Adapting to the New Normal: Finding Your Niche as a Remote Finance Consultant/

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many job cuts, leaving many individuals at a crossroads in their careers. For some, this situation may force them to venture into uncharted territory as remote consultants. If you’re considering becoming a remote finance consultant, the first step is to find your niche and build a brand for your consulting venture.

2020: The Inflection Point for Remote Work?

As remote work gains popularity in response to the pandemic, the finance remote work community is still in its nascent stage. While remote work offers several benefits, it can be difficult for finance professionals to define succinctly what they do without the well-entrenched workflows of a company.

Financial workflows fit into large “supply chains” that are dependent on other people and other activities, which is why many finance jobs are entrenched in office environments. In addition, there are other factors at play, such as fixed assets, networking, and psychology, that make it challenging to work remotely in the finance industry.

Can You “Do Finance” Remotely?

The first step to becoming a successful remote finance consultant is to get out of the supply chain mentality. Rather than being a cog in an inflexible machine that is contingent on others, strip everything down and focus on the raw skills you deploy.

As a financial consultant, it’s important to find your niche and establish a brand for your consulting venture. This means defining your unique value proposition, identifying your target audience, and creating a marketing strategy that showcases your expertise.

Finding Your Niche as a Remote Finance Consultant

When it comes to finding your niche, there are several factors to consider. One of the most important is identifying your core competencies and aligning them with the needs of the market. For example, if you have expertise in financial modeling or risk management, you can leverage these skills to help startups or small businesses with financial planning and forecasting.

Another factor to consider is your industry expertise. Focusing on a specific industry or sector, such as fintech or healthcare, can help you differentiate yourself and establish yourself as an expert in that field.

Building Your Brand as a Remote Finance Consultant

Once you’ve found your niche, the next step is to build your brand as a remote finance consultant. This means creating a professional website, establishing a social media presence, and networking with potential clients and industry peers.

Your website should showcase your expertise and services, as well as provide a way for potential clients to contact you. Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can help you establish your thought leadership and connect with potential clients and industry peers.

Networking is also important for building your brand as a remote finance consultant. Attend industry events and conferences, join professional organizations, and connect with potential clients and peers on LinkedIn.

Tips for Succeeding as a Remote Finance Consultant

To succeed as a remote finance consultant, it’s important to have strong time management skills, be organized, and communicate effectively with clients. Establishing a clear scope of work and setting expectations upfront can help avoid misunderstandings and ensure that both parties are on the same page.

In addition, it’s important to stay up-to-date on industry trends and best practices, as well as continually improve your skills through professional development and learning opportunities.

Finding Your Niche as a Freelance Financial Consultant

As a freelance financial consultant, it’s crucial to find your niche to build your brand and attract clients. Defining what you can offer to clients and how you can provide value is the first step. You need to be able to return value to clients that is three times more than your cost, considering you are the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC).

It’s essential to identify the activities that have driven value in your previous roles. For instance, if you’re a trader, it might be challenging to find a remote job that provides such fiduciary duties. However, if you can articulate that you’re an expert at parsing large amounts of data quickly to discover anomalies, you could be employable across a horizontal range of industries as a big data guru.

It’s also important to consider your long-term career goals and how you can align your work as a remote consultant to enhance these prospects. You could be looking to build a portfolio, showcase your talent to large companies, and build up a network as a stopgap before resuming a desk-based career. Alternatively, you could be contemplating moonshot projects that could result in exceptional outcomes in the long run.

When considering your options, keep in mind the following factors:

1. If you have been working for financial institutions and envisage working more in the corporate environment, write down a list of finance-related tasks that you do and how they would translate into a non-financial business.
2. Package your services into something tangible or complete. Instead of saying you’re a financial modeler who will deliver a 20-megabyte file into your client’s inbox, demonstrate that your analysis presents actionable decision-making intel.
3. Lean back on your core education or base vocation. Core vocations are useful to recall, even if they are no longer a part of your day-to-day work.
4. Practice your tagline or elevator pitch on friends who are not in the finance profession. Be specific and avoid using vague terms that could mislead potential clients.
5. If you’re going down the generalist route, be prepared for more ambiguous work projects. However, you can package your malleability and creativity as a benefit of your skillset, making you more amiable for startups where “Jack of all trades” positions are coveted at the very early stage.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to explore the world of remote work, including the finance industry. However, remote finance work can be challenging due to the industry’s well-entrenched workflows and fixed assets. Finding a niche and focusing on the skills that drive value in your previous roles is crucial to becoming a successful freelance financial consultant. It is also important to consider long-term career goals and to package your services in a way that showcases tangible results. Additionally, leaning back on your core education or base vocation and practicing your elevator pitch can help you establish a strong personal brand. While going down the generalist route may result in more ambiguous work projects, packaging your malleability and creativity as a benefit of your skillset can make you more amiable to startups. Ultimately, finding your niche is the first step toward building a successful brand for a consulting venture as a remote finance consultant.