10 Pillars of a $100K+ L&D Consulting Business

5 Minute Read Time

Most new consultants fail before they ever land their first client.

Not because they don’t work hard.

But because they built a business on a foundation of sand.

I've seen it happen over and over. Talented L&D professionals jump straight into branding, websites, and fancy business cards before establishing the core pillars that actually lead to clients.

If you want something that lasts, you need a foundation that holds.

So before you quit your 9-to-5, let’s make sure you’re building on solid ground.

Let's begin.

1. Define Goal (What You Want?)

Most aspiring consultants treat their business goals like New Year's resolutions. They are great in theory, disposable when things get tough.

The ones who succeed? They don’t just focus on what happens if they win. They obsess over what happens if they don’t.

Ask yourself:

• What happens if you stay in your current job for another five years?
• What opportunities will you miss?
• What part of yourself will remain unexpressed?

When your goal transforms from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable necessity, you’ve found your true driving force.

2. Pick a Niche

A niche isn’t just a group of people with shared interests.

It's a market with a painful, high-value problem that people are actively trying to solve and willing to pay for.

Use this 3-part test to pick a viable niche:

✔ Growing? (Are more people entering this market, or is it shrinking?)
✔ Financially viable? (Do they have the budget to pay for solutions?)
✔ Pain-driven? (Is their problem urgent and tied to their identity?)

If your niche lacks growth, money, or pain, it’s not a business—it’s a hobby.

3. Research The Niche

Once you’ve picked a niche, your next move is to step inside their world and learn how they think.

Most people assume businesses start with a great idea. They don’t. They start with deep understanding of what a niche actually needs.

To get there, step inside their world:

✔ Follow what they follow (LinkedIn groups, influencers, industry sites)
✔ Watch what they watch (Podcasts, YouTube, conferences)
✔ Speak how they speak (Mirror their language, pain points, and priorities)
✔ Listen more than you talk (The best market insights come from real conversations)

You need to be able to write a day in their diary and understand them better than you know yourself.

4. Find & Validate a Problem

Research isn't some “will-nilly” academic exercise. It's about finding a real, solvable problem.

The whole purpose of research is to pinpoint a problem that is:

✔ Painful enough that people are desperate to fix it
✔ Validated through repeated complaints and frustrations
✔ Something you can actually solve with a service, product, or expertise.

Once you find a painful, validated problem, you have leverage.

Why? Because people buy solutions to their most urgent problems.

When you identify that problem, you’ve found your entry point into the market.

5. Pick a Service (Solution)

Your service is how you solve the problem.

But choosing it doesn’t have to be complicated:

✔ Leverage your strengths. If you already know how to do something, start there.
✔ Follow market demand. The best service is the one that gets real results.
✔ Make it repeatable. A streamlined service = more scalability, less stress.

If you have no expertise, learn fast or outsource. Your service doesn’t have to be revolutionary, just effective.

6. Pick Your Model

Once you know the problem your niche faces, the next step is choosing how to solve it.

There are three ways to structure your business:

1️⃣ Done-for-You (DFY): You do the work for them.
2️⃣ Done-with-You (DWY): You guide them through it.
3️⃣ Do-It-Yourself (DIY): You sell them the knowledge to do it themselves.

For most new consultants, DFY and DWY are the fastest paths to $100K+.

Save DIY products for later, once you’ve mastered client results.

7. Create Your Offer

Clients don’t buy services. They buy outcomes.

Your offer is a sales argument for why someone should choose you. It must answer three critical questions:

✔ What specific result will I get? (Outcome-driven, not process-focused.)
✔ How fast will I get it? (Speed matters—people pay for efficiency.)
✔ What happens if it doesn’t work? (Risk reversal/guarantees make it an easy yes)

If your offer doesn’t sell, it’s because it’s vague, slow, or risky.

Make it clear, fast, and risk-free and people will jump to buy.

8. Price Your Service

Counterintuitive truth: Your price isn’t just a number—it’s a signal of value.

Here’s how to price for maximum impact:

✔️ Solve a painful problem. (The more urgent the pain, the more they’ll pay.)
✔️ Start at $3,000+ for coaching and $1,000+ per month for ongoing, retainer services.
✔️ Get paid upfront. No exceptions.

Just starting out? It’s okay to negotiate. Right now, the goal is getting clients and building confidence.

Each client raises the bar. What you charge today shouldn’t be what you charge next year.

Pricing power comes with experience. The better you get, the less you’ll need to justify premium rates. They’ll just be the standard.

Remember: low prices attract low-commitment clients. If you want serious clients, charge serious prices.

9. Company Set-Up

Most new consultants waste months on logos, websites, and branding before making a single dollar.

Here’s what you actually need to get started:

✔ A way to to book appointments, effectively (Calendly)
✔ A way to collect payments (Stripe, Revolut, Wise)
✔ A basic online presence (LinkedIn profile + simple landing page)
✔ A legal structure (only once you're making money)

Skip the distractions. Get your first paying clients.

10. Financial Set-Up

Most new business owners ignore finances—until it’s too late.

Here’s how to stay in control from the start:

✔️ Track everything (simple spreadsheet: income & expenses).
✔️ Separate business & personal finances (open a dedicated account).
✔️ Hire an accountant once you hit $5K-$10K/month.

You don't need fancy software or complex systems. You just need clarity and discipline.

The Foundation Checklist

☐ Define Goal (What You Want?)
☐ Pick a Niche
☐ Research The Niche
☐ Find & Validate a Problem
☐ Pick a Service (Solution)
☐ Pick Your Model
☐ Create Your Offer
☐ Price Your Service
☐ Company Set-Up
☐ Financial Set-Up

The Bottom Line

If you’ve read this far, you’re already thinking like an entrepreneur.

It shows you want to build a foundation of a consulting business that works:

• Solving problems that keep your clients up at night.
• Creating the freedom and impact you’ve always wanted.

Get these right, and you’re well on your way to building a consulting business that’s both profitable…

…and built to last.