What Is a Business Consultant? Differences from IT Consultants and Salary Guide

“Is it true that working as a business consultant is boring?” “How much does a business consultant earn?” Do you have questions like these?

This article explains everything you need to answer those questions, in the following order.

This article is useful for anyone interested in a career as a business consultant. Please read through to the end.

What Is a Business Consultant? How Is It Different from Other Roles?

A business consultant is a consultant who supports the resolution of operational and business process issues. They are sometimes referred to as “business improvement consultants.”

In practice, they work on a wide range of themes, including the introduction of new systems, new business development, business process improvement, and business restructuring.

Since they must identify operational challenges at client companies and propose the best solutions, the role demands a broad set of skills.

Difference from IT Consultants

IT consultants help companies address their challenges by leveraging IT technology.

Business consultants and IT consultants share the goal of “improving business challenges,” but IT consultants differ in that they specialize in proposals that use IT technologies such as software and cloud services.

In recent years, technology has advanced remarkably, and using IT effectively now requires specialized knowledge from perspectives such as security.

In this environment, the need for IT consultants — a specialized subset of business consultants — has grown significantly.

Difference from Strategy Consultants

Strategy consultants support the resolution of challenges faced by a company’s executive management. Well-known strategy consulting firms include McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group.

Both aim to address issues with an understanding of the company as a whole, which is a trait shared with business consultants. However, strategy consultants tend to be involved in larger-scale projects.

They may work on global-scale projects that have a significant impact on the economy and society.

Difference from Management Consultants

Management consultants aim to resolve management-level challenges within a company. Specifically, they work on a wide range of themes related to corporate management, including finance, HR, and IT.

The key difference is that business consultants focus on “operational challenges,” while management consultants specialize in “management challenges.”

As introduced above, there are many types of consultants, and business consultants in particular are focused on operational issues.

What Does a Business Consultant Do?

The work of a business consultant spans a wide range of activities. Let’s look at the main responsibilities of a business consultant.

Gathering Information on the Client’s Current Situation

First, business consultants conduct interviews to understand the current workflows and conditions of departments such as accounting, HR, and general affairs. This is done to gain a holistic view of operations and set appropriate problem definitions.

If the problem definition is not accurately established at this stage, it becomes impossible to propose the optimal solution for improving business operations. Additionally, envisioning an ideal workflow is essential for achieving operational efficiency.

Proposing Improvement Measures

Once the current situation has been analyzed and challenges have been identified through interviews, the next step is to propose appropriate improvement measures.

For example, this may involve introducing a chat tool to improve communication efficiency, or automating accounting operations using an online system — presenting a concrete action plan.

Business consultants need a wide breadth of knowledge to present solutions for the various operational challenges their clients face.

Implementing and Supporting Improvement Measures

A business consultant’s job doesn’t end with simply proposing improvement measures. It is necessary to evaluate and refine the improvement plan after it has been implemented.

After repeating cycles of evaluation and improvement and establishing a direction for operational reform, consultants provide guidance to employees and create manuals that document the new workflows.

In this way, business consultants need to provide ongoing support to ensure that new workflows become embedded in the organization.

Common Themes Handled by Business Consultants

The main themes commonly handled by business consultants include ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Let’s take a closer look at each of these themes.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) refers to the concept of effectively utilizing management resources (people, goods, money, and information) that are essential for running a business.

In business consulting, it refers to the consolidation of different business systems used across departments into a single unified system.

By centralizing information in one place, accurate data can be retrieved immediately whenever it is needed.

ERP is most commonly applied in areas such as manufacturing, logistics, sales, HR, and financial accounting.

SCM (Supply Chain Management)

SCM (Supply Chain Management) refers to the management of the entire process from raw material procurement to product delivery.

In business consulting, it refers to logistics system packages built collaboratively across multiple companies and corporate groups.

Establishing such an integrated logistics system makes it possible to stabilize the supply-demand balance of parts, semi-finished goods, and finished products. Implementing SCM can lead to increased sales and reduced lead times.

Given the acceleration of globalization and the expansion of cross-border e-commerce, the importance of SCM has grown considerably in recent years.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the concept of building long-term relationships with customers by improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

In practice, this involves building CRM systems that allow customer information databases to be shared across departments, with the aim of optimizing customer outreach.

In many cases, SFA (Sales Force Automation) and CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) are also incorporated to consolidate information.

Business Consultant Salaries

Business consultants are said to earn approximately 5 million yen per year. According to the National Tax Agency’s website, the average salary for wage earners in Japan in fiscal year 2023 was 4.78 million yen.

This means that becoming a business consultant is highly likely to earn you an income above the national average. Furthermore, depending on your track record, skills, and the size of your company, it is also possible to achieve a high income of around 10 to 20 million yen.

In particular, business consultants with knowledge of IT — which has been in high demand in recent years — are increasingly sought after, opening up the possibility of targeting higher earnings.

Reference: National Tax Agency “Statistical Survey on Private Sector Wages and Salaries, 2024 Edition“

The Rewards of Being a Business Consultant

What kinds of rewards can you get from working as a business consultant?

Exposure to a Wide Variety of Industries

Business consultants have the opportunity to work with client companies across a wide variety of industries. These can span manufacturing, healthcare, service industries, food and beverage, and many more.

In addition, business consultants may have the opportunity to work with global companies, sometimes communicating in English with international clients.

Making a Difference and Experiencing a Sense of Accomplishment

Business consulting is a job where you can make a real difference to people and experience a strong sense of accomplishment.

You work closely with clients, repeatedly devising the best approaches through ongoing communication. Some projects involve working with a client over several years, and when results are achieved and challenges are resolved, a profound sense of accomplishment follows.

Furthermore, there are many moments when clients express their gratitude, making it easy to feel that you are genuinely helping others.

A Stimulating Environment for Personal Growth

Business consultants and other types of consultants are placed in environments that strongly stimulate the desire to grow.

For example, you may deal directly with executive-level clients, and there are many situations that demand highly specialized knowledge.

Furthermore, the consulting industry tends to attract highly capable individuals. To stand out from other consultants, continuous self-improvement is essential.

People who want to acquire skills quickly and who always strive to improve may be well-suited to a career as a business consultant.

Developing High-Level Business Skills

Working in consulting allows you to develop high-level business skills.

Working toward solutions for client challenges helps cultivate logical thinking skills. In addition, the broad range of tasks involved — including data analysis, document creation, and presentations — builds business skills that are transferable to other roles.

Furthermore, since consulting is client-facing work, you can develop communication skills, customer service capabilities, and resilience.

People who want to develop strong business skills or who wish to build skills applicable to other industries or roles may find business consulting a great fit.

Why Business Consulting Is Said to Be Boring

In online articles and elsewhere, you may come across opinions such as “business consulting is boring” or “you should avoid becoming a business consultant.” So why does the role sometimes get this reputation?

A Lot of Routine Work

Business consultants actually have more routine work than many people expect.

Of course, projects do require flexibility and involvement with clients across various industries.

However, beyond project work, consultants must also handle routine tasks such as document creation, data organization, and regular team meetings.

People who picture consulting as an exciting and highly creative job may find the gap between their expectations and reality disappointing.

You Can’t Always Work on What You Love

While business consultants work on a wide variety of projects, they cannot always choose work they are passionate about.

Especially during the early stages of a career, much of the work involves assisting senior colleagues with tasks such as data entry and drafting emails and documents. Even when involved in a project, there is no guarantee that it will be in a field of personal interest.

This low degree of autonomy over one’s work can contribute to the perception that business consulting is boring.

A Long Apprenticeship Period

Given the high-level business skills required, business consulting has a lengthy apprenticeship period.

While it varies by company size and industry, it is said that it takes a minimum of around five to seven years to reach the point where you can independently manage a project.

During the apprenticeship period, much of the work consists of support tasks, and for those who entered the field hoping to be hands-on with projects, this phase can feel unrewarding.

Individual Contributions May Go Unrecognized

Business consultants fundamentally work as part of a team on projects. Even when an individual delivers strong results, accountability within a team setting can become ambiguous.

As a result, it can be difficult to receive individual recognition, leading many to find the role unsatisfying.

Those who want to be recognized for their individual contributions, or who are motivated by personal evaluation, may not be suited to business consulting.

Future Prospects for Business Consultants

Many people may have concerns about the future prospects of business consultants.

To conclude: business consulting is a role with strong future prospects. The consulting industry faces a chronic shortage of talent, driving growing demand for business consultants and related roles.

For those looking to increase their market value, acquiring knowledge in IT is recommended. As more companies strengthen their DX (digital transformation) initiatives, professionals with IT expertise are seen as ready-to-contribute hires.

Skills Needed to Become a Business Consultant

Those who want to pursue a career as a business consultant will find that developing the following skills increases the likelihood of a successful career change. Let’s take a closer look at each skill.

Logical Thinking

Logical thinking (logical reasoning) is the skill of accurately grasping information and drawing conclusions through structured reasoning.

Business consultants need to accurately understand the operational challenges of their client companies and propose the optimal solutions while constructing hypotheses — and logical thinking is essential for this.

Logical thinking is not just essential for business consultants; it is required across all consulting work and can be considered a fundamental skill.

Communication Skills

Communication skills in this context refer not merely to conversational ability, but to the skill of accurately understanding the other person’s intent and explaining things in a way they can easily understand.

Communication skills are essential in consulting work, including for business consultants.

For example, when proposing IT-related solutions to a client, it is necessary to break down complex technical jargon so the proposal can be clearly understood.

Additionally, business consultants are often expected to consolidate opinions from various internal departments, making strong communication skills critical for facilitating smooth dialogue with a large number of stakeholders.

Management Skills

The management skills required of a business consultant refer to the ability to complete projects by their deadlines.

Projects that business consultants work on, unlike routine tasks, require flexibility and must be progressed in response to evolving circumstances.

Executing this kind of work with ambiguous elements at pace requires strong management skills.

This involves not only monitoring the progress of a project, but also setting goals and visions, managing tasks, and overseeing team members — managing the project in its entirety.

Knowledge of Operations and IT

As a role centered on business improvement, business consultants need knowledge of both operations and IT.

Specifically, this involves gathering a wide range of information, including software and systems useful for business improvement, information about the client company’s competitors, and the latest industry trends.

IT technology is increasingly prominent in the context of business improvement, making it especially important to stay up to date with the latest developments in IT.

Useful Qualifications for Business Consultants

Here we introduce qualifications that are useful for business consultants.

Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultant (SME Shindanshi)

The SME Management Consultant qualification is a national qualification for providing support related to management challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Holders of this qualification are expected to carry out diagnostic and advisory work for companies, as well as serve as a bridge between SMEs and government agencies or financial institutions.

Obtaining this qualification enables you to acquire broad knowledge spanning accounting, management studies, procurement, sales, and production management, making it useful when supporting the operations of accounting departments.

SAP Certified Consultant

The SAP Certified Consultant designation is a certification program run by SAP (Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung), a software company headquartered in Germany.

Holding this certification demonstrates specialized knowledge of ERP packages (software packages for managing management resources and information).

Developing specialist knowledge of software broadens the range of work a business consultant can handle and enhances their ability to make compelling proposals.

IT Strategist

The IT Strategist is a certification run by IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan).

Obtaining this certification demonstrates the ability to provide specialized support related to business strategy as a highly skilled IT professional.

Being able to prove expertise in IT and business strategy will also elevate your standing as a business consultant.

Tax Accountant (Zeirishi)

It may surprise some, but a tax accountant qualification can also be put to use as a business consultant.

A tax accountant is a national qualification for providing tax-related support as a tax specialist. Typically, tax accountants handle tax agency work, preparation of tax documents, tax consultations, and accounting services.

However, holding a tax accountant qualification means you can also strengthen your support capabilities for accounting departments as a business consultant.

In addition to tax accountant credentials, qualifications such as Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and bookkeeping certifications can also be applied to business consulting work for the same reasons.

Career Paths for Business Consultants

What career paths can you pursue after becoming a business consultant?

Moving into Consulting in Another Specialist Area

You can leverage your consulting experience as a business consultant to pursue a consulting role in another specialist area.

Business consultants work in a wide range of industries and fields. Through working on diverse assignments, you may develop a clearer picture of the areas where you excel or find most fulfilling.