The New Business of Consulting : The Basics and Beyond.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (371 pages)
Intro -- The New Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond -- Contents -- Exhibits and the Companion Website -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 So You Want to Be a Consultant -- What Is Consulting? -- Why Consulting Now? -- Why Get into Consulting? Why Now? -- Business Trends -- Consulting Trends -- Client Perspective -- Consultant Perspective -- Four Ways to Get Started -- As an Employee -- As a Subcontractor -- Side Hustle -- Self-Employed Independent Consultant -- Myths About Consulting -- Realities and Rewards of Consulting -- Realities -- Rewards -- Just What Are You Getting Yourself Into? -- Here's an Explanation of Each Statement -- Clues You Are Ready -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 2 Talents and Tolerance -- Your Skills for Success -- Personal Characteristics of Successful Consultants -- Roles You May Play -- Signs of a Mediocre Consultant -- Your Personal Situation -- Financing the Business -- Working Alone -- Working from Your Home -- Being a One-Person Company -- Needing family Support -- Caution: Business Owner Ahead -- Entrepreneurial Characteristics -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 3 Dollars and Sense -- How Much Income Do You Require? -- Calculation Method -- The 3 × Rule -- Consider Your Personal Situation -- How Much Should You Charge? -- Determine Typical Charges -- Determine Your Fee -- Pricing Strategy -- Selecting a Pricing Structure -- Daily Rate -- Hourly Rate -- Fixed-Price Projects -- Per Person -- Retainers -- Conditional Fee -- Performance Percent Fee -- Value-Based Fees -- Other Pricing Decisions -- Definition of a Day -- Half-Day Events -- Perceived Value -- Proposals or Sales Meetings -- Pro Bono -- Other Charges -- Travel Expenses -- Materials -- Overhead -- Cost to Hire -- Travel Time -- Fee Increases -- Ethics of Pricing -- Determine Your Market Pricing Strategy. Save Bargains for Department Stores -- Charge Higher Rates for a Unique Project -- Money Discussions -- Value of a Guarantee -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 4 Starting . . . -- Why Some Start-Ups Succeed and So Many Fail -- What's in a Name? -- Selecting an Accountant -- Selecting a Legal Entity -- Sole Proprietorships -- Partnerships -- Limited Liability Companies -- Corporations -- A Business Plan to Guide You -- Cover Page -- Table of Contents -- Executive Summary -- Business Description -- Market Analysis -- Competitive Analysis -- Organization and Management -- Marketing and Sales -- Service or Product Line -- Financial Projections -- Appendices -- Print Your Business Plan -- Plan to Use Your Business Plan -- Plan a Review with Yourself -- Financial Supporting Documents -- Start-Up Costs -- Start-Up May Cost Less Than You Think -- Home Office Advantage -- Finding Your Niche -- Who Your Ideal Client Is -- What You Will Do -- Why Clients Will Work with You -- Your Image Is Everything -- Experiencing the Experience Maze -- Plan Ahead -- Expand Your Networking -- Identify Creative Options -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 5 . . . And Staying in Business -- Marketing from Day One -- Creating Your Marketing Plan -- Formatting Your Marketing Plan -- Develop a Marketing Plan for Free -- Using the Internet -- Creating Your Website -- Using Social Media -- Surprising but Practical Thoughts on Marketing -- Market All the Time -- Keep Yourself in Front of Your Clients -- Have a Strategy -- Go for the Big Fish -- You'll Spend the Same Time Baiting the Hook -- Keep an Eye on Your Competition -- Wallow in Your Junk Mail -- Mail a Lumpy Envelope -- Personalize Your Marketing -- Know How to Acquire a New Client -- Use Your Clients to Market Your Services -- Tactics for Low-Budget Marketing -- Contacting Potential Clients -- Cold Calls -- Cold Call Warm-Ups. Ways to Track Client Contacts -- Questions Clients Will Ask -- If Your Clients Don't Ask -- Proposals Lead to Contracts -- Proposals -- Contracts -- Why Would You Refuse an Assignment? -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 6 The Cost of Doing Business -- Keeping Records for Your Consulting Business -- Plan for the Worst -- Watch Your Cash Flow -- Bill Immediately -- Use a Reliable Delivery System to Send Invoices -- Monitor Accounts Receivable Methodically -- Know Your Clients' Reputation for Prompt Payment -- Include Project Initiation Fees in Your Proposals -- Offer a Prepayment Discount -- Refrain from Paying Client Expenses -- Make Your Money Work for You -- Bank on Good Advice -- Obtain a Line of Credit for Your Business -- Use a Business Credit Card Wisely -- Compare Leasing and Purchase Rates Carefully -- Play Up Your Small-Business Status -- Act on Late Payments Immediately -- Pay Bills When They Are Due, Not Before -- Compare Actual Expenses to the Budget Monthly -- Track Your Expenses -- Set Aside Petty Cash -- Charge Your Client -- Invoices -- The Clients' Expenses -- Project Revenues -- Deal with Bad Debts -- Keep an Eye on Your Numbers -- Expenses -- Value -- Growth -- Consider Capital Investments -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 7 Building a Client Relationship -- Relationships: It's Why You're in Business -- The First Meeting -- Four Phases of Building a Client-Consultant Partnership -- Phase I: Finding the Right Match -- Phase II: Getting to Know One Another -- Phase III: Being Productive -- Phase IV: Creating Independence -- Adding More Value -- Selling: Helping Clients See the Value -- Attracting High-Value Clients -- Seven Selling Mistakes Consultants Make -- How Many Clients Do You Need? -- How to Improve the Relationship Continuously -- Decisions -- Communication -- It's the People -- Maintain the Relationship After the Project. Ensure Success -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 8 Growing Pains -- Adding People -- Should You Hire Staff? -- Should You Recruit a Partner? -- Should You Consider a Practice? -- Do You Want to Hire Subcontractors? -- Can You Use Graduate Students? -- Growing Without Adding People -- Could a Temporary Service Meet Your Needs? -- Do You Want to Subcontract? -- Have You Considered a Joint Venture? -- Do You Want to Collaborate with Another Consultant? -- Do You Want to Offer Other Services? -- Can You Expand into the Product Market? -- Expand Your Geographical Market -- Do You Want to Expand Domestically? -- Do You Want to Expand Internationally? -- Doing Everything You Can to Grow Your Current Business -- Some Questions -- Ideas Outside the Norm -- Your Options -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 9 The Ethics of the Business -- Consultant to Client -- Delivery of Services -- Business Aspects -- Bottom Line -- Consultant to Consultant -- Subcontracting -- Other Consultant-to-Consultant Experiences -- Client to Consultant -- Parting Ethics Shots -- Codes of Ethics -- International Ethics -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 10 Exude Professionalism -- Competencies to Boost Your Consulting Success -- Competency 1: Professional Standards -- Competency 2: Professional Awareness -- Competency 3: Consulting Skills -- Competency 4: Communication skills -- Competency 5: Mindset Success -- Competency 6: Business Development -- Competency 7: Business Management -- Competency 8: Building Relationships -- Your Competency Level -- Continuing to Learn -- Attend Learning Events -- Ask Others -- Join an Association or Group -- Study on Your Own -- Identify Resources -- Co-Consult or Train with Others -- Create Mentoring Opportunities -- Aspire to the Best of Your Knowledge -- Balancing Your Life and Your Business -- Identify the Imbalance -- Make Your Own Rules. Enjoy the Doing -- Take Time Off -- Identify Other Interests -- Take Advantage of Being at Home -- Managing Your Time -- Business Time Savers -- Travel Time Savers -- Giving Back -- A Personal Checkup -- For the Consummate Consultant -- 11 Do You Still Want to Be a Consultant? -- A Week in a Consultant's Life -- Visualizing Success -- Taking Action -- Get Ready, Get Set . . . -- For the Consummate Consultant -- APPENDIX -- Helpful Resources and Links -- Reading List -- About the Author -- Index -- EULA.