Change in the Political Consulting Industry by James

Change in the Political Consulting Industry by James - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

For many candidates seeking elected office, the idea of fundraising, messaging, and organizing volunteers may be terrifying. Some politically savvy citizens who would like to bring change to their city or school district may shy away from ever running for office because of the complex game that is "campaigning." Because of this, many candidates seek the help of political consulting companies to assist them in the long road from being a grassroots activist to an elected official. Political consulting is a business that can yield a lot of revenue from unsuspecting candidates, and some of the biggest consulting companies take advantage of that fact.

Many big-name political consulting companies charge a flat rate for a collection of services, ranging from volunteer organizing and sign distribution to massive social media campaigns and expensive websites and events. For most local candidates, they only use a small fraction of the services provided in these consultation packages but are still stuck footing the bill for the entire list of services. This is similar to how television providers make money off of their customers by selling channel packages. You may only want cable or satellite to watch the news, sports, and the Discovery Channel, but you are still forced to pay for hundreds of channels that you will likely never watch in your lifetime. The same business model applies to many political consulting companies.

In order to offer candidates a cost-effective alternative to consultation packages, I intend to open a consultation company that charges for individual services as they are utilized, not as an upfront cost to my clients. If a client chooses to use my company for social media advertising and sign placement, but not for website development and block-walking, then they will not be charged for those unutilized services.

Many good people don't run for office because of the massive paywall associated with campaigning. If I can eliminate unnecessary expenses and make elected positions more accessible to the people, then I have an obligation to do so.