Thinking about getting into Consulting. Need some advice.
Hey all! My question revolves around whether I would be qualified to be hired as a consultant and if it would be a good direction for me to pursue.
My background is probably a bit different than most. My background is 5 years of enlisted Air Force followed by just over 3 years running a business I founded. The business is in the cannabis retail space and is currently in the process of being sold. The business is 100% owned by me, involved a $1,500 initial investment, and did 1.6MM last year and is on track for 2.2MM this year. I've hired and currently manage a team of 20. My only college experience is just under two years as I stopped going to school to pursue my business full time.
I am trying to figure out the next step in my career. I have a passion for business in all industries. I've enjoyed helping other business owners that I know personally strategize their own businesses in multiple industries and I think I would like to pursue that type of work as a professional consultant full time.
Would I be able to get hired on as a consultant, or is there some other position I should be going after first to get my foot into the door? My biggest concerns are my lack of formal education and my lack of corporate experience as well. I wouldn't mind going back to being low man on the totem pole. Should I start applying now for a consulting position or should I go and look for another position that would give me the experience I may need in order to be considered a strong candidate? Do you think it is necessary for me to have a bachelor's degree, or do you think my military/business experience qualifies?
Thanks in advance!
Fascinating and very cool story, thanks for sharing. Unless there is a firm specializing in cannabis (there might be), then without a degree it will be very hard to get hired anywhere (maybe not impossible but damn close). You can always go solo and be an independent consultant, but that would also have to be very niche and would be challenging to say the least without a formal business education. If you are truly interested in consulting, your best bet would be going to an MBA program that can accept your unique background and experience. This is a very expensive and time consuming route, however.
Thank you for the reply and advice
I saw Altria was hiring for a cannabis consultant. They apparently have a cannabis branch now, however, I was unqualified for the position. They were requiring 7 years of CPG experience at a large company and at minimum a bachelors degree.
First, thank you for serving in the Air Force. You are the American Dream of starting from nothing and building a successful business.
But, my question is WHY? You are your own boss, have turned a great profit, and the sky is the limit. If you go work in a consulting firm, you would have to answer to someone, be an employee, etc. If you plan on being an independent, you better really know your subject.
I would advise you to go to school while keeping your business. You can keep running your business and get the formal education you are worried about.
Thank you. This is helpful.
Thank you.
The reason why I am looking elsewhere is mostly two reason.
Cannabis businesses are taxed differently than most, the only tax deductions we are allowed to make are COGS due to tax code 280e. Labor/marketing/insurance etc cannot be deducted from income tax, which makes scaling any farther than I have already not a fruitful pursuit. This is one of the main reasons for deciding to sell the business.
The sale of the business, if it goes through, although more money than I thought I would ever see in my life, is not exactly FU/retirement money. I am going to need to replace my income. Consulting seemed interesting and like a good fit although most consultants have similar views as you in regards to me becoming a consultant so I am thinking I may need to look elsewhere.
Your background is really impressive. However, it's near impossible to get into consulting without a degree, especially if you're interested in MBB/Big 4/Tier 2 firms. If you get a degree, you have a great shot. Based on what I'm assuming your age is, your best bet would probably be to focus on post-MBA roles. I have heard of some top MBA programs (LBS + others I forget) considering candidates without a bachelor's degree if they have significant work experience and strong test scores.
I would echo what others say about asking yourself why you even want to switch to consulting: 1) Type of work: You've enjoyed helping business owners with their strategies. I'm guessing these may have been smaller businesses. Do you think you'd enjoy helping P&G sell more laundry detergent or a chip maker source some tiny component you've never heard of? 2) Politics: You'll face politics (at both consulting firms and the huge clients) that you may not like and you may not have the tools to deal with based on your experience in the Air Force and with your thriving business. 3) Compensation: Post-MBA roles will be $170-$200K including bonus. Not sure what total compensation is for post-UG these days but I think it's less than $100K. It sounds like you might have a higher ROI if you continue on your current path.
Thank you for the reply and your help.
I will take a look at LBS.
I think I would enjoy helping any business improve, however, you are correct, I have only helped start ups/small businesses and I couldn't say with 100% confidence that I would feel the same satisfaction of helping a giant corporation sell more detergent that I feel helping out an owner I personally know.
thank you for your service. you seem smarter than most consultants and any real consulting firm would be lucky to have you. start your own consulting business if they wont.
Haha thank you.
I am very curious about your motivations on starting as a consultant at this stage of your career. Seeing that your business is on track to make $2.2mm in revenue this year, conservatively, wouldn't you be begging $5mm from the sale since you own 100% of it? Even considering some debt on the balance sheet, your debt worth should be comfortably $1mm.
Would you willing to be a first year junior consultant making maybe $100k a year in spite of this? I understand of course, it may not be all about money but I can't help but feel like we are missing something.
Thank you for commenting.
Cannabis businesses, from my understanding, are typically sold around around 0.6 - 1.2x revenue.
We are typically not valued very high due to tax code 280e which makes turning a profit very difficult for cannabis businesses. We are not allowed normal deductions, we can only deduct COGS on our income. So our labor/marketing/insurance etc cannot be deducted, so our income is typically taxed at around 70%. If your margins are too low for a given year, you can actually owe more income tax than you actually earned.
I was offered 1.3MM for the business and I decided to accept the offer however nothing has been finalized yet. I don't have any debt on the business so I would be receiving the full amount.
Although 1.3MM is more than I ever thougt I would see when I started the business, it's not exactly FU/retirement money, so I am trying to plan ahead on my next steps in my career.
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