Consulting Services You Can Start Offering Today: Platforms and Approaches Compared

Starting a consulting business doesn’t require years of preparation or a massive investment. If you have expertise in a specific area, you can begin offering your services right now. But choosing how to deliver those services matters just as much as what you offer. Should you work through an established platform or build your own client base? Should you focus on hourly consulting or packaged services? This list examines ten consulting services you can start today, comparing different approaches, trade-offs, and delivery methods so you can make an informed decision about which path suits your skills and goals.

1. Freelance Marketplace Services vs. Direct Client Work: The Legiit Approach

   When you’re ready to start consulting, you face an immediate choice: build your own client pipeline from scratch or join an established marketplace. Legiit offers a middle ground worth considering. Unlike general freelance platforms that force you to compete primarily on price, Legiit focuses specifically on digital marketing and business services, which means you’re positioned alongside specialists rather than generalists.

   The trade-off here is straightforward. Working through Legiit means you pay platform fees, but you gain immediate access to buyers actively searching for consulting services. Compare this to starting independently, where you keep all your revenue but must invest significant time in marketing, networking, and building trust from zero. For consultants just starting out, the Legiit model reduces the barrier to your first paying clients while you simultaneously build your portfolio and reputation. You can always transition to more direct client relationships later once you’ve established proof of your value.

2. Hourly Consulting vs. Project-Based Packages: What Works Better?

   Hourly consulting feels simple and fair. You track your time, send an invoice, and get paid for exactly what you worked. But compare this to packaged consulting services, and you’ll find significant differences in both income potential and client satisfaction.

   Hourly billing creates an inherent conflict: the faster you work, the less you earn. Clients also worry about the meter running and may hesitate to ask questions. Project-based or retainer packages flip this dynamic. You price based on value delivered rather than time spent, which means efficient consultants earn more per hour of actual work. The downside? Packages require you to scope projects accurately upfront, and inexperienced consultants often underestimate the work involved. Starting with hourly rates while you learn to estimate project scope, then transitioning to packages as you gain confidence, offers a balanced path forward. Many successful consultants use hourly rates for discovery calls and initial assessments, then convert ongoing work into monthly retainers or fixed-price engagements.

3. Social Media Consulting: Organic Strategy vs. Paid Advertising Focus

   Social media consulting splits into two distinct camps, and your choice shapes everything from your ideal clients to your pricing model. Organic social media consulting focuses on content strategy, posting schedules, community management, and building authentic engagement over time. Paid social advertising consulting centers on campaign setup, audience targeting, budget management, and conversion optimization.

   The organic approach typically attracts smaller businesses and personal brands with limited budgets but time to invest. These clients need help with consistent content creation and community building. The work is often ongoing, making it ideal for monthly retainers, but proving direct ROI can be challenging. Paid advertising consulting, by contrast, attracts clients with marketing budgets who want measurable results quickly. You’ll work with conversion tracking, analytics platforms, and budget optimization. The advantage is clear performance metrics and higher fees justified by revenue generation. The challenge is that you’re accountable for ad spend results, which depend partly on factors outside your control like product quality and pricing. Many consultants find success specializing in one approach initially, then expanding to offer both as complementary services.

4. Business Strategy Consulting: Generalist vs. Niche Specialist

   Business strategy consulting can follow two very different paths. Generalist consultants offer broad business advice on operations, growth planning, market positioning, and organizational structure. Niche specialists focus on specific industries or business types, like e-commerce strategy, SaaS business models, or restaurant operations.

   Generalists have a wider potential client base and can work across industries, which provides variety and flexibility. However, they face stiff competition and often struggle to command premium rates because they lack specialized depth. Clients may question whether a generalist truly understands their specific challenges. Niche specialists face the opposite trade-off. They can charge significantly more because their expertise directly addresses industry-specific problems. They build reputation faster within their niche and clients find them through targeted searches. The downside is a smaller addressable market and the risk that your chosen niche declines or changes dramatically. Starting as a generalist while you identify which niche resonates most with your background, then narrowing your focus as you gain traction, offers a practical compromise. Your early generalist work becomes case studies that establish your niche credibility.

5. Email Marketing Consulting: Template Creation vs. Strategic Campaigns

   Email marketing consulting divides between tactical execution and strategic planning. On the tactical side, consultants create email templates, set up automation sequences, handle list segmentation, and manage the technical aspects of email platforms. Strategic email consultants focus on campaign planning, audience research, testing methodologies, and optimizing entire customer communication flows.

   Template and setup work is easier to sell because clients can see immediate, tangible deliverables. You don’t need extensive business knowledge about their industry, just solid technical skills with platforms like Mailchimp, Klaviyo, or ConvertKit. Pricing tends to be project-based and relatively standardized. Strategic campaign consulting requires deeper business understanding and often involves analyzing customer data, purchase patterns, and overall marketing performance. It’s harder to sell initially because the value is less tangible, but it commands higher fees and often leads to ongoing retainer relationships. The best approach for many consultants is offering both: lead with tactical services that are easy for clients to understand and buy, then upsell strategic consulting once you’ve proven your value and gained insight into their business.

6. SEO Consulting: Technical Audits vs. Content Strategy

   Search engine optimization consulting encompasses vastly different skill sets depending on whether you focus on technical SEO or content-driven strategies. Technical SEO consultants audit site architecture, fix crawl errors, optimize page speed, implement structured data, and solve indexing issues. Content SEO consultants research keywords, develop content strategies, optimize existing pages, and guide content creation for search visibility.

   Technical SEO requires more specialized knowledge and attracts clients with existing websites that have performance issues. Projects tend to be one-time audits or fixes, which means higher per-project fees but less recurring revenue unless you establish ongoing monitoring retainers. You’ll need familiarity with tools like Screaming Frog, Google Search Console, and various testing platforms. Content SEO is more accessible to consultants with strong writing and research skills rather than technical backgrounds. The work is naturally ongoing because content needs continuous creation and optimization, making monthly retainers easier to establish. However, proving ROI takes longer since content ranking builds gradually. Many businesses need both, but starting with the approach that matches your background makes sense. Former web developers naturally gravitate toward technical SEO, while writers and marketers find content strategy more intuitive.

7. Financial Consulting: Bookkeeping Support vs. Strategic CFO Services

   Financial consulting for small businesses ranges from basic bookkeeping assistance to high-level strategic financial guidance. Bookkeeping consultants help businesses organize transactions, reconcile accounts, prepare for tax filing, and maintain clean financial records. Strategic CFO consultants analyze financial performance, create forecasts, guide pricing decisions, and help owners understand the financial implications of business decisions.

   Bookkeeping support requires accuracy and attention to detail but less strategic thinking. You’ll work with software like QuickBooks or Xero, and the work is steady and recurring. Pricing is typically monthly and relatively modest, but so is the stress level. It’s predictable work that many business owners happily outsource. CFO-level consulting commands much higher fees because you’re advising on significant business decisions. You need broader business acumen beyond just accounting skills, and clients expect you to understand their industry and growth stage. The work is less routine and more advisory, which some consultants find more engaging but also more demanding. Starting with bookkeeping services and expanding into strategic advisory as you understand each client’s business creates a natural progression. You build trust through reliable tactical work, then grow the relationship into higher-value strategic consulting.

8. Operations Consulting: Process Documentation vs. Implementation Support

   Operations consulting helps businesses run more smoothly, but the service splits between documenting what should happen and helping make it happen. Process documentation consultants create standard operating procedures, workflow diagrams, training materials, and system documentation. Implementation consultants help businesses actually adopt new processes, train staff, troubleshoot problems, and refine workflows based on real-world use.

   Documentation work is more straightforward to scope and price. You interview team members, observe workflows, and create clear written procedures or video guides. Projects have defined endpoints, and clients receive tangible deliverables they can reference indefinitely. The challenge is that documentation alone doesn’t guarantee change. Implementation consulting is messier but often more valuable. You’re working with people, resistance to change, and the gap between how things should work and how they actually work. This requires patience, communication skills, and flexibility. It’s harder to scope but leads to longer engagements and deeper client relationships. Many operations consultants find that offering both as a package works best: document the improved process, then provide implementation support to ensure adoption. This approach addresses both the planning and execution phases that businesses need.

9. Content Strategy Consulting: Creation vs. Distribution Focus

   Content strategy consulting divides between helping clients create better content and helping them distribute existing content more effectively. Creation-focused consultants guide topic selection, develop content calendars, establish brand voice, and may even create content themselves. Distribution-focused consultants optimize how content reaches audiences through SEO, social promotion, email newsletters, partnerships, and repurposing strategies.

   Creation consulting appeals to clients who know they need content but don’t know what to create or lack internal expertise. You’ll spend time understanding their audience, competitive landscape, and business goals. The work often becomes ongoing as content needs never stop. You can price per piece, per month, or through retainers. Distribution consulting attracts clients who already produce content but feel it’s not reaching enough people or generating sufficient results. You’ll analyze their existing content, identify distribution gaps, and create promotion strategies. This work can be more project-based, like a distribution audit and strategy, or ongoing, like monthly promotion management. The reality is that most businesses need both, but they often recognize one need before the other. Starting with whichever problem your client feels most acutely, then expanding to address the other side, creates a natural consulting relationship growth path.

10. Marketing Automation Consulting: Platform Setup vs. Strategy Development

    Marketing automation consulting serves businesses wanting to streamline their customer communication, but the service divides between technical implementation and strategic design. Setup consultants handle the technical work of configuring platforms like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, or Marketo, building automation workflows, connecting integrations, and ensuring everything functions correctly. Strategy consultants design the customer experience, map automation logic, determine segmentation rules, and plan what messages should reach which audiences when.

    Technical setup requires platform expertise and attention to detail. Clients with clear ideas about what they want just need someone to build it. Projects are well-defined, easier to price, and have clear completion points. The limitation is that once setup is complete, the engagement typically ends unless you offer ongoing management. Strategic consulting is harder to sell initially because clients often don’t realize they need strategy help. They think they just need technical implementation. However, strategy work is more valuable because it determines whether automation actually improves results or just automates mediocre marketing. It requires business thinking, customer understanding, and communication skills beyond technical knowledge. The most effective approach is offering strategy first as a planning phase, then implementing what you’ve designed together. This positions you as a strategic partner rather than just a technical executor, justifies higher overall fees, and often leads to ongoing optimization work as you refine automation based on performance data.

Choosing which consulting service to offer isn’t just about picking a topic you know well. The decision about how you structure and deliver that service matters just as much. Hourly versus packaged pricing, technical versus strategic focus, setup versus ongoing support, each choice comes with trade-offs that affect your income, client relationships, and daily work experience. The comparisons in this list highlight that there’s rarely one right answer. The best approach depends on your skills, preferences, and the specific market you’re serving. Start with the model that feels most comfortable given your current expertise and client access, but stay open to adjusting your approach as you learn what works. Many successful consultants begin with one delivery model and evolve toward another as their business matures and their confidence grows.