In Part I of "Should I Become a Consultant," I wrote about understanding what a consultant's life really involves, exploring the waters a bit, answering the question about whether the entrepreneurial life is right for you, and researching the field that interests you, whether its marketing, management, sales, or some other field. Next, research specific areas and ways you can help clients. What Problems Can You Solve Well? Think about the types of problems you want to solve, the … [Read more...]
Should I Become a Consultant: Part I
October 8, 2008 By 1 Comment
With the current economic uncertainty, more and more people will likely be contemplating a consulting career. Odds are, if you're reading this blog, either you know someone who's entertaining the idea or you, yourself, are considering making the move. So, what's the first step in deciding to become a consultant? Start asking questions. Understand what's involved. Explore your options. Some may think it's easy to start, manage, and grow a consulting practice, while others may be frightened by … [Read more...]
Email — Set It Up Right!
October 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment
One of the challenges all consultants have in running their businesses is finding and setting up the right technology to support them. Getting your technology set up right can make all the difference in your productivity. So let me give you my #1 organizational tip... One of the best technology decisions I ever made for my business was getting my email set-up on a Microsoft Exchange server. Before this I collected my email through my POP account provided by my Web hosting service. I'm sure … [Read more...]
Raising Your Game via Collaboration
October 8, 2008 By 2 Comments
Collaboration Is Hot! Collaboration is a hot topic with several of my clients -- it's a strategic tool for them to be more innovative, competitive, and generally more effective. They're implementing entire efforts around how to improve collaboration among their employees all over the globe. As organizations go global, the question of how to make virtual relationships work effectively is a key one. It's not Just for the "Big Boys" Collaboration as a strategy is essential for us as … [Read more...]
Achieve Your Daily Goals
October 7, 2008 By 1 Comment
When it comes to running a business, we're inundated with tasks, appointments, and correspondence. It can be very difficult to keep track of our daily activities without forgetting something or getting side tracked. One of my favorite ways to avoid forgetting tasks is using a To-Do list. To-Do lists help you stay focused and efficient. They also serve as a reminder of the tasks you need to accomplish each day. They're great time-management tools and can help reduce stress because fewer … [Read more...]
Learning from a Retrospective
October 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Big Companies and Post-Mortems At a Fortune 500 company where I used to work, the project team would convene after a project ended to conduct a post mortem. I used to think "How morbid" -- to view a project like a dead body. But often we'd find out that we should've done something differently. We'd also congratulate each other on what went well. And then years later at the same company we'd ask our consulting teams to conduct a retrospective at the end of an engagement (preferably with the … [Read more...]
Building Your Advantage Through Consultant Learning
October 7, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Developing a Competitive Edge as a Consultant... ...for me, it's constant. I'm always building skills, content, and knowledge in my field. And then there are other areas of expertise, such as marketing (honing my website for the 50th time, for example) or running my business (tipping my balance sheet, etc.), or expanding my business (making very passive income, for instance). I frequently develop these through gotchas, tips, and best practices. Finding Consultant Learning and Development … [Read more...]
To Blog or Not to Blog, that Is the Question: Part II
October 7, 2008 By 3 Comments
As I mentioned in my previous post, two different articles on blogging appeared in my in-box just as WIC was preparing to launch its new blog. One was from RainToday.com, covered in Part I of "To Blog or Not to Blog;" and the other came from the Silicon Valley WebGuild, the topic of this posting. Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media The WebGuild's article focuses on a new survey conducted by Cone, a strategy and communications agency. Among other things, the survey … [Read more...]
To Blog or Not to Blog, that Is the Question: Part I
October 7, 2008 By 1 Comment
Coincidentally, as the women of WIC worked to launch our first blog -- to coincide with WIC's 10th anniversary celebration on October 16 -- two different articles on blogging reached my inbox. One was from a favorite e-newsletter of mine, the Rainmaker Report by RainToday.com, and the other came from the Silicon Valley WebGuild. Look Before You Leap (Aka Plan Before You Blog) Michael W. McLaughlin, contributing editor at RainToday.com, urges consultants to ask some key questions before they … [Read more...]
How Do I Get New Consulting Assignments
October 6, 2008 By Leave a Comment
I'm asked this frequently: I'm new to consulting. I've got a lot of experience in my field, and I know I can be a good consultant, but I don't know where to go to find consulting assignments. There are four key things you should have to get consulting assignments: People need to know you're out there and available to them Your services have to fit a client's need You need to provide good value for what you offer Potential clients need to feel confident in hiring you In other … [Read more...]
