Starting a consulting business can be extremely daunting, especially when you are trying to figure out things like your niche, target customers, and what services to offer. First, consider your skills and passions. What are you good at? What do you enjoy working on?…
A few months ago, a visitor to my blog asked me, in a comment, about the value of having a website in the early stages of a consulting business. Specifically, the reader asked if a new independent consultant would be disadvantaged by starting up without the immediate support of a website…
Love them or hate them (most consultants hate them); consulting proposals will become a regular feature in your career as an independent consultant. If you can get away with winning a project without a proposal, consider it a significant achievement. A letter...
Problem-solving will be at the heart of what you do in your new life as an independent consultant. Your customers will only hire you to solve their problems. Business leaders don’t typically hire consultants to fix things that they don’t consider are broken or need...
As an independent management consultant, you’ll need to get used to spending plenty of time in meetings. This may be something you’ve become used to as part of your current or previous job, but your role in meetings will probably be very different as an independent...
If you think that managing your time is challenging now, in your regular job, and you’re planning to set out on your own as a consultant, here’s a reality-check. Managing your time as an independent consultant is going to be much tougher, I promise you. Just...
In my previous post, I took you briefly through the whys and wherefores of using Microsoft PowerPoint and explained why it’s such a popular application with management consultants. PowerPoint is the medium you will use to deliver much of your communication when...
They employ business managers, analysts, IT specialists, and qualified staff members. So why are companies hiring more and more external consultants?
OK. Do I Need Consulting Experience to start my own Consulting Business? One way to get experience in consulting is to first join a consulting firm, to ‘learn the trade’. And that can certainly help. I did that for 2 years before I started my own...
You’ve taken the leap and launched your long-dreamed-about independent consultancy. Due to your reputation and flair for business, clients are knocking on your door. But you find yourself overwhelmed by the endless small tasks associated with running your startup. Where do you turn to for help?