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Becoming a business consultant

What is expected of a business consultant?
Just as in any consulting role you are expected to be an expert. But that's not the entire story. You're really being paid to present options that best fit the business. As a consultant you are also often tasked with the responsibility of project management. Making sure your ideas are implemented effectively.

If you're like many business people you may feel forced in to becoming a consultant.

These are initially some of the most successful people.
Why? Because they don't over think the business. They just have a crystal clear understanding of what they need to do, which is make money as a consultant. It's either that or starve. The motivation forces them to make phone calls and knock on doors. They also sell much harder because they have bills to pay. Initially they'll get the business off the ground with one customer working as a sub-contractor. The problem is the lack of planning up front, and the sense of urgency can lead to just another job. In some cases that's the desired outcome. But if you were serious about starting a consulting business you'll have to work on the business when you're not billing.

So what do you do when you don't have time to plan?
If you're desperate for money you take the first gig. It's probably not going to be at as high a rate as you'd hoped, but at least you'll have money coming in. Now you can spend your off time working on organizing the business and chasing down new opportunities. One big mistake I see many consultants make is fighting to hard for a contract. They want the security of a long term assignment. In some cases the security turns in to handcuffs. You'll find that most big companies are all too happy to start you without a time commitment. They want to try you out first. That's a positive for you. Work hard on the assignment, and harder still trying to line up the next one. Even if it's only a three month engagement you've got six weeks to come up with a sharp marketing brochure, get your web site up, and put together a mailing list. You can also figure out the rate you want to charge for the next job.

I don't even know who to call?
Not a problem. Start with the staffing firms and recruiters. They're all over the big job boards like monster.com and career builer. Send them resume's and make phone calls. If nothing else you want to be the first person they call if a job does come up.

Summary and one day marketing and sales primer

If you're reading this you've at least got a day or two to get your act together. Here are the steps you needed for starting your consulting company in a big hurry.

1. If you were part of a masive lay-off call someone at your company and see if you can come back short term as a consultant. If it's a head count issue that may be your best way to get business quickly.

2. Determine the hourly rate you need to charge. Folllow the forumula in our guide to setting consulting fees.

3. Use the internet to find competitors of your company, or similar companies that may need your type of consulting services. Send a letter with a resume' to each one of them, along with a small marketing brochure and a follow up with a phone call. You can create a very nice marketing brochure with Microsoft Publisher or even a word processor in a pinch.

4. Send out a minimum of 20 of these letters every day. Try to find the correct person to send it to by calling the company first. All you need to find out is the person responsible for hiring your type of position. Don't say anything about being a consulting business, just tell them you want to send them a resume'.

5. Make sure to contact all of the recruiting firms, and staffing companies. This is especially true of computer consulting and accountants as there are staffing firms that specialize in this type of consulting.

6. With any remaining time, get a really good looking web site and learn how to promote it. We've created a step by step guide to search engine optimization to get you started. Marketing your web site is just as important as the site itself.

7. As soon as you get the first job, work on getting the second one.

Starting a computer consulting business

Step by step guides to starting a consulting business, getting financing, and small business management.

Back to consulting home

Setting hourly rates and fees for your consulting business.