Start a Data Analytics Consulting Business

Most small companies sit on data they never look at; a simple dashboard feels like magic to them and prices accordingly.

1. 1

   Pick one industry to serve

   E-commerce stores, restaurants, or clinics. One industry means one metric set, one data stack, and a pitch that sounds like you have done it fifty times.

2. 2

   Build a sample dashboard

   Use public or demo data in Looker Studio or Power BI to build the exact dashboard your target industry needs. This artifact is your entire sales deck.

3. 3

   Define a fixed-scope starter project

   For example $2,500 to wire their existing data into a revenue and operations dashboard in two weeks. Fixed price removes the fear of open-ended consulting.

4. 4

   Set up lean business basics

   LLC and a contract with a data confidentiality clause. You are touching their revenue numbers, so the NDA language matters more than the logo.

5. 5

   Pitch five businesses in the niche

   Show the sample dashboard and ask what decision they made from their data last month. Silence is your opening; sell decisions, not charts.

6. 6

   Convert to reporting retainers

   A monthly retainer of $500 to $1,500 for refreshed dashboards plus a written insights summary turns each project into recurring income.

Read the full step-by-step guide →