How to Become a UX Consultant in 7 Steps

If you're an experienced UX designer, you've probably wondered, "What if I could consult instead of working full-time for one company?" What a life that would be….you could set your own hours, work with different clients, and have control over the projects you take on. 

Well, we’re here to give some advice on how you can take that plunge into UX consulting — with real tips you can start using today.

1. Build your foundation first

Before diving headfirst into consulting, ensure you have a solid foundation of UX experience. While consulting gives you flexibility, clients are hiring you for your expertise. You should have a good grasp of your craft — user research, prototyping, wireframing, usability testing — and more importantly, how to apply that knowledge in diverse situations.

If most of your experience is in mobile UI design, for example, broaden your scope. As a UX consultant, you’ll be expected to wear many hats. Clients might ask you to conduct user research, evaluate their current product design, or lead workshops with cross-functional teams. You need to have the confidence and knowledge to handle these challenges.

So, before quitting or doing less of your full-time gig, work on diversifying your experience. Volunteer for new types of projects, experiment with different UX methodologies, and engage with teams outside of your current role to develop your consulting chops.

2. Know your worth and set your rates confidently

One of the trickiest parts of consulting is figuring out what to charge. Many people new to consulting undercharge because they don’t factor in all the unbillable hours spent on admin work or securing clients. Here’s a simple formula from UX Researcher’s Guild that’s helpful and made a lot of sense to us: Divide your desired annual salary by 1,000 to determine your hourly rate.

If you want to earn $100,000 a year, your hourly rate should be around $100. This method accounts for taxes, non-billable hours, and the extra responsibilities that come with freelancing. Charging this way ensures you’re covering the time you’ll spend not just doing UX work but also handling business tasks like client acquisition, bookkeeping, and marketing.

Tip: Before setting your rate, research the average salaries for UX consultants in your niche or region. Then, adjust using the 1,000-hour formula. If your target salary is $80,000, divide that by 1,000 to get $80/hour. This rate should give you a comfortable buffer for taxes and overheads.

3. Create a diverse portfolio that shows results

When you’re selling your services as a UX consultant, your portfolio is your most powerful tool. But consulting isn’t just showing pretty designs or interfaces. Clients want to see how your work impacted the product and user experience. Did your design increase conversion rates? Did your usability testing improve user engagement? Showcase those results clearly.

Why does this matter? It’s because UX consulting is all about solving problems. Clients need to know how your work impacts the bottom line. Focus on showing the process — from the problem, through user research, to the final design and measurable outcomes.

Instead of just showing a sleek app interface, explain how you used user feedback to refine key features and improved task completion rates by 25%. This is the kind of evidence that clients will value. They want to see how you solve real-world problems and the difference you’ve made. 

Additionally, make sure your portfolio covers a range of industries or project types so you'll demonstrate versatility and reassure clients that you can handle their specific challenges.

If you’ve you redesigned a dashboard for a online high-end sneaker platform, rather than just showing the before-and-after screenshots, explain how your changes streamlined the user flow and led to a 20% decrease in cart abandonment. Clients care about impact, so make sure to highlight that.

4. Network strategically and build connections

In the world of consulting, who you know can be just as important as what you know. Much of your work will come from word of mouth, referrals, or people you’ve built relationships with over the years. That’s why it’s essential to maintain and expand your network continuously. Clients are more likely to hire someone they know or have heard positive things about. 

Start by joining professional UX communities like the Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) or UX Researcher’s Guild, where you can engage with seasoned UX professionals, share insights, and learn about new opportunities. You can also find local meetups through User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) or attend online events like Nielsen Normal Group UX Conferences for valuable networking and learning experiences.

Another option is participating in UX-focused LinkedIn groups. To build yourself to getting some leads, take time to strategically contribute to discussions, offer advice, or even post your availability to increase your visibility within the communities you join. We recommend not spamming these groups but making sure you’re adding value and providing your opinion when it’s relevant.

Cheering others on in the digital space in comment sections and requesting coffee chats with UX professionals are other great ways to amp up your list of connections. Building these relationships early on by lending a helping hand to others and also making it known that you’re available for work can lead to steady consulting gigs later on. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for referrals and testimonials from previous clients as they can serve as powerful social proof. 

Tip: Finding clients is one of the biggest challenges when starting as a UX consultant, but luckily, popular marketplaces like Upwork, Toptal, Fiverr, and Freelancer are great starting points to pitch your services and gain traction.

5. Choose a niche to stand out

When transitioning to UX consulting, you might feel the urge to keep your services broad and available to everyone. But guess what — specializing in a niche can help you stand out in a crowded market. When you become an expert in a particular industry or UX methodology, clients see you as the go-to person for that specific area.

Having a niche doesn’t mean turning down other work, it just means marketing yourself in a way that highlights your strongest skills. Clients love consultants who can solve problems specific to their industry.

For instance, if you’ve done a lot of work with financial services, position yourself as a consultant who specializes in designing seamless onboarding experiences for fintech apps. Once you’ve chosen your niche, update your LinkedIn profile, website, and portfolio to reflect this expertise.

6. Use the right tools to manage your non-billable hours 

One of the biggest adjustments when shifting to UX consulting is realizing how much time you’ll spend on non-billable tasks. In a full-time role, you primarily focus on UX work itself, but as a consultant, you’re also responsible for client outreach, creating project proposals, invoicing, and troubleshooting admin or tech issues.

To streamline these tasks and minimize the time they consume, getting a handle on the right tools can make a huge difference.

For project proposals and client contracts, use templates in tools like DocuSign or Proposify, which can save you hours of drafting new documents for every client. Tools like FreshBooks or QuickBooks can simplify invoicing, while platforms like Trello or Asana and help you track your time and manage project timelines efficiently.

For communication, consider Loom to send quick video updates to clients instead of spending time crafting lengthy emails. And instead of manually tracking every expense, automate this process using apps like Expensify to quickly log and categorize your costs.

By integrating these tools into your workflow, you can reduce the hours spent on non-billable activities, freeing up more time for actual UX work — and ultimately increasing your profitability.

Tip: Tools like UserBit can be a huge time-saver for managing and organizing your UX research and design projects. UserBit’s all-in-one platform helps you efficiently collaborate with clients and stakeholders by centralizing your research, personas, and insights in one place. 

7. Develop a business mindset

Shifting from being a UX designer to a UX consultant requires more than just a change in work structure — it requires a shift in mindset. As a consultant, you’re not just designing products or conducting research, you’re running a business. This means you’ll need to develop skills in marketing, sales, client management, and even financial planning.

Think of yourself as a "chief everything officer." 😉 You’ll be responsible for everything from selling your services to keeping track of invoices and managing client expectations. Thus, it’s important to balance your creative and strategic thinking with operational efficiency. For instance, using convenient accounting tools like QuickBooks or FreshBooks can simplify your financial tracking, while project management software can help you stay organized.

One actionable step here is to spend time each week reviewing your business operations. Are you meeting your financial goals? Do you need to adjust your pricing or work hours? This regular reflection will help you keep your consulting practice on track and thriving.