they are on Instagram, Facebook, or X, get there and be visible.

Key Account Management or Key Customer Management

Key Account Management (KAM) on the other hand, is a strategic approach to developing and managing existing relationships with your identified high-value clients. It focuses on understanding their needs, delivering customized solutions, and building long-term partnerships. The goal of KAM is relationship building and customer retention.

From research and my personal experience, it is far cheaper and more profitable to retain an old customer than to acquire a new one. 

Key Account Management(KAM) focuses mainly on giving highly personalized, focused, and satisfying service to your customers to keep them loyal for repeat businesses. It is about anticipating the needs of your existing customers and developing products or services that will keep them loyal to you.

Key Account Management (KAM) or Key Customer Management(KCM) is developing a deep relationship with your customers such that you own a greater share of their minds and their pockets relative to your competitors. 

In building these relationships, you will have to include some offerings like Retainer Agreements, diversification of offerings or bundling, Up-selling and Cross-Selling, and one-time consultancy offers.

1. Diversification of Product/Service Mix: This is when you expand your offerings to meet the ever-evolving needs of your customers. The aim is to strengthen relationships with existing customers and increase revenue for your firm

2. Upselling: This is when you offer upgraded or premium products or services to existing clients, thereby increasing value in the relationship, their general perception of you, and profit

3. Cross-selling: In cross-selling, you offer complementary products/services to existing clients to help in expanding revenue streams.

4. Retainership: Here, you offer ongoing consulting or service agreements to your clients to ensure consistent revenue and client commitment. Be careful not to sign up too many clients on a retainership basis so that you can serve them well.

5. One-time Consulting: Offer Project-based consulting services. This helps to address the specific needs of your clients. I have done this quite a lot when setting up businesses like Supermarkets, Malls, and Lounge/hospitality organizations for my clients. One-one-time consultancy offer is usually on a call-out basis or strictly one-time as the name suggests

4. Manage or Limit the Number of Customers You Serve

Desperation compels business consultants to take on more clients than they can satisfactorily manage. 

Don’t do this. It will negatively impact you and your brand.

You don’t need too many clients to make a decent income daily as a business consultant.

When I started my business consultancy firm, I accepted nearly every job and in any sector that came a-calling. 

My marketing efforts weren’t even focused. I reached out to all and sundry just to have customers. I misunderstood Grant Cardon’s 10x Strategy and thought it meant “go all out for everything”. 

To have the chance of getting satisfactory reviews and referrals from your clients, limit the number of clients, projects, and deals that you accept by following these steps:

1. Focus on quality over quantity: Select and serve a few clients based on your capacity per time. This will ensure your in-depth understanding of their needs.
2. Focus on medium to high-ticket clients: Target medium to high-paying clients. Reduce the desire for multiple low-paying projects. Big, high-paying clients usually have fewer headaches and won’t take much of your time because they are busy too
3. Focus on Retainer-based Income Strategy: Offer ongoing services for a recurring fee, ensuring predictable income. 

Ensure to state clearly the duration and service timelines in your contracts. Do not sign up for projects that have no clearly defined, agreed-upon mode of operation and times of completion

4. Focus on Package and bundle services: Offer comprehensive solutions. This will reduce average project cost and increase average project value.

5. Business Networking and Referral Marketing

Business Networking is the practice of developing and maintaining relationships with people or businesses in your industry or related industry, the aim of which is to exchange information, support, and create greater opportunities. Business networking aims to create professional connections that can lead to more business opportunities, better collaboration, partnerships, and leads.

Referral Marketing: In referral marketing, business consultants encourage their existing, satisfied customers to refer new clients to them, in exchange for a reward to both the referrer and new client. It relies on satisfied customers recommending products or services to their network.

Steps to Referral Marketing: 

1. Leverage existing networks: Utilize professional connections for referrals and introductions.

2. Attend industry events: Establish thought leadership and build relationships. Be visible in cohort meetings and events

3. Strategic partnerships: Collaborate with complementary service providers. This will give you an edge and some experiences you would get on your own sometimes

4. Referral Incentives: Encourage satisfied clients to refer others for valuable rewards e.g you could offer them free consulting in limited areas for a set period

The benefits of business networking and referral marketing include consistent lead generation, reduced marketing costs, increased credibility, and the opportunity for high-quality client referrals.

6. Build Internal Capabilities through Continuous Improvement and Process Automation

As you acquire and develop strong relationships in your niche, the need to build your personal and team capabilities will arise. Don’t wait until it is too late.

1. Develop unique solution models for handling each customer segment or niche. One-size-fits-all or generics solutions do not always adequately serve customers. You need to create unique, valuable solutions based on your knowlegde of their painpoints, if you plan to remain relevant to your customers.
2. As a solopreneur, you will be many things to yourself and your customers, so build capacity. Train yourself and your team on various relevant skill sets that your clients will need. Hire subcontractors or more employees to help with critical functions where necessary. Stay updated on industry trends and best practices through Continuous learning. Keep your eye on personnel costs.

3. Technology integration: Take advantage of AI and cheap or free technology tools to achieve efficient, scalable, client management. Don’t break the bank when buying technology, expensive technology does not always equal efficient solutions  

7. Set the right Price and Fees for Your Services

How much are business consultants in Nigeria or elswhere paid? How do I price my services to attract and retain good-quality clients? Fixing the right price for consulting services has always been a difficult decision for many business consultants. 

If you plan to earn sustainable and scalable income from your consultancy business, you must learn to price and charge right for your services.

But first, let’s consider some critical factors that affect pricing and acceptability in typical consultant-client relationships

Pricing Strategy Considerations

1. Expertise, brand reputation, and Perception: Your clients’ knowledge and perception of your expertise and reputation will affect the acceptance of your price. 

2. Competition: The level and nature of competition in your industry will affect your pricing strategies. You need to know the industry price benchmarks and practices. Consider industry-specific pricing strategies 

3. Effective Demand and Financial Capacity: Your client’s budget, financial state, and willingness to pay your named price must be considered when determining service pricing. Geographical locations often also affect price sensitivity. Understand the market before fixing your price. Don’t overcharge and don’t undercharge your clients

4. Service Complexity and Value: The complexity and perceived value of your services in the eyes of the customers will surely affect your price. Complicated services always attract higher fees. Offer services that solve big problems. Be unique in your offering

5. Diversification, Reviews, and Alignment with Business Goals: Can I diversify my pricing strategy to accommodate different clients? How often can I review and adjust pricing structures to reflect value to clients? Will these reviews be easily accepted and will they align with your business goals? These are critical questions to answer while considering your pricing threshold.

Some Pricing Models to adopt could include:

1. Hourly Rate: Charge clients per hour of consultation. For some clients, I typically charge hourly and work 2-3 hours twice every week. Ensure this understanding is crafted into your contract

2. Project-Based Pricing: Here, you charge a flat fee for specific projects. This happens when you have projects on a Call-out basis or one-off projects. Ensure to determine your costs, duration of the project, and human resources before billing your client. 

3. Performance-Based Pricing: In this pricing strategy, your fees will be tied to your performance. It could be based on milestones achieved, revenue growth, traffic generated, etc. This is very common in the digital marketing services sector in Nigeria. Ensure to clearly define the performance indices to avoid conflict at the end of the relationship

4. Retainer-Based Pricing: Charge recurring fees for ongoing services rendered. It could be monthly or quarterly fees based on your agreement with your client. This is the most consistent income stream for business consultants. Ensure to sign up only the number of clients that you can satisfy

5. Package-Based Pricing: Here, you offer bundled services at discounted rates to your clients. For example, package A could contain 5 features of your services at say USD$200 while package B contains 10 features at USD$500

Conclusion

Making money daily as a business consultant in Nigeria is achievable if you apply a disciplined approach. Focus on being good at what you do, conduct market research to uncover the viability potential of your niche, and market, and sell your services every day through all relevant platforms. Also, limit the number of clients and projects you accept, leverage industry and professional relationships, and build internal capabilities. Finally, set the right pricing for your services. By doing these, you will establish a sustainable and profitable consulting business that will earn you money every day. Consistency and value-driven service are the keys to growing your income, enabling you to scale and reach new heights and markets in your consulting career.

Is there any strategy that you have adopted in your practice of business consulting that has worked wonders in your business? We are building a body of resources to share with other consulting service providers and would like your contributions

Feel Free to email me at info@steepleglobal.com for our consulting services. We offer Business Consulting Services to Consultants and Retail Businesses