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Journey to Becoming an IT Consultant
- 3. © Heraflux Technologies® 3 @kleegeek davidklee.net gplus.to/kleegeek linked.com/a/davidaklee Specialties / Focus Areas / Passions: • Performance Tuning & Troubleshooting • Virtualization • Cloud Enablement • Infrastructure Architecture • Health & Efficiency • Capacity Management • High Availability • Disaster Recovery • SQLPASS Virtual Chapters • Virtualization • HA / DR • Performance
- 4. con · sult · ant /kƏn ˈsƏltnt/ a person who provides expert advice professionally Synonyms: adviser, expert, specialist, authority, pundit, counsel Expert at recognizing problems and developing solutions Art of making connections © Heraflux Technologies® 4
- 5. Niche skillset Variety More responsibility Continuous learning Grow skillset Results Moving upwards © Heraflux Technologies® 5
- 6. Start with WHY? Define success Success requires more than just the desire to succeed No “right” answer © Heraflux Technologies® 6
- 7. © Heraflux Technologies® 7 Where do you see your career evolving? Is your family comfortable with some level of risk? What type of a person are you? What niche or specialty do you fill? Do you like fast-paced variety? Do you have a solid safety net and back-out plan?
- 8. © Heraflux Technologies® 8 Sys Admin Help Desk Software Dev Sys Admin & Accidental DBA DBA & DB Dev & Software Dev & Sys Admin Consultant for a Consulting Group Started a New Consulting Group First computer at age of 5 Built and repaired computers
- 9. © Heraflux Technologies® 9 You Consulting for an Established Consulting Group Starting a consulting group Contracting Lifestyle Business Building a Business
- 10. © Heraflux Technologies® 10 Consulting for Someone Else Contracting Consulting for Yourself Starting a Consulting Group RISKY
- 11. For Someone Else © Heraflux Technologies® 11
- 12. Less risk than other paths Steady salary & benefits No dramatic financial overhead Paid time off Can gain incredible experience Great mentors © Heraflux Technologies® 12
- 13. Intense Good at interviewing? Tough to chose your projects Potential for high travel & long nights / weeks Must learn to learn – quickly Will grow skillset quickly Must be adaptable and flexible Comfort zone Balance © Heraflux Technologies® 13
- 14. Travel is not glamorous Consultants have a bad reputation Technically smart != Great consultant Technically smart != Greatest asset Interpersonal communication © Heraflux Technologies® 14
- 15. See Brent Ozar’s questions you should ask before you take a consulting job https://ozar.me/2015/02/questions-you-should-ask-before-you-take-a- consulting-job/ What skills do you offer? How do you stand out? Why should they hire you? Start talking to the #sqlfamily! © Heraflux Technologies® 15
- 16. © Heraflux Technologies® 16
- 17. Minor risk Lucrative More flexible Relatively steady hours Many recruiting firms are looking to fill positions Gain work experience © Heraflux Technologies® 17
- 18. Contracts are not always back to back Must have padding between projects Benefits and taxes Contracts Dispensable Must maintain in-demand skills Job security Recruitment agency © Heraflux Technologies® 18
- 19. Work does not just ‘come’ to you Must be a part of the contract agency relationship to the client Taxes and insurance Personal risk / liability © Heraflux Technologies® 19
- 20. Lifestyle Consulting © Heraflux Technologies® 20
- 21. You now wear many hats You and maybe a few others Small business formation Shorter-term projects at higher rates More specialized / in-demand skillsets required © Heraflux Technologies® 21
- 22. Everything from consulting applies … and now other things to balance… Branding Constantly finding work Bookkeeping & admin Contracts & negotiation Marketing & presales Family impact High energy & sacrifice © Heraflux Technologies® 22
- 23. FOCUS and interruptions Legal You will never be prepared for the volume of work Finances And finances between projects Exit plan? © Heraflux Technologies® 23
- 24. Work / life balance © Heraflux Technologies® 24
- 25. You are (almost) your own boss Pick your own direction Pick some of your hours More flexibility Less likely to be caught up in corporate politics © Heraflux Technologies® 25
- 26. Financial padding during startup and ongoing Strong support system Mentors Business alliances Good lawyer Strong and thorough contracts Take-charge personality Focus on strengths, outsource the rest © Heraflux Technologies® 26
- 27. Much more difficult to calculate Startup costs higher Double whammy on time off How valuable / in demand is your service? Many different rate calculators © Heraflux Technologies® 27
- 28. © Heraflux Technologies® 28
- 29. © Heraflux Technologies® 29
- 30. © Heraflux Technologies® 30
- 31. © Heraflux Technologies® 31
- 32. Starting a Scalable Business © Heraflux Technologies® 32
- 33. © Heraflux Technologies® 33 YES.
- 34. Everything you do becomes a process The focus is now on sales pipeline & delivery Efficiency Streamline and automate © Heraflux Technologies® 34
- 35. Emotional rollercoaster Much greater overhead Insurance Paperwork Processes / practices Legal Pre-sales Financial Work week Much higher risk © Heraflux Technologies® 35
- 36. Surround yourself with mentors Take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt Be the mentor you wish you had Strategic alliances are a must Run lean Mistakes will happen. Don’t look back. © Heraflux Technologies® 36
- 37. IS consulting the right fit? Weigh the risks, rewards, personal and family impact © Heraflux Technologies® 37
- 38. © Heraflux Technologies® 38 @kleegeek davidklee.net gplus.to/kleegeek linked.com/a/davidaklee
Editor's Notes
- The official definition of consultant is one who provides expert advise professionally. In IT, consulting is more than just giving advice. Good consultants have mastered the art of recognizing the root causes of problems (and not just identifying the symptoms) and developing solutions to solve the problem. My philosophy is simple. Consultants should truly care about the type of work they are doing. To me, it is what separates the good technologists from the great. I’m trying to help put the expert and credibility back in the consultant name. [Maybe tell a story about how you went to a job and the example of a bad consultant and you fixed the problem right away or the consultant that everyone rolls their eyes when their name is mentioned.] I am a consultant that focuses on the convergence of infrastructure and data. It’s what makes me unique, and I focus on architecture and troubleshooting those sort of scenarios. Consulting really is the art of making connections, not just with technology symptoms and technologies, but with people. Consulting in IT means making connections between problems, perceptions, symptoms, and root causes. Consulting in IT also means developing solid personal networks and convincing them through example that you are a valuable asset to a project, and that it will benefit them to pay you money to fill a need. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/887697?forcedownload=1
- We’ve entered a truly unique time in our world. Working as an consultant for someone else is one path we’ll discuss today, but working for other people continues to become a less and less attractive choice for a variety of reasons. At the same time the entry to going out on your own as a consulting whether lifestyle or building a business has been improved by technology in regards to how you reach your customers – it’s actually a lot easier because of this. Many experts have or are considering taking the leap as consulting out on your own can be very rewarding for the right person. Companies are less likely to invest in their employees today than they were earlier in IT, and becoming a consultant is one way to boost your skills and experience. It gives you exposure to an incredible variety of technologies, companies, industry verticals, and people types. It does give you a lot more responsibility on projects and tasks, as they are paying you to take the responsibility to solve a problem. It does require continuous learning to try to keep up with the rapid change of technology today, but if you can keep up you develop a fantastic toolbox of skills that only make you more marketable. The results are incredible, and it gives you more freedom and flexibility to move across the corporate landscape as you see fit. Sometimes this move can be lateral to different technologies and roles, and sometimes it can go upward to more of an architectural or management role. I[‘ll be the first to tell you that consulting really is not for everyone, but if you have the right mindset and desire, I feel confident that you can successfully get into consulting. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/455596
- Start with the definition of one simple question. Why do you want to become a consultant? Answer that honestly of yourself. Then ask yourself what your definition of success as a consultant is. For everyone, these answers are completely different. Only when you have several good reasons can you proceed onto the how and when. Also, NOW, not five years in, is the time to get family on board of what their definition of success to see if there is any intersection of the two definitions. What you want, and what your family NEEDS, could be two completely different things, and having everyone on board with your vision is a requirement up front. To get into consulting, you need to have a solid definition of what your personal success goals really are. Of course, there are no right answers to this question. Could your definition of success be to have more flexibility and time to spend with family on a lot of vacations a year? Someone else’s definition could be one million dollars a year in gross revenue, or working half of each month and spending the other half on professional development. This definition of success will help you along the right path as well as your ‘theme’ to revisit to when things get difficult, so if you aren’t honest with yourself now, it will come back to you and interfere with sustained contentment. Please remember that it takes more than just the desire to become a consultant to succeed at being a consultant. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and energy. My personal definition of success is to be the best geek I can be. I am truly passionate about the convergence of infrastructure and data and its impact on business, and want to be the best at that area that I can be. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/881569 http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1282782 http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1193021
- But there are several things to consider first. You must be extremely honest with yourself when you ask yourself questions such as these… What do you enjoy doing today at your day job? Is this sort of role something you want to do more as a consultant? Are you unhappy at all about your current job? If so, what things are you unhappy about? Are you looking to make a jump just because you are unhappy there? Consulting can be extremely fast-paced and always changing. Is this in-line with your personality? How are your interpersonal skills and communication ability? Talking with others, and this includes others at ALL organizational levels, is critical, as is your writing skills. Are you comfortable with potentially less job security than you have as a full-time employee? If so, going out on your own might not be for you. What type of person are you? Are you more introverted or extroverted? Consulting forces folks to step outside their comfort zones quite regularly. Can you handle this? Do you have any unique skills or expertise that is in demand or hard to find? It can help you stand out as a consultant, which is one great way to generate leads for work. What is your work style like? Are you more of a work by yourself to get the project done, or are you more of a delegator or group project type person? Knowing this up front can help you find roles where you are much more comfortable than the alternative. One of the bigger questions is where do you see your career evolving into? What sorts of things do you want to do as you get further into the career? For example, do you want more or less travel, responsibility, bigger projects or clients, and so on. How comfortable is your family with your decision? I really stress how important this is. And finally, do you have a truly rock-solid safety net, both financially and emotionally? Do you have any alternative plans if your goals of being a consultant just don’t work out? And it all circles back to your original question. What is your definition of success?
- Every bit of experience counts. I got my first computer at the age of five, and promptly took it apart. From that point forward, I’d ride my bike and repair computers for folks in the neighborhoods around where I grew up. It was great money and I learned a lot about how to fix and build computers by the age of nine. Once I got a car, I took a job at a help desk at a local tech store. Once I got into college, I landed a job as the only sysadmin for a small company where I learned all about things like backups, networking, and many of the needs of a business computer setup. At this point I decided to take the natural evolution route of a computer science degree and took a job as a software developer when I got out of college. It was then that I realized that I am a horrible programmer. But, even this experience taught me a lot of things that I use later on, especially while consulting. I got out of that and went back to being a system administrator, where I was fortunate enough to also be the DBA. Basically, I am the accidental DBA that found out that I really enjoyed it, and decided to run with it, but never really lost the sysadmin roots. From there I took a job as sort of the all-in-one geek at a smaller company, where I did the internal web app, DBA, systems integrator, and virtualization admin role. From there, I decided that I wanted the challenge of consulting, and went and became a consultant for a local consulting group. After a while, I decided that I wanted to follow my vision for consulting around the convergence of infrastructure and data, and being from an entrepreneurial family, decided to strike it out on my own. And here we are today…
- You could follow a progression of contracting or consulting for an established consulting group to starting a lifestyle consulting business to building a business with the goals of scaling out. I established early on that I wanted to build a scalable consulting business, so that’s how I approached every piece I worked on, from financial, legal, contracts, etc. But, you can start however you feel the most comfortable.
- Just remember, most businesses fail. Less than a third of new businesses make it ten years. If it were easy, everyone would succeed at it. Starting a new business is tough. But it’s just not limited to starting a business. One fallacy is that consulting for someone else is risk free. It’s less risky than starting your own business, but it still has inherent risk. You are at the mercy of that group to find projects for you, and sometimes, if they cannot find you work for some stretch of time, they might end your job out of necessity because of the market or other situations. So…. What path is right for you? Let’s start with consulting for someone else.
- First, one straightforward way to get into consulting is to learn the business and art of consulting by becoming a full-time consultant employee for someone else.
- When you take a role consulting for an established business, there’s definitely less risk than the other paths. Aside from the fact that the business has already taken the risk to get started, and if they can afford to hire you, they’re doing quite well, there’s the steady salary and hopefully benefits in it for you. You don’t have to take the hit of establishing a business entity, legal, marketing,etc. You get paid time off. Hopefully with that consulting group you can gain some incredible experience and have some great mentors there who can help guide you into consulting gently and train you on being a successful consultant. It’s in their best interest to do so, and you gain the benefits of getting this quick jumpstar. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/761366
- Consulting is quite intense. You have to wear your game face and be alert and ready to tackle anything, all the time, even if your system migration from the night before took all night and wore you down to a crisp. Are you good at interviewing? You’ll be constantly interviewing with prospective clients to make sure that you are the best fit for a potential project, and helping to sell your services as part of this process. It’s different… and very eye opening. It can definitely be tough to chose your projects, too. If a client wants someone with a particular skill, and you can tackle the project but really do not like the task or technology requested, chances are you are probably getting that project. For example, I’ve had to do MS Exchange management here and there over the years. I really didn’t like it back in the old days, and had quite a few sleepless nights managing Exchange environments when they got cranky because other people knew I could do it. You will need to learn how to learn new technologies, languages, or concepts… and quickly. Very quickly. As in your firm might need you to go learn something new and pass a certification test for it within a week or two so they can win a project or maintain a company accreditation. You must also be adaptable and flexible. If you think one particular solution is the best way to do something, but the client wants you to go a different direction for any number of reasons, you have to suck it up and go that route. Flexibility and adaptability to new situations and environments is an absolute must. You will be taken out of your comfort zone, most likely frequently, and you have to make peace with this. Finally, balance is something that can be hard to control. Late nights, weekends, lots of potential travel, and high stress situations are all part of the job. It’s hard to find that balance so you can relax and not burn out. It takes the right consulting group to help you balance your life. Many times firms can get caught up in the bill, bill, bill mentality that can wear on their technicians, and if your firms takes this direction you cannot shift unlike lifestyle or building a consulting group where you do have control to some degree. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1428645
- Travel is most certainly not glamorous. Not all consultants travel frequently, but it is a reality for a lot of us, and not being able to travel might limit your consulting career options. Occasionally you do get to travel to some really neat places. Yes, you can have a great trip to Santa Monica, CA. But do you actually get to experience it? The reality is that most likely all you can see is the inside of an airplane, airport, hotel room, then an office building before you do it in reverse to get back home. Rinse and repeat. Another common experience, not just misconception, is that consultants have a bad reputation because all they want to do is take your money and then under-deliver. You’ve all seen office space… there are a lot of pseudo-experts out there, or those that don’t listen and solve the root problem, etc. Stereotypes are commonly grounded in reality, and it’s a reality and stigma that is hard to change. Interpersonal communication, and the ability to change your delivery based on the person you are communicating with, is your greatest asset. You must sell yourself and your ability to successfully complete a project to whomever interviews you before the project starts. Just being technically gifted does not make for a great consultant. You must convince (and prove) the other technical assets at the client that you are credible to tell them how to do something. You must convey progress and project management details to the project manager in a way they can understand. You must also be able to convey what you just did to a senior member of your client’s management in a way that does not alienate them, and makes them happy with their decision to spend money on your services. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1093089
- If you are really interested in becoming a consultant for someone else, Brent Ozar has a fantastic list of questions that you should ask your interviewers when talking to someone about this role. It’s really great, and can help you keep from falling into a bad situation. Just remember, what skills do you offer that would make someone want to hire you as a new consultant? If you are still interested in going this route, start talking with folks in the SQL family. There are a number of great consulting groups that are looking to hire good talent!
- Now let’s talk about contracting. Contracting is accepting a time-boxed project that has a specific end date. Other than that, you work normal hours like a full time employee.
- Contracting is relatively low risk if you have solid technical skills. It can be pretty lucrative, and is generally pretty flexible in terms of projects and roles you can play. The hours are pretty similar to that of a full-time employee. Lots of recruiting firms can be found in any sizable town, and are always looking to fill project roles, especially in the economy today. It’s a great way to gain work experience and grow your skills.
- It’s not all peachy perfect though. The contracts are not always back to back, so you need some padding between projects. You are probably responsible for things such as benefits and paying your own taxes, so that takes a sizable chunk off the top of the income. You now have to worry about contracts, and your freedoms and limitations as a result. Things such as non-competes and non-solicitation clauses can keep you from working for certain clients. You are now more dispensable on projects. If a project is not going well, the client can terminate the contract, which leaves you out of a job on a short notice. It is now up to you to maintain and improve your technical skills so that you stay marketable and current. If you don’t other people will. Period. If you know your stuff, and the economy stays pretty solid like it is today, realistically your short-term outlook is pretty good. The job security of the industry today is pretty good, and when one contract ends, you should be able to find a new one relatively easily. It just might not be directly following your last project. The best bet is to find a local IT recruiter that can help you qualify for projects and then help you find the work that you need to get started.
- As with anything else, we’ve got a number of misconceptions around contracting. Work just does not COME to from the magical employment fairy. You do have to work to interview and push the recruiting agents to find you suitable work. You also need to be part of the contract that the recruiting agency uses with their clients, as it might contain clauses that can hurt you if something goes wrong. Plus, there’s the always presence of paying taxes and the overarching challenges of finding health care for you and your family. Depending on the situation, it’s easier than it used to be, but the prices are astronomical and sometimes prohibitive. You should also discuss with your lawyer the need for adding a liability policy for your employment opportunities, as the nature of your work might put you in jeopardy if something goes wrong. For example, I know someone who spent time managing the video systems for a police department’s in-car cameras. After a while, they cut the funding and he struggled to maintain the systems. He also found out that he could be held personally liable for damages if a video system failed during a situation where it would have been needed for admission in a court case. Based on that, and their refusals to provide adequate funding, he had to quit for fear of personal repercussions.
- Now… what if you want to be able to call your own shots? We’ve got two ways… lifestyle consulting and then starting out to build a scalable business.
- If you are interested in lifestyle consulting, you now wear many hats… project manager, marketer, strategist, bookkeeper, travel agent, implementer, solutions architect, and sometimes janitor. The group that you start, either just yourself going it alone, or you and a few colleagues teaming up, are in for a shock. You should also think about forming a legal entity at this point. S-corp and LLC are just two of the options for you to start a business entity. It’s not too hard to get starting with a legal business, but talk to a lawyer about it rather than going with a canned package from a legal reference web site. The liabilities in IT are higher than some other business types, and you should be aware of the impact of your choices during this step. Pay a little now or a LOT later. If you go this route, be prepared for shorter-term projects, and as a result, you will be working to find more work more frequently, and will need to charge higher rates to balance out this tradeoff in time. To stand out and be distinct, you are going to need to be more specialized in the type of tasks that you can perform, or at least have great technical skills in some of the more in demand technologies out there.
- Everything about consulting and contracting applies here, except now you have about 200 more things to juggle. Branding is one of the hardest tasks out there. If you can consistently brand yourself as an expert it something, people start to remember you as the expert on that topic, and if/when they encounter it they might actually call you. It helps with the balance of constantly trying to find new and repeat business. The overhead of going this route is a LOT higher than before. Time consuming tasks, such as bookkeeping, contract work, marketing, social media, etc. all add up into tasks that take you away from billing, which is how you earn your living. But these tasks are absolutely vital to maintaining the business, so you’re in a catch-22. I would not be able to do half of what I do today if it were not for my wonderful and exceptionally understanding wife, who also happens to be a partner in our business. She tackles many of these tasks for me so I can remain focused on maintaining and growing the business. Contracts and negotiations are a huge part of owning a consulting group. Things such as master services agreements, statements of work and change orders, non-disclosure agreements, proposals, and then the inevitable contract negotiation with the other side’s lawyers…. It’s a huge part of the new business. And must be completed and reviewed carefully as everything is interconnected now that you own the business. Legal contracts and agreements all tie back to maintaining the terms for your business Insurance, and any mistake here can put you at tremendous financial Risk if something were to go wrong. That’s why it’s important to build a solid foundation with legal and accounting from day one. Marketing and presales support can take a lot of time too. You have to be available to talk through potential projects with new clients, work out the details so you can bid on a project, and market your services in the right spot, but again, it all takes time. And time is something that you will have less of. And your family, if applicable, needs to understand and be supportive. All of it this takes quite a bit of energy, and sacrifice of free time and personal leisure is quite common. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1428637
- One of the best things about doing what I do is that I feel like I have the ability to concentrate and focus on a particular task without the unnecessary interruptions of working in a traditional office environment. It’s really wonderful and I feel like I can get a lot more done in the same window of time when I can concentrate and blitz through tasks. Finding not only a good lawyer, but also a lawyer that is willing to learn conceptually what you do is a requirement. First, it is about getting paid, but it goes WAAY beyond that – you’ve got to look past just getting paid (albeit important in itself). Everything you do is now interconnected, and you must think about it in that way. As you start out, and get contracts with large organizations, you don’t necessarily have a lot of weight when it comes to negotiating your contracts. You have to give and take, and will have to even as you grow, but even more so just starting out. Sometimes companies will require that you complete an engagement with their agreements, so it can get tricky finding ways to best protect yourself. I’m not saying there is a way to absolutely safeguard you from any risk, because running a business is about calculated risk, but once again it’s thinking about things holistically, not piece mealing. For example, one omitted clause in a contract could potentially mean you won’t get paid on time, or even more important, your business insurance might not cover you if something were to go wrong. A strong but fair contract, and someone in your corner helping you decipher the ugliness that legalese is today, is vital to help you mitigate issues (as much as possible) before they start, help you get paid on time, and help you through contract negotiations with your client’s lawyers, because they are guaranteed to have a lawyer or team of lawyers, and they won’t understand your engagement – so I circle back -- finding that lawyer that is willing to learn what you do on a conceptual level and a good communicator is key. One of the tough challenges is that once things get rolling, there’s a good chance that you will be inundated with the non-billable side of the business. These tasks that I talked about earlier can all start to really stack up and impact the tasks needed for building the business. Finances are always rough too, because keeping on top of the bookkeeping is why a lot of folks have a bookkeeper to do the work for them. But remember, every expense adds up. You are at the mercy of the client to get paid on time, and you don’t know if when the next project will (or doesn’t) come in. You’ll need extra padding for time between projects, vacation time, or revenue lost while at conferences or traveling for client projects. And finally, what is your exit plan? Are you saving for retirement as you work? What if you get tired of doing this and decide to shift gears again? http://www.freeimages.com/photo/39978
- Balance between work and life is one of the hardest pieces that I struggle with. I have struggled with it during past jobs, but now it’s even tougher. I’m aware of it as I go forward, but it’s something that is really hard to actually address. I don’t know if there’s really something out there called work/life balance or if it was an imagined/created phrase. My passion is my life because I truly love what I’m doing.
- Your client, the ones who pay the bills and dictate the parameters that your projects operate under, are now your bosses, but you now have the ability to say NO and walk away from potential projects if you know the risk is too high. This fact alone is quite empowering. You can also part ways with clients (some people call this fire) if you really need to. You can also pick your own direction. My direction for Heraflux is to continue to pursue performance, virtualization, and risk management solutions around private and public cloud infrastructures, and to continue to grow in that direction with new and emerging technologies that are so cutting edge You can pick your own work hours. Yes, you can pick which 16 hours a day you want to work But honestly, if you’re not working in or on your business, you’re thinking about your business. You are one in the same, so that’s why earlier I addressed making sure your family’s (if applicable) definition of success intersects with yours. If not, there’s going to be issues that arise down the road. The flexibility is nice, though. For example, some weeks I chose to work all weekend on a project so that I can go shopping or get out of the house on a Tuesday afternoon when no one is out doing these things so I have more peace while I’m out. And finally, as a consultant, you usually don’t have to become part of any office politics that might be lurking at your clients. I’m not saying that you’re immune to it, but I find that I am directly impacted by these politics far less frequently than I was when I was an FTE. It’s great! http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1428642
- As before, you’ll need a significant amount of financial padding as you get going unless you have side clients or prospects already. And check with your current employment agreement to make sure it’s ok for you to have these relationships ahead of going independent! A strong support system is a must. Spouse, family members, and friends are all necessary. If they have not run a business themselves, they will not know what you are going through, but having someone to talk to is very important. Great mentors, too, are critical. You need to know who to turn to if you have questions. The SQL family has some great mentors that have been truly wonderful to me and our business, and have been absolutely essential to us doing well. Business alliances are important too. I don’t want to say partnerships, but rather alliances, because partnerships to me can sometimes be limiting or unbalanced in regards to who’s completing the work. Getting the RIGHT lawyer, and putting together strong and thorough contracts is another must. NO contract will prevent you from everything bad, but having solid contracts is critical if something happens while on the project, no matter how small. It’s also a roadmap when things change (deadlines move, need more assistance), so a concise contract helps you move through theses changes in a more structured manner since life/business never moves in a linear fashion point A to point B. You do need a take-charge personality, one who makes decisions quickly on a solid basis and who constantly wants to move forward. Finally, focus on what you do the best. Outsource the rest to other groups or your strategic alliances. It pays for itself in the end, and makes you a more efficient business. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1428653
- One of the most challenging, and most understood, items about consulting on your own is how to define the rates you can charge. Your start up costs will ALWAYS be higher than you expect, from legal to contracts to bookkeeping, to just things like computer equipment and phones. Time off is even harder… you’re not billing during those windows, and you’re not spending that time looking for work, which hurts next month’s receivables. How in demand are your services? How valuable is it in the marketplace? You can analyze your current situation with any number of free rate calculators out there to determine an approximate rate to charge. I’ve got a sample one that I put together that I’ll send you if you are interested. DEMO
- Over time, you hopefully get routine raises and maybe an occasional bonus or profit sharing bump, and that’s about it. It’s very steady and predictable.
- Some consultants have bench rates, so if the company has not found them a billable project, they are on a reduced pay rate. The rate goes back to normal when they are billable, and they might get a bonus at the end of a project.
- Contractors have a pretty solid and reliable income… until the project ends and the next one starts.
- And being completely independent has the income all over the place month to month (until you get reoccurring work).
- Now… what about that consulting group?
- First and foremost, are you nuts? If so, you’re not alone. This is our goal with our company.
- If you want to build a consulting group from scratch, everything you do today needs to become a process. Not only do these processes become HOW you do things, it’s WHY you do them this way, and you need to spend a LOT of time documenting and refining these processes so that others can follow your example. Your focus is now both focuses intently on building the inbound sales pipeline and then making sure that you can deliver on those project promises. Efficiency becomes a number one priority, and you can streamline and automate any of your internal tasks as much as possible. Just do not focus purely on the ‘bill bill bill’ mentality, because it shows through to your clients, and then you become just like everyone else. It will turn clients off pretty quickly. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/911459
- Life is an “emotional rollercoaster”, but the intensity of emotions are heightened while building and changing the business as the business evolves There is tremendous overhead in creating and improving the scalable processes and practices needed to grow this practice. The insurance needs and costs are higher. The paperwork is intense. Legal time and expenses shoot through the roof, and unfortunately it’s a necessary evil in today’s world. Pre-sales is a priority because it keeps the projects coming in, and all of the activity means more time must be spent balancing the books so that when the auditors come, you’ve got the correct documents and information to back up your accounting. And… work week? You mean 24/7?
- Surround yourself with mentors who have more experience than you, but take everyone’s advice with a grain of sale. Everyone has their own personal and professional agenda, which is not a bad thing (unless their agenda is truly nefarious), and if you stick to this mantra, the mentors that align with how you want to do business always have a way of surfacing eventually. Let this process take it’s time because individuals who seem to anxious to be your mentor may have an unbalanced approach. I’m not a big fan of universal advice, and I like the take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt. Not every bit of advice applies to you. For example, some people start out with family money or have personally saved a million dollars. Their ability to tolerate risk is higher, therefore their advice may or may not be applicable to your situation. For me personally, we’re running our business with the model of being the business mentor that we wish we had. One of our business models is to give back to the communities and people in our technical and professional circles. One of the things that we do is to help those who are good technologists who want to get into consulting but have never worked in it. We mentor on things like marketing, approaches, finance, etc. Strategic alliances with other organizations are an absolute must. Business partnerships are tough because they have a high potential to be one sided when it comes to actually doing the work. Alliances can more often bring fairness and a mutual effort to boost your own business by leveraging the skills of others. Running lean is an absolute must. We knew this one up front, and never even thought about things such as a professional office space or flashy marketing. We know what we need to do the business well, and have the minimum recurring overhead, such as phones and internet, laptops and lab equipment, and web hosting, that help us keep our costs down so we can stay very cost competitive. Lastly, you’re pushing hard, moving as fast as you can, and mistakes will happen due to the pace of the learning curve. Don’t dwell on them. For example, things like the choices in support personnel (legal, bookkeeping, etc.) can all be corrected over time. Different strategies for growing and scaling the business might not work the way you envision. Products just might simply fail. It happens. Course correct, and keep moving forward. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1030728
- If any of this sounds appealing to you, think about going into consulting in some manner. Consulting really isn’t for everyone, but for me, consulting is a dream job and journey that I feel I’ll never return from. Just make sure that all of the aspects are accounted for and understood going into it, and that as life changes, you have a backup plan in case it doesn’t go the way that you thought it would. http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1428638