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Start a Cloud Service Business: If you have the right skills, experience and network, starting a business as a consultant or contractor can be a good side hustle. In addition to flexible hours, consultants can set their own price point and bill clients based on their hourly rate. Cloud services are software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications delivered over the internet as a subscription service. These businesses are fast growing and offer many opportunities for cloud service professionals.

How do you know if starting your own consulting business is right for you? Here are some indicators that may suggest becoming an independent consultant is the perfect way to monetize your skillset: You love solving problems; You’re able to see things from different perspectives; You love meeting new people; You’re willing to work hard—even on nights and weekends; You have natural leadership abilities; or You enjoy working with your hands…

Step 1: Define Your Target Audience | Start a Cloud Service Business

The first step of business growth is to find your target audience. Who are the users of your product or service, and what is their pain point? Once you’ve identified the problem your business solves, you can start to identify your potential customers based on the following demographic and psychographic criteria: age, gender, income, profession, education level, industry, company size, etc.

What’s the average revenue per user (ARPU) of your target audience? What are the most cost-effective ways to reach them? Once you’ve identified the key characteristics of your ideal customer, you can tailor your entire business model around them.

Step 2: Build and Host a Landing Page | Start a Cloud Service Business

A landing page is where prospective customers first come into contact with your product or service. In a nutshell, it’s a one-page website designed to “land” prospective customers as leads and convert them into paying customers. Depending on the type of product or service you’re selling, you may need a couple of different landing pages to appeal to different audiences. A good landing page should be simple, straightforward, and visually appealing. It should also be targeted towards your ideal customer.

An effective landing page will make it easy for people to understand what your business does, why it’s different from the competition, and what action they need to take to become a customer. If you don’t have the design or development chops to build a landing page from scratch, there are a number of free or low-cost solutions out there that let non-coders build a simple landing page in a jiffy.

Step 3: Create a Marketing Strategy | Start a Cloud Service Business

Now that you’ve identified your target audience and built a landing page that appeals to them, it’s time to get the word out. Whether you decide to go the solo route or find a network of like-minded entrepreneurs to collaborate with, marketing your product or service requires planning, creativity, consistency, and patience. Early on, it’s best to focus on setting up your core marketing channels and paying customers.

As you grow your business, you can expand to additional channels to reach more customers. Marketing channels include email, digital ads, content marketing, and public relations. The best marketing channels are those that are cost-effective and scalable. For example, digital ads are a great channel but only if you have a large budget. Email marketing on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive and scalable. You can send a single email to an unlimited number of people.

Step 4: Build Out Your Service Offering | Start a Cloud Service Business

As your business begins to grow and you have more time to focus on it, you can start to add more services to your existing offering. Doing so not only expands your business but can create a snowball effect by bringing in more customers and increasing your profit margin.

Most businesses can benefit from having a range of different service offerings. Having a wide array of services allows you to diversify your income and cater to a wider audience. It also makes it easier to transition from one type of work to another as conditions change in your market. What types of services can you offer? Here are some ideas to get the wheels turning:

Conclusion | Start a Cloud Service Business

Starting a consulting business can be a great way to earn extra income on the side. Before you take the leap, it’s important to make sure you have the right skills and network in place to succeed as a solopreneur. The best way to do that is to create an action plan that outlines the steps you need to take to get your business off the ground. With the right business model and the right skillset, you can earn an income while minimizing your risks and leveraging your free time.