Selling advisory services is a 100% profit margin business.
You show up, sell your time, keep all the money.
Right?
Not so fast. You have to include things like:
- Your time, which is limited and valuable
- Opportunity costs (you could be doing other things)
- Sales conversations (see: your time)
- Bookkeeping and virtual assistance
- Transaction fees
- Professional development (coaching and education)
- Software expenses
- Insurance and legal
- Design, development, and other contract support you need
- Office space and equipment
- And a variety of other little things you might not be thinking about
Advisory work is a high-margin business, to be sure. But it’s not all profit. If you’re lucky, it’s closer to 70%.
Running a business is more expensive than people think—even high-margin businesses like advisory services.
Plan and charge accordingly.