How to grow a consulting businesses?

At the moment I'm running a one-man web development consultancy.

What are some ways to grow a successful consulting business?

What is the best pricing structure to use (hourly, weekly, fixed)?

The best pricing structure in consulting is "value based billing". Essentially this is where you and the client agree on the value that you provide and a fair rate for that value. For example, If I can make you 100k, then 30-60k seems like a reasonable ballpark for me to aim for. Win Win situation.

Whether or not you can pull this off depends on a) whether you can identify the value you bring b) whether you can actually deliver that value c) your ability to convince the other party, d) the culture in which you are doing business.

Hourly based billing is easier to sell, which is counter intuitive, because it should motivate you to work as slowly as possible (in order to make the most money possible), which is not in the interests of the client.

Fixed rate billing is good for the client, but, only good for you if the client is absolutely clear on what they are getting and you are comfortable taking the risk on the hours necessary to deliver and you are comfortable dealing with the inevitable scope creep.

On how to grow your business - being a one man show is hard - when you're working for pay you're not acquiring, when you're acquiring you're not working for pay. Think of a sales funnel and make sure there's plenty of cold leads at the top, and that your next job is approved before you complete the current job. Put aside a set amount on time each week to handle acquisition, just the same as you do for administration.

Repeats and referrals from happy clients are the path of least resistance for filling the funnel.