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The New Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond
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More About This Title The New Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond

  • English

English

Everything you ever wanted to know about consulting—a practical roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs

Seismic changes occurring in the workforce are leading to more and more people entering the world of contract, freelance, and contingency work. Rapid changes in demographics and advances in technology have led companies and talent to engage in profoundly new ways and consulting is one of the keys to success.

The New Business of Consulting is authentic and practical, and shares the knowledge and skills required to start and grow a successful consulting business. From how to make a smooth career transition, to how to determine a consulting fee, to how consultants inadvertently create a bad reputation, it covers everything you need to know to thrive and flourish in this competitive field.

  • Covers contemporary topics, such as how to achieve success in the gig economy
  • Discloses a reliable technique to land the clients you want
  • Presents options to help you balance your life and your business
  • Prepares you for naming your business, managing critical financial issues, and building a client relationship
  • Shows you how to take your income and impact beyond working as a solopreneur

The crucial start-up days of a consulting business may be frenetic and fraught with questions. This new edition provides sanity and answers all the questions. It includes practical tools, templates, and checklists that you can download and implement immediately.

  • English

English

Elaine Biech (www.ebbweb.com ; Norfolk, VA) is president of ebb associates, inc., a strategic implementation, leadership development, and experiential learning consulting firm. Elaine has been in the field for more than 30 years helping organizations work through large-scale change. She has presented at dozen of national and international conferences and has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Management Update, Investor’s Business Daily, and Fortune. She is the author and editor of more than 75 books, receiving national awards for several. As a consultant, Elaine works with the C-suite, helping leaders maximize their effectiveness. Customizing all of her work for individual clients, she conducts strategic planning sessions and implements corporate-wide systems. Elaine is a consummate consultant who is particularly adept at turning dysfunctional teams into productive ones. As a management consultant, trainer, and designer, she provides services globally to public- and private-sector organizations to prepare them for current challenges.
  • English

English

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Exhibits and the Companion Website

Introduction

One So You Want to be a Consultant

What Is Consulting?

Four Ways to Get Started

Why Consulting Now?

Myths About Consulting

Realities and Rewards of Consulting

Just What Are You Getting Yourself Into?

For the Consummate Consultant

Two Talents And Tolerance

Your Skills for Success

Personal Characteristics of Successful Consultants

Roles You May Play

Signs of a Mediocre Consultant

Your Personal Situation

Caution: Business Owner Ahead

Entrepreneurial Characteristics

For the Consummate Consultant

Three Dollars And Sense

How Much Money Do You Require?

How Much Should You Charge?

Selecting a Pricing Structure

Other Pricing Decisions

Other Charges

Fee Increases

Ethics of Pricing

Money Discussions

Value of a Guarantee

For the Consummate Consultant

Four Starting . . .

Why Some Startups Succeed and So Many Fail

What’s in a Name?

Selecting an Accountant

Selecting a Legal Entity

A Business Plan to Guide You

Plan to Use Your Business Plan

Start-Up Costs

Finding Your Niche

Your Image is Everything

Experiencing the Experience Maze

For the Consummate Consultant

Five . . . And Staying in Business

Marketing from Day One

Creating Your Marketing Plan

Using the Internet

Surprising but Practical Thoughts on Marketing

Tactics for Low-Budget Marketing

Contacting Potential Clients

Proposals Lead to Contracts

Why Would You Refuse an Assignment?

For the Consummate Consultant

Six The Cost of Doing Business

Keeping Records for Your Consulting Business

Watch Your Cash Flow

Track Your Expenses

Set Aside Petty Cash

Charge Your Client

Project Revenues

Deal with Bad Debts

Keep an Eye on Your Numbers

For the Consummate Consultant

Seven Building a Client Relationship

Relationships: It’s Why You’re in Business

The First Meeting

Four Phases of Building a Client-Consultant Partnership

Adding More Value

How Many Clients Do You Need?

How to Improve the Relationship Continuously

It’s the People

Maintain the Relationship After the Project

Ensure Success

More Value for the Client

For the Consummate Consultant

Eight Growing Pains

Adding People

Growing Without Increasing People

Expand Your Geographical Market

Doing Everything You Can to Grow Your Current Business

For the Consummate Consultant

Nine The Ethics of the Business

Consultant to Client

Consultant to Consultant

Client to Consultant

Parting Ethics Shots

For the Consummate Consultant

Ten Exude Professionalism

Competencies to Boost Your Consulting Success

Continuing to Learn

Balancing Your Life and Your Business

Managing Your Time

Giving Back

For the Consummate Consultant

Eleven 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

Resources

Reading List

About the Author

Index

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