Disability Consultant

A disability consultant consults with companies of all sizes and assists them in dealing with various disability related matters. Such matters include accommodating disabled employees in the work place and handling medical and disability claims. Given the right experience and good communication skills this work at home business can be started with little capital and has the potential for excellent returns.

Before The Start-Up, Let’s Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

There aren’t any specific qualifications required for this business; however a university degree in a related field such as law would be very helpful. To get started you will need experience in the field, good communication skills and the ability to mediate well between employees and employers of a company.

The Start-Up

Most of your work will be done on location so there is no need for a fancy office setup. You’ll need a work space, desk, chair, computer, printer, fax machine and phone. Since you’ll be spending plenty of time away from your office you’ll also need a mobile phone and reliable transport. Finally even small businesses need to give some thought to branding. Get a professional logo, letterhead and business card designed. Consider using a service such as Elance.com which has affordable start-up packages for less than $200.

Disability consultants charge between $60 and $80 (USD) per hour. Do some checking on the Internet and find out what other consultants in your area are charging.

Making It Work

As a disability consultant you will fill many roles on any given assignment. You might be called in to assess a medical claim, advise on a more accommodating office layout or assist a company in meeting governmental requirements. The key to success lies in balancing the needs of the company with the needs of the employees concerned.

Marketing

Market your consultancy offline by advertising in local newspaper classifieds, business publications and by networking in the industry.

Market your consultancy online by getting an attractive website developed. Make sure your website is small, modern and has a content management system that allows you to update your own content. Make your website remarkable with industry news, insightful articles and testimonials from your best clients. Finally learn to market your website using a pay per click (PPC) campaign such as Google Adwords. PPC ads can generally be target at a tiny geographical area (such as your town or neighbourhood) making them very cost effective. We recommend getting started with Perry Marshall’s The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords.

Don’t Forget

As with any fast changing industry you’ll need to stay up to date by attending occasional seminars and conferences (these also provide excellent networking opportunities). Don’t forget to account for this hidden cost when compiling your business plan.