Beyond Billing: The 7 Hidden Revenue Streams Every Consultant Needs in 2026

When I first started consulting, I believed the formula for growth was simple: Sell more hours, sell more projects, and work harder. More calls. More proposals. More time.

But here’s the flaw in that thinking: There are only so many hours in a day to deliver work to your clients – and to find new ones.

For many consultants, this creates a trap: you feel pressure to generate revenue, but you only know one lever to pull. And that’s the same lever everyone else is pulling too.

But in my early days, while networking with peers and seasoned consultants, something clicked. I realized that the most successful consultants weren’t outworking everyone: they were outstrategizing everyone.

That shift changed everything in my business. We built complementary offerings, recurring revenue, and scalable income streams, many of which didn’t depend on my (or my team’s) hours.

And we were positioning our expertise in a way that allowed us to charge more and get higher-profile clients.

I’m walking you through seven additional overlooked approaches to increase your revenue as a consultant.

1. Reselling Services

You bring in outside providers to fulfill part of the work, while you manage the client relationship — and charge a markup.

Real Example:

Back in our web design days:

• We handled simple sites internally
• For complex e-commerce or portals, we partnered with specialists

Clients got everything through one vendor — us. We got more deals without expanding our in-house capacity.

Pros:

• Makes you a “one-stop shop”
• Easy to scale
• Strong client retention
• Saves time while increasing revenue

Cons / Gotchas:

• Margins can get thin
• Scope creep is common
• Roles must be clearly defined
• BIG WARNING: Never sell fixed-price and buy from the provider hourly — total disaster

Reselling services lets you offer more value without overstretching your team. Start by looking for services or products your clients already buy from others—then identify where your expertise lets you resell, bundle, or white-label (described below) those solutions to add value without reinventing the wheel.

2. Software / SaaS Reselling

Definition: Selling or bundling software subscriptions as part of your service.

Real Example:

We became certified resellers for Google’s paid enterprise analytics product — priced at $150K/year.

We doubled down on that offering. Eventually became one of the top global resellers (and after a merger, #1).

Pros:

• Strong recurring revenue
• Client stickiness
• Competitive differentiator
• Elevates your authority

Cons / Gotchas:

• You may receive first-line support questions
• Vendor agreements take time
• Must know the offering well

Seek opportunities to resell software in your vertical that will help your clients.

3. White-Labeling

White-labeling is a special form of reselling where you sell solutions, deliverables, or technology under your brand, rather than the provider’s brand, while a partner fulfills the work behind the scenes. This is one of the fastest ways to add recurring revenue as a consultant.

Real Example:

Early in our business, we offered web design. Naturally, clients asked about hosting. So we partnered with a reputable provider, white-labeled their hosting, and sold it under our brand.

Cost to us: around $10/month
Price to client: ~$60/month
Margin: ~$50/month per client

With 20 clients, that’s $1,000/month of recurring revenue — with hardly any extra hours.

Pros:

• Fast to launch
• Highly scalable
• Builds brand equity
• Generates recurring revenue
• Lets you expand your offering instantly

Cons / Gotchas:

• Your reputation is tied to your partner’s reliability
• Avoid cheap or unproven providers
• Ensure your partner does white-labeling professionally

When you find opportunities to resell services and tech platforms in your industry, inquire about the option for white-labeling.

4. Affiliate Partnerships

You recommend software, products, or services you already use. Clients purchase through your affiliate link. You earn a commission.

Many SaaS companies already have formal programs — sometimes with certifications, sometimes not.

Pros:

• Very easy to start
• Truly passive income
• Helps clients choose the right tools
• Zero fulfillment required

Cons / Gotchas:

• Don’t recommend tools you don’t believe in
• Over-promotion damages trust
• FTC disclosure is required in the U.S.

If you already recommend tools, affiliate revenue is a no-brainer — when done ethically.

5. Strategic Alliances & Joint Ventures

You partner with complementary providers and split revenue. This lets you deliver bundled solutions without doing everything yourself.

Real Example:

When we specialized in analytics, clients also wanted SEO/SEM. We partnered with trusted specialists in search marketing— and closed bigger deals.

Pros:

• Win bigger contracts
• Combine expertise
• More comprehensive value for clients
• Built-in referral flow

Cons / Gotchas:

• Misaligned expectations can blow up partnerships
• Must define who owns what
• Need clear payment triggers and terms
• Contracts are essential

Joint venture deals expand your reach and create opportunities you’d never win alone.

6. Implementation Services

Going beyond advisory work to help execute the plan.

Examples:

• CRM setup
• Marketing automation
• Analytics implementation
• Data pipelines
• Demand gen execution
• Website fixes

Clients love when advice becomes action

Real Example:

When we established our Dubai business, we led with an audit and a high level plan.

Based on the findings, we offered implementation to fix issues and deploy best practices. Huge revenue boost. Huge trust builder.

Pros:

• Higher fees
• Clear ROI
• Stronger client relationships
• Repeatable revenue

Cons / Gotchas:

• Requires capacity or partners
• Pulls you away from high-value advisory if unmanaged
• Needs tight scoping

Implementation creates a second line of revenue built on the first.

7. Selling / Reselling Products

You create or resell digital or physical products tied to your expertise. These are things your clients already need, such as:

• Templates
• Premium spreadsheets
• Playbooks
• E-books
• Industry reports
• Online courses
• Books

Real Example:

In 2016, we published a Google Analytics book with Wiley. It sold around 15,000 copies.

Pros:

• Passive income (after the initial build)
• Deep credibility
• Easy upsell to existing clients

Cons / Gotchas:

• Products require maintenance
• Revenue can be low unless sales are scaled
• Distribution takes effort and consistency

Now, some of these types of assets may be harder to sell, but in addition to any revenue that you make from selling these products, you can use them as lead magnets, and they can help position you as a thought leader. This allows you to pursue bigger opportunities (without necessarily more hours).

For us, the book in particular was a game-changer. Doors opened. Opportunities expanded. Clients trusted us faster.

But you don’t have to publish a book right away. Produce other assets that demonstrate your expertise.

And you don’t need to tackle all seven of the revenue-boosting approaches in this article at once. Start with one. Then layer your next one. And your next.

That’s how you grow from surviving… to thriving.