Consulting Industry Trends

So what is the big picture in consulting?

The Croixstone Consulting team dedicated some time last week to dig into the latest research to provide some fresh perspectives in answering this question. Here’s what we found.

  • Global Consulting Market: Was estimated at $132 billion USD in 2020 (Statista)
  • North America: Is the largest consulting services market worldwide with annual revenues estimated at $64.4 billion. (Statista)
  • Regional Analysis: North America and Europe are highly mature markets contributing to 75% of the global consulting market revenue. (Beroe)
  • Number of Management Consultants in USA: 768,450 (Statista)
  • Growth Rate: Management consulting is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of more than 6 percent from 2021 to 2026 (Beroe)
  • Growth Drivers: The demand for operational efficiency, regulatory compliance and technology improvements. (Beroe)
  • Demand by Industry: Financial Services (25%), Manufacturing (16%), Public Sector (14%), Natural Resources & Power (12%), Wholesale & Retail (10%), Healthcare (7%), Communications & Media (7%), Aerospace & Defense (4%), Other Industries (5%) (Beroe)
  • Profits: Over the next 5 years, management consulting industry profitability is expected to remain steady as rising global business sentiment and profit drive new businesses. (Beroe)
  • Disruption: New business models such as crowdsourcing and network-based consulting are evolving in the industry, which can be disruptive in nature. Think of Wikistrat, HourlyNerd, and Business Talent Group as examples. (Beroe)

Croixstone Consulting is a boutique management consulting firm known for connecting the brightest minds in business and community. Learn how we drive business outcomes by accelerating and sustaining transformations here.


Martha Stewart and Leonardo da Vinci? They have more in common than you know.

Leonardo da Vinci.
Andy Warhol.
Walt Disney.
Martha Stewart.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Two weeks ago, our Managing Partner and co-founder Mark Weber returned for a command performance to LOOM Coworking, Gallery and Event Space in Fort Mill, SC to share insights on the common thread that ties these five, highly accomplished professionals together.

The common thread?

Each of these famous people built a “portfolio career”, a style of working where a professional combines multiple streams of income to earn a robust living. Think of a portfolio career like an investment portfolio whereby you derive income from multiple streams that you professionally manage with a high degree of care, strategy and intentionality.

Portfolio careers are booming. In a recent article published by Ben Legg, the former COO of Google Europe, it was noted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (based in Paris) in its Future of Work study that an estimated 50% of developed country workforces would be gig workers by 2030. Similarly, Ladders published a story that featured a forecast from Statista, the market research firm, that freelancers will make up more than 50% of the USA’s workforce by 2027.

So why are portfolio careers growing?

For starters, more and more professionals are realizing that they have the right and power to veer from the traditional career script. Many of the most skilled and intelligent workers crave both variety and challenge in their careers, and they find it fulfilling to meet their needs outside the traditional career path.

For these professionals, there is often a greater sense of purpose, clarity, and flexibility that accompanies the building of a portfolio career.

Respected thought leaders including Harvard Business Review and Forbes are publishing a growing body of articles and videos that are providing legitimacy to those attracted to the concept of a portfolio career. Additionally, a growing number of employers, including Croixstone Consulting, are intentionally building and diversifying their workforces by designing and implementing talent strategies focused on portfolio professionals.

Visit Croixstone Consulting’s Linktree to find a variety of links to learn more about the benefits and rewards of building a portfolio career.


Consulting Industry Factoids

How is the consulting industry faring amidst the global pandemic?

Thanks to the hard work of our talented consultants, Croixstone Consulting celebrated a record revenue year in 2020 (and 2021 is proving to be even better)!  In light of our firm’s success, we decided to dive into Statista’s latest published consulting industry research over the weekend to see how the rest of the industry is faring.

Here are 5 fast facts about the management consulting industry.

  • Industry Size:  The global consulting market delivers $132B in annual revenues while the USA market produces $64.4B.  The USA is the world’s largest management consulting market.
  • COVID Impact:  After experiencing continuous growth between 2015 and 2019, the consulting industry saw a significant revenue loss (-12.5%) across all markets and segments in 2020.
  • Number of Businesses:  In 2020, the number of consulting businesses in the USA reached 831,621, a slight increase over 2019.  It is estimated that this number will increase by 30,000 units in 2021.
  • Number of Consultants:  Since 2012, the number of management consultants in the USA has increased every year, reaching 734,000 consultants in 2020.
  • Revenue Per Consultant:  The average annual revenue per consultant of management consultancies worldwide decreased overall between 2015 and 2020.  During a 2020 survey, respondents reported an average annual revenue per consultant of $208K.

Click here to read more highlights from Statista’s latest research on the consulting services industry.