Risk and Return of Starting up a Consulting Business

Abstract

It is often said to be very difficult for registered management consultants to succeed in independent consulting business. How do independent consultants make decision of starting business and how do they recognize the risk and return of business? I interviewed to 32 independent consultants to investigate their motivation, goal-setting and planning of starting business. From the interviews, we found out that most of independent consultants don’t set goals and don’t make concrete plans, and that they challenge ‘high risk, low return’ business based on non-economical reasons such as ‘I want to do what I like’, ‘I want to contribute to small and medium size firms and reginal society’, ‘I will pierce my belief’.