How To Become A Small Business Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a small business consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Kim Chatani,

Dr. Dianne Welsh

A small business consultant is an individual who offers business owners advice and develops plans to help performance and efficiency. These consultants work for a company or themselves and often work under a contract to help struggling small businesses identify problems, implement solutions, boost revenue and profitability.

A small business consultant offers accounting, human resources, finance, manufacturing, fundraising, and insurance guidance, and can work for a variety of businesses, from manufacturing to retail. These consultants are experienced professionals who offer a wide breadth of knowledge to help small businesses become more successful.

Although many small business consultants have a bachelor's or an advanced degree in business, marketing, finance, or a similar area, an advanced degree is not necessarily a requirement of the individual to have comparable skills, experience, and knowledge. These individuals are often required to obtain a consulting certificate or license and should possess strong organizational, analytical, financial, and interpersonal skills. A small business consultant can make up to $52,000 per year, and the job market is projected to grow 11% by 2028.

What general advice would you give to a small business consultant?

Kim Chatani

Assistant Professor, Concordia University Irvine

The career path for graduating students is full of unpredictability, as we have seen during this COVID 19 pandemic. In addition to academic excellence, graduates will face challenges that will test their core principles and beliefs. My advice is to view each challenge you meet with a long-term perspective while addressing the immediate concerns in a balanced way. Your career will span decades, and what you may face during the first several years will only be a fraction of your professional career. View how your immediate decision may impact you in the long-term.

ScoreSmall Business ConsultantUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,982

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 9.70%

Black or African American 8.77%

Hispanic or Latino 9.39%

Unknown 4.56%

White 67.41%

Gender

female 40.96%

male 59.04%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a small business consultant

Explore small business consultant education requirements

Most common small business consultant degrees

Bachelor's

66.8 %

Associate

12.2 %

Master's

11.8 %

Start to develop specific small business consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	57.19%
Business Clients	10.90%
Outbound Calls	5.85%
Strong Computer	3.03%
Financial Statements	2.87%

Complete relevant small business consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New small business consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a small business consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real small business consultant resumes.

Research small business consultant duties and responsibilities

Manage client information using SalesForce CRM software.
Construct and manage business Facebook page and keep current with appealing promotions and coupons.
Manage training and presentation collateral on SharePoint system, resulting in recycling of documentation for consistent messaging across enterprise.
Update and maintain various SalesForce and SharePoint accounts for clients.

Prepare your small business consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your small business consultant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a small business consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable small business consultant resume templates

Build a professional small business consultant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your small business consultant resume.