The New Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond

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