I recently sat down with my buddy Sean O’Dowd on the Remote Local Podcast.
Sean successfully scaled The O’Dowd Group, a consulting company for private equity firms, from a side hustle to a $500k per year business.
His inspiring journey from corporate grind to building a lucrative company illustrates how anyone with the right mindset — and determination — can leverage their skills and expertise to create a thriving side hustle or full-fledged business.
As Sean took me through his journey to entrepreneurship, he highlighted some helpful things that he learned along the way. There are several valuable takeaways from our conversation that I think a lot of you could benefit from.
Let’s break it down.
An Elite Education Can Help You, But It’s Not Everything
Sean attended Wharton for management and marketing. And while he does believe that his degree helped him land some clients, he also says that you don’t necessarily need to have an elite college pedigree to find success. He notes that his mom, a librarian, was able to land a $30k consulting gig with his help.
The message is clear: everyone possesses valuable skills, and consulting opportunities are available for all.
The Path to Consulting
Sean was simply looking to pay off a loan that he took out to buy an engagement ring for his then-financée when he decided to pursue consulting on the side. His first gig? $30 to proofread an email, a job that he found on Upwork.
In the beginning, he took on any and every project because he was so focused on paying off that loan. But, as more time went on, he began to pinpoint certain gigs that piqued his interest more than the rest. What resulted was an organic six-month process of figuring it all out — determining what jobs would pay him the most for his time and so forth.
The experience showed him that when your skills are valuable, there are clients willing to pay for them. He knew he had the skills and expertise — he just needed to find those potential paying customers.
Where to Find Clients (and What to Expect)
Sean says that Upwork is a great place to start, but the sheer volume of gigs and consultants can be overwhelming. Start there for the first 60-90 days and then do your best to move on to some other higher-end platforms, like Catalant and Uncommon Elite.
In the beginning, Sean says that he didn’t have any systems or processes in place. It was all about keeping his head down so that he could pay off that pesky loan. But, soon he was taking in between $3k-$4k per month. He says that once he hit $4k, he was easily able to scale to $20k months. He finished his first full year just below $500k. In year one, he was almost exclusively on Catalant.
His bread and butter are those large corporations that are willing to pay for his expertise. Now, he’s focused on growing The O’Dowd Group to $1 million and beyond, which he says has proven more difficult than expected but is still an important goal.
In the meantime, he and his now-wife (yup, the one with the nice engagement ring) have decided to delve into real estate. They’ve been able to generate even more cash flow that he puts right back into his consulting business and other real estate ventures, and the future looks promising.
The verdict is in: consulting offers a rewarding path to financial freedom and personal growth. Hone in on your own specific skill set and consider offering it to people — for the right price.
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
This article was written by Neel from MaidThis Franchise, a remote-local franchise opportunity for people looking to escape the rate race and reach financial freedom. Learn more here.
