Skill, passion and gap in the market go hand in hand. Identify the three things and build credibility by gaining the experience. To gain the experience leverage on your network by solving the gap you found. Don’t forget to ask for testimonials and referrals from your satisfied network. Voluntary experience is also valuable

In order to come across as credible, it’s important to share and demonstrate how you’ve overcome similar challenges that are relevant to them. Practical examples and use cases always trump academic theories.

As a self-employed corporate communications professional, determine your service offerings by assessing your skills, understanding market demand, and identifying niche areas. Conduct a competitor analysis, define your services, set pricing, build a portfolio, and focus on marketing and branding. Clearly communicate with clients, adapt to industry trends, and be open to evolving your services. For detailed assistance, feel free to DM me.

It is tempting to rely on secondary research to ascertain target markets, but public domain information can often be contrary to what companies want from service providers. So focus on primary research by speaking to other service providers who have tread the path before you. This can give valuable insights into how clients perceive your service, what they might be willing to pay, and their management style.

Many corporate communications professionals tend to be generalists (unless you have experience in technical writing or investor relations and want to pursue that as a consultant). So don't box yourself into a niche unless you have tried your hand at several types of communications. Use this as an opportunity to experiment with all types of content.

To bag your initial set of clients, pitch for a retainer model with a fixed payout for 3 months. This will give you an idea of the workload involved and internal decision-making time, so that you may eventually choose an hourly billing model, or a project based model, or modify your retainer suitably.

Pricing or rates should be developed based on total production costs and it can be descriptive in order to service packages with relevant terms and conditions as well.

Start locally if you feel clients in your location can afford your services. Often word of mouth is what people rely on in the initial years of a consultant. List your business on Google and develop a simple website aimed at lead generation. Actively seek client testimonials. If you have signed an NDA, try to negotiate for referral business in return for not disclosing thr work done for the client.

Try to develop end-to-end services (employee communications), as opposed to piecemeal offerings (such as newsletters). Over time it will help you demonstrate greater value.