I was having lunch with a client last month and she asked me “What does being a consultant mean?” I thought she was busting my chops until I looked at her face and realized that she really wanted to know. (And as I found out – she wants to become one – thus her interest…)

Here was my indirect answer to her:

First question should have been – Who can be a consultant? Who qualifies? If you know something and there is a market need for what you know, then you can be a consultant.

If you know something, but there’s no market for what you know, then you cannot be a consultant.

However, if you know of a market need, and you know people who have the expertise to satisfy that market (and these people don’t know how to see a market, or are unwilling to see…), then you can own a consulting company.

There are two key phrases in all of this – knowing something (or knowing somebody who knows something), and a market need for what you know. Then, and only then, can you be a (successful) consultant.

Since everybody knows something then owning, and growing, a consulting company comes down to a market need for services. The “If I Build It, They Will Come” strategy doesn’t work (trust me!) unless you are a very proficient marketer.

<To be Continued…>

Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, “Bring me my red shirt!” The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain’s red shirt, which the captain put on and lead the crew to battle the pirate boarding party. Although some casualties occurred among the crew, the pirates were repelled.

Later that day, the lookout screamed that there were two pirate vessels sending boarding parties. The crew cowered in fear, but the captain calm as ever bellowed, “Bring me my red shirt!”. The battle was on, and once again the Captain and his crew repelled both boarding parties, although this time more casualties occurred.

Weary from the battles, the men sat around on deck that night recounting the day’s occurrences when an ensign looked to the Captain and asked, “Sir, why did you call for your red shirt before the battle?” The Captain, giving the ensign a look that only a captain can give, exhorted, “If I am wounded in battle, the red shirt does not show the wound and thus, you men will continue to fight unafraid“. The men sat in silence marveling at the courage of such a man.

As dawn came the next morning, the lookout screamed that there were pirate ships, 10 of them, all with boarding parties on their way. The men became silent and looked to their Captain for his usual command.

The Captain, calm as ever, bellowed, “Bring me my brown pants!”