Note (Jan 23, 2009): I have "bumped" this thread because it seems VERY pertinent in today's economy.
Consulting – Is it in YOUR career future?
(see also this companion thread:
Contracting/Temping - Viable Alternates in Tough Times (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=26813))

In my experience over the last forty years, every time there is a downturn in the economy and full-time jobs seem to become scarce, a lot of folks think they can easily join the ranks of those “high paid consultants” they hear about and occasionally see as shadowy figures talking and dealing with top managers at their organization.

Reason for this thread:
Many of my colleagues and associates around the world actually ARE those high paid consultants who deal with the top managers at organizations. When we talk and correspond, one of the main topics that comes up almost every time are the folks who hold themselves out to be “consultants,” but the only thing “consultant” about them is the title they put on a business card. Often we say, “What a shame this guy is so clueless about how to be a REAL consultant.” And then we jump to another topic and mentally dismiss the person from further consideration. On a few occasions, we say, “Wow! That guy is a menace to the profession. He’s so bad, his stink rubs off on the rest of us!” But again, we do nothing, because our “professional ethics” prevent us from bad mouthing a competitor in public, even a stumblebum who gives the word “consultant” a bad taste in anyone’s mouth who crosses his path.

Just this week, we started on another “insider talk” about such “consultants” and I finally said, “Maybe we need a school on how to be a consultant. Then we could just suggest to these guys that they go to school.”

“Yeah!” they laughed. “You create the school and we’ll refer them! Ha! Ha!”

Well, I can’t create a school, but I can create a thread that folks can read and do a little self-assessment and gap analysis to see where they stand on the road to being a successful full-time consultant in ANY field, not just the Quality profession.

Basics
First, we need just a few important definitions. Many folks confuse the terms “consultant” and ”contractor” and often use them interchangeably. Most folks I consider “consultants” probably will agree on the following definitions (If you do NOT agree, feel free to write a post detailing your reasoning.):

Consultant: An independent business person (or member of a firm of such business persons) whose primary value given is ADVICE or EDUCATION. This would include, but not be limited to, folks who advise about mergers and acquisitions and whether to add or delete product lines or enter new markets. It would also include on-site and off-site trainers of employees of an organization who come in to teach something not readily available from experts within the organization (Hazmat processes and procedures, English as a second language, etc.)
Contractor. In the sense we use here, a contractor may be completely independent or work for an agency, but he is essentially a temporary worker performing a job which would be handled by a full-time employee at an organization, but for a number of reasons which have nothing to do with this discussion (perhaps another thread?), the organization prefers the temporary status of the person fulfilling the function. Such temporary contractors include folks working as technical writers, inspectors, assemblers, internal auditors, statisticians, accountants, bookkeepers, typists, clerks, even at supervisor levels, like crew chiefs, quality managers, design engineers, process engineers, etc.

The primary difference for the purpose of this discussion is the contractor is bringing technical skill to the table, but rarely is he giving advice in planning or strategy or spending time training folks to do a task or learn a skill so he can move on to the next organization.

A secondary difference, but often blurred, is that most consultants get paid a fee for accomplishment that rarely has a direct connection to the number of hours worked or the number of pieces inspected or the number of documents written. Blurring may occur when trainers get paid according to the number of students who successfully pass a class. A consultant who comes in to help an organization achieve registration to ISO 9001:2000 may get a flat fee for educating and training the staff to be ready for a third party audit, with a bonus paid when the organization actually gets the certificate of registration. Such a consultant helps select the proper registrar, helps organization personnel write manuals and procedures, trains organization personnel to conduct a gap analysis and become internal auditors for continuing evaluation of the operations against the organization plan.

If the guy just comes in and grinds out a manual and a pile of procedures by himself in a little room, then turns them over to the organization without training the organization folks to do it themselves, the guy is really only a contractor – a technical writer for hire!

The business aspect
Make no mistake, the business of being a consultant is as important as the technical skill and understanding of the subject material the consultant works with. When a guy is loaded with technical knowledge about a topic, but makes a mish mash of the consulting techniques of imparting that knowledge to the client so the client can use it in an efficient and profitable manner is the time when we folks already successful in the consulting business say, “What a shame this guy is so clueless about how to be a REAL consultant.” We recognize the guy knows the subject matter, he’s just clueless about getting assignments and then following through to a successful conclusion. Most often, these are guys who, as employees of various sized organizations were able to fulfill the task, but they didn’t have to worry about the business side of paying for everything like travel, business cards, phones, computers, temporary housing away from home, health insurance, next week’s or next month’s or next year’s assignment and income.

I suggest folks who either already call themselves consultants or who think they want to become consultants give themselves a basic reality check by looking at the Small Business Administration (http://sba.gov/) suggestions for planning and operating a small business and performing a gap analysis between their own ideas and those offered by the combined experience of thousands of small businesses.

Here’s just a brief item I see omitted by many would-be “independent consultants:”
SBA has a “readiness assessment tool” (http://app1.sba.gov/sbat/index.cfm?Tool=4) I think the questions are very fair and realistic. However, I’m willing to bet many folks holding themselves out as “consultants,” but complaining they can’t get bookings, have never taken even the small step of working through this assessment to see if they have some of the stuff it takes to be on one’s own SUCCESSFULLY.

This one question alone would be a knockout for many:
Do you know how to prepare a marketing strategy for your business?
I ask this question of many folks considering becoming a consultant and of EVERY guy currently calling himself a consultant who comes to me for advice in kick starting his moribund consulting business. On the rare occasion the guy answers “yes,” I’m almost always met with a blank stare when I then say, “Let me see it!”

Let’s summarize

A consultant gets paid for giving someone advice or showing him how to do something
A contractor gets paid for doing something or performing tasks which in some organizations are done by full-time employees
Just calling oneself a consultant does not make one a consultant – it requires running a BUSINESS of consulting.
Technical skill in a subject is not sufficient to be a successful consultant – one has to be able to transfer knowledge and skill or convince others to perform tasks based on that technical skill.
There are resources available to determine via “gap analysis” whether one has the “right stuff” to be an independent consultant.

One final note:
Like many professions, consultants get judged and paid by RESULTS. Without successful results, folks lose confidence and won’t hire unsuccessful consultants. This means consultants have to be like good poker players and know “When to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em”, leaving FUBAR [google the term if you don’t know it] organizations in their rear view mirror, rather than become associated with a failure. Almost ANY organization can be salvaged, but not by every consultant – it often takes a very special talent to deal with some situations which are FUBAR to the average consultant.

Thanks Wes, for taking the time to explain this to us. I does help to get the terms clarified, and the challenges highlighted.

I have been suggested becoming a consultant a number of times, but frankly, I have prefered the "security" of employment instead. However, my wife is independent and I think I will relate the links to her as inspiration. :)

Thank you very much Wes. I have been requested to do "pre-audits" by both our vendors and customers. My knowledge is limited in comparison to most on this forum, but I take a practical view and am not afraid to ask questions of people on this forum and my mentor who schooled me in internal auditing. It seems that there is a lack of people willing to tune up companies prior to a third party audit. I will make it a point to reread your post prior to each "pre-audit" I do.

Many thanks,
Doug

Wes,
although this post was started years ago, I find it is very applicable for me after suffering through the multiple lay offs over the past 6 years. It seems as if in today's quality arena that companies are more and more frequently turning to consultants to accomplish their quality objectives and then being done with them until they need a specific task accomplish with regard to their QMS. sad to say in the small to mid size companies quality is becoming an outsourced resource. With all the lay offs I have suffered, my desire to commit myself to one company has all but disappeared. I am finding that although I lack security (a flase sense I held in being hired permanent) I feel that my ability to distance myself from the internal politics has increased dramatically and I am better able to focus on the true meaning of quality. I am not free to do as I choose as a consultant but in time expect to be able to work within my own schedule over time. I am presently seeking a consulting firm to join in order to keep a flow going to my projects. I am very self motivated and am very capable of working from home so I am looking for consultant work that would afford me this opportunity. I am focusing my professional goals toward consulting instead of working for one company.
Thank You for your input....and thanks for sharing!
Katherine McKay

Wes,
although this post was started years ago, I find it is very applicable for me after suffering through the multiple lay offs over the past 6 years. It seems as if in today's quality arena that companies are more and more frequently turning to consultants to accomplish their quality objectives and then being done with them until they need a specific task accomplish with regard to their QMS. sad to say in the small to mid size companies quality is becoming an outsourced resource. With all the lay offs I have suffered, my desire to commit myself to one company has all but disappeared. I am finding that although I lack security (a flase sense I held in being hired permanent) I feel that my ability to distance myself from the internal politics has increased dramatically and I am better able to focus on the true meaning of quality. I am not free to do as I choose as a consultant but in time expect to be able to work within my own schedule over time. I am presently seeking a consulting firm to join in order to keep a flow going to my projects. I am very self motivated and am very capable of working from home so I am looking for consultant work that would afford me this opportunity. I am focusing my professional goals toward consulting instead of working for one company.
Thank You for your input....and thanks for sharing!
Katherine McKayThanks for reading this thread and posting.

I think you misread my date of registering with the Cove (2003) with the date of this thread (November 2007)

I want to be sure folks don't get the idea I am disparaging contract work - it can be lucrative and is often more steady and "sure" than consulting work. The point is: working as a third party auditor or conducting "gap analyses" or writing quality system documents is NOT consulting. It is meaningful work and necessary for organizations who cannot afford to maintain folks on a full-time payroll for essentially part-time work.

If I don't make any other point clear, consulting almost always requires face to face contact with top management in an organization, most often on-site. Where the consultant establishes his office (home or fancy office building) is immaterial. Some types of consulting can be performed in a relatively small geographic area for an entire career while others may travel the entire world.

I am aware some folks are trying to perform consulting and training via the internet. I hope they find enough clients who are technologically savvy enough to sign up and pay for such service. I fear the bulk of the folks who are in need of a consultant or trainer may not have reached that stage of sophistication. Alas, true pioneers are valuable in showing the way, but seldom do the pioneers reap the full value of their contribution. It is almost always the developers and others who come later who derive the most income from exploiting the new territory opened up by the pioneer. The guys who created Google have made a lot more money than the guys who invented Mosaic, the forerunner which makes the internet so interactive.

I hope all folks contemplating consulting as a career choice understand they need to plan how they will get clients on a continuous basis (marketing) and how they will support themselves during the low income startup period in establishing a consulting business.

Some would-be consultants find it hard to SELL their services and promote themselves in marketing efforts. They feel it is somehow unprofessional to do so. Let me tell you it is that it is the very SELLING and SELF-PROMOTING which is the hallmark of the true professional versus the wannabe or dilettante who is technically proficient in the subject matter, but woefully lacking in the business savvy of being a consultant, regardless of the subject matter.

Any other comments from other readers?

Mosaic: see wiki at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_%28web_browser%29

You are so right about the marketing aspect being one that most never think about. It's one thing to have a product, it's another to find folks who are actually interested in it.

Consultants need to be business people, not just quality (or technology or whatever the specialty is) geeks.

P.S. And when the economy slows is exactly NOT the time to think of becoming a consultant. That's when companies look for ways to cut costs, and any external consultants/contractors are easy cuts that immediately improve cash flow.

........................ P.S. And when the economy slows is exactly NOT the time to think of becoming a consultant. That's when companies look for ways to cut costs, and any external consultants/contractors are easy cuts that immediately improve cash flow.

I didn't plan to be a consultant but I planted the seeds during a very bad recession. Through my connections and membership in business and trade associations, social & service clubs, I gave some talks and then some free advice and 'consultations' to many who approached me.

Trust me, people who are starring at failure and possible bankruptcy readily open their ears and heart to you. Often what they need is somebody to shine a light to show the road ahead. Most of them are very experience and knowledgeable - they just need somebody who are not clouded by their predicament to be the navigator. Needless to say, I became the consultant of choice when they recovered.

Another lesson - Invest! Don't be too cost conscious. Invest for the long term. Give and you shall be rewarded with more.

Most of them are very experience and knowledgeable - they just need somebody who are not clouded by their predicament to be the navigator. Needless to say, I became the consultant of choice when they recovered.

Another lesson - Invest! Don't be too cost conscious. Invest for the long term. Give and you shall be rewarded with more.Very insightful, Harry. A lot of us use the phrase "cast your bread upon the water" in homage to an old quote about giving and being rewarded. Here's a humorous anecdote about the conceptCast Your Bread Upon the Water and it Shall Return to Thee
Cast Your Bread Upon the Water and it Shall Return to Thee
The story (supposedly true) of a missionary who was sitting at her window when the mail arrived. She opened a letter from home and out fell a crisp new ten dollar bill. As she read the note accompanying the money, her eye was caught by the sight of a poorly dressed man on the street below. Thinking the man was probably not very well off, she placed the bill in an envelope upon which she wrote “Don’t Despair” and tossed it out the window. The man picked up the envelope, opened it, and looked up at her smiling and tipped his hat.
The next day there was a knock at the missionary’s door, opening it she found the man from the previous day holding out a handful of cash to her.
“What’s this? I don’t understand,” she said.
“Lady,” he replied, “it’s your cut. ‘Don’t Despair’ paid five to one yesterday.”

If I don't make any other point clear, consulting almost always requires face to face contact with top management in an organization, most often on-site. Where the consultant establishes his office (home or fancy office building) is immaterial. Some types of consulting can be performed in a relatively small geographic area for an entire career while others may travel the entire world.


I think that sometimes the distinction between consultant and contractor is not as brightly circumscribed as you suggest. All consultants are contractors, but not all contractors are consultants. A consultant is a distinct type of contractor, in other words. Furthermore, when dealing with larger companies, it's fairly unusual for consultants to have any sort of direct contact with anyone above departmental managers, and in many cases the top managers might not even be aware that consultants have been brought in (although they might be aware of budgetary considerations for use of consultants).

The best way to make a distinction, if one is necessary, seems to be how contractors get paid. Most of what you are identifying as contractors are paid an hourly wage much like other company workers, while consultants are more likely to charge flat fees, or payment is based on a predetermined number of hours. Independent consultants are paid directly, while almost all contract workers are paid by the service that provides them (which may also be the case with consultants working for a consulting firm, which further blurs the distinction.

Beyond self-aggrandizement, I can't think of a good reason to make a big deal about the distinctions, as most people who pay for temporary workers of any sort understand what they're paying for.

Besides the obvious (See a CPA for advisement) can anyone tell me some of the pro's and con's of your personal experiences while working full time and having side work ie; QMS development, procedure writing etc...)

I'm wondering what the tax implications will be and I'd like some first hand feedback from fellow covers who have been down this road before.

Example,

Say I work full time with a current employer @ $50K.

I get some side work at varying rates. I know the 1040 SE tax is 15.3% of self-employed income.

How has the tax laws impacted your self employment endeavors when you're just starting out and have not really made a big commitment yet?

Thanks.

Besides the obvious (See a CPA for advisement) can anyone tell me some of the pro's and con's of your personal experiences while working full time and having side work ie; QMS development, procedure writing etc...)

I'm wondering what the tax implications will be and I'd like some first hand feedback from fellow covers who have been down this road before.

Example,

Say I work full time with a current employer @ $50K.

I get some side work at varying rates. I know the 1040 SE tax is 15.3% of self-employed income.

How has the tax laws impacted your self employment endeavors when you're just starting out and have not really made a big commitment yet?

Thanks.Thanks for rejuvenating this thread with a new aspect of the main theme (running a consulting operation as a BUSINESS.)

Part of planning is looking forward to the time when your business will be self-sustaining.

If you aim at being a consultant (using MY definition above), then why not create a subchapter S corporation (for USA tax laws) and let the corporation be the actual beginning of the business you will grow? A competent tax accountant (even one of those storefront franchise guys) can walk you through this. That way, the only thing the client has to do is write a check, not create Form 1099 PLUS a check when he hires your service. If you need to hire help, YOU hire the help through your corporation, not have the client write separate checks.

If you aim at being a contract worker (using MY definition above), you will probably remain a single individual worker, never hiring or expanding the scope of your business, limited to only the hours you, physically, can work. Many contract workers attach themselves to agencies which do all the spadework of finding and negotiating with clients and the contract worker just works the number of hours at the rate he is willing to settle for and all the paperwork, tax deducts, etc. are taken care of by the agency as part of the fee they retain from what the client pays for the contractor's work. (As an aside, I am aware of some agencies which take 50% of the total fee from the client for compensation for these functions.)

Everything I have written in post 1I suggest folks who either already call themselves consultants or who think they want to become consultants give themselves a basic reality check by looking at the Small Business Administration (http://sba.gov/) suggestions for planning and operating a small business and performing a gap analysis between their own ideas and those offered by the combined experience of thousands of small businesses.

Here’s just a brief item I see omitted by many would-be “independent consultants:”
SBA has a “readiness assessment tool” (http://app1.sba.gov/sbat/index.cfm?Tool=4) I think the questions are very fair and realistic. However, I’m willing to bet many folks holding themselves out as “consultants,” but complaining they can’t get bookings, have never taken even the small step of working through this assessment to see if they have some of the stuff it takes to be on one’s own SUCCESSFULLY.

This one question alone would be a knockout for many:
Do you know how to prepare a marketing strategy for your business?still applies whether you intend to start full-time or part-time. Part of your business plan and your marketing strategy will be "WHAT will make life easiest for your clients in hiring and paying you?"

Besides the obvious (See a CPA for advisement) can anyone tell me some of the pro's and con's of your personal experiences while working full time and having side work ie; QMS development, procedure writing etc...)

I'm wondering what the tax implications will be and I'd like some first hand feedback from fellow covers who have been down this road before.

Example,

Say I work full time with a current employer @ $50K.

I get some side work at varying rates. I know the 1040 SE tax is 15.3% of self-employed income.

How has the tax laws impacted your self employment endeavors when you're just starting out and have not really made a big commitment yet?

Thanks.

I haven't made enough money from side work (writing, mainly) for this to be an issue with me, but there is some good information on a few freelance writing (and other) sites that apply to almost any sort of self-employment. Have a look here (http://taxes.about.com/od/taxplanning/a/freelance.htm), for example, and here (http://www.writing.org/html/a_taxes.htm). One thing that's often overlooked is the need to pay the IRS quarterly (as your regular employer does on your behalf). That said, the Internet is not an especially good place to get tax advice, as I'm sure you're aware.

Thanks Wes. i appreciate the post. I too am one who has been asked by many "So when are you going to go into consulting?". I am one of those "Quality Geeks" that loves to teach and consult, but lack the business knowledge. I have decided to do just as indicated in your first post, learn how to run a business before i take off into the dark and scary businesss world.

Thanks again,
Mark:thanks:

I left a good paying job with a big defense company to start auditing for a registrar two years ago. I also started a consulting business at the same time. I find the consulting jobs a good fill-in and it pays 50 to 100% more than auditing. Last year 1/3 of my income came from consulting. Most of the work I picked up were 2-3 days gap audits, internal audits and Internal Auditor training. I did pick up a medium term assignment (35 days) setting up QMS system form a startup company. I did 50% of the work at home writing procedures for them. I like to get one or two of this type of assignments a year. I would not go full time as a consultant because I like the steady income from auditing for a few registrars.

I got most of the work from my website. The key is to make sure that it comes on the first 2 page when clients serach for "ISO concultant Chicago", as an example. I also got work from companies I audited. I have to tell my registrar that I can't audit this company once I start provide consulting service.

So this is my 2 years experience with my part time consulting business. It took some planning to get started. It has been rewarding.

-TY

Thanks. That was very interesting. that is exactly what I would like to do. I am presently working full time for a company as Quality system Administrator, and part time for the local university doing classes for local companies in Internal Auditing, Problem Solving etc. I just haven't had the guts to say goodbye to my full time job yet. I think i might check out becoming an auditor for a registrar. That wuld leave me more time to do the consulting on the side.
Thanks again,
Mark

I have been in the consulting/training business since 1986 and have to say that it has been the best vocational time of my life. When I say this, I don't mean that that the $$ I earned created this feeling but it is the satisfaction that if I didn't like the customer or could not obtain support, I didn't have to work there. No whipping boy on quality issues anymore.

Prior to that I was in Quality Management with the frustration level extremely high and job mortality rate usually came in about 5 years. I really disliked the politics too. How many Quality Managers have worked until retirement if they are in the automotive supplier base? Not many for sure.

I don't know if I would suggest that a person enter this field at the present time since our economy in the USA and Canada is not what I would consider booming but if the time is right for the individual, go for it.

I have been in the consulting/training business since 1986 and have to say that it has been the best vocational time of my life. When I say this, I don't mean that that the $$ I earned created this feeling but it is the satisfaction that if I didn't like the customer or could not obtain support, I didn't have to work there. No whipping boy on quality issues anymore.
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As a consultant for over 20 years, what can you tell us about the nitty gritty of the BUSINESS of consulting?


Do you get new clients by advertising or word of mouth?
Do you have a narrow or broad range of services you provide?
How did you decide on the range - from the beginning or did the range evolve over time?
How do you determine your pricing?

In essence, we're lookng for tips or cautionary tales about the BUSINESS of being a consultant.

When I catch up with a colleague for a dinner and drinks, it seems we rarely brag about our successes, but often have tales (easier to tell after the passage of time to heal the wounds) about some disaster in which we allowed ourselves to become enmired in some endless soap opera of FUBAR executives at a client organization. Usually, getting out with a whole skin is more a matter of divine intervention than clever innovation on our part. Got any tales like that?

As a consultant for over 20 years, what can you tell us about the nitty gritty of the BUSINESS of consulting?


Do you get new clients by advertising or word of mouth?
Do you have a narrow or broad range of services you provide?
How did you decide on the range - from the beginning or did the range evolve over time?
How do you determine your pricing?

In essence, we're lookng for tips or cautionary tales about the BUSINESS of being a consultant.


Although I have developed over 50 quality systems as a Consultant, I have presently discontinued in that area and now provide seminars in the quality field along with GD&T.

I started out by developing a brochure and sending it out appropriate companies and then got a "hit". I had an appointment in one company and didn't even have a business card. I sure hustled to get one made. Anyway, I would suggest that if your initial effort in a company has been successful and appreciated, then ask if the company would know of any other companies who could benefit from your service. This is the best way of developing a business.

As far as narrow or broad, I would suggest keeping to the area one is most comfortable. I remember one time I was suggested for stats training at a hospital. I was uncomfortable in this environment and did not pursue it.

The range of service did develop over time. The second customer I had in 1986 asked if I could train in SPC since the automotive requirement at that time dictated that 80% of each segment in the workforce must have formal SPC training. I came up with a training programme and they liked it. I then began selling private seminars in SPC.

In 1988 I developed GD&T but I must say that I was a bit apprehensive the first time that I presented it. I had a good background in measuring and used it. Now, I think that I have presented this subject to more people in Ontario than anyone else (excluding the colleges).

I started public seminars in 1989 after I went for training in Detroit. It was awful with the people presenting subjects never really working in industry. My wife asked me what I learned and I told her that I learned that I should start presenting public seminars.

Pricing - Seminars are easy - flat rate.
Consulting is not as easy and here is what I did. I figured out how much I would make as a Quality Manager, divided the value into an hourly figure and doubled it. I worked on an hourly rate with a estimate of the total cost. Don't get sucked into guaranteeing a company will absolutely achieve ISO 9000 on a flat rate price. Most of the effort must come from the company and not the Consultant. I always charge travel time and costs but one must have integrity. Perform the task as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Don't drag it out since you have nothing else on the plate.

Make sure that you get paid quickly and low values on the invoice. I would always generate invoices weekly and expected to be paid the following week. No pay - no play until I was paid.

I hope this will help someone thinking about consulting but I must admit, it was really tough at times. I remember sitting in my home office with no customers and nothing on the horizon. I kept wanting the phone to ring but it just didn't. Somehow, everything did work out well.

Good luck!

Thanks Dave. Very informative.
Mark

One of the difficult lessons for folks making the transition from a steady paycheck to the wild and wooly world of free-lance consulting is building up an adequate "working capital" base to cover those fallow periods when the phone just won't ring, no matter how hard you stare at it.

A lot of folks ease into consulting as a part-time moonlighting gig while they try to build up a backlog of work so they can make a clean cut and go into consulting full time. Some never cut the string. In fact, a number of my colleagues have been full time college instructors and professors who use their full-time job as a continuous "launching pad" for both credibility and contacts in getting consulting jobs while they enjoy the security of a regular paycheck and the prestige conferred by their association with an institution of higher learning.

Some folks take a long time to grasp the idea the gross fee collected from the client has to be apportioned into funds for


operating expenses
marketing expenses
personal income
reserves for taxes
reserves for slow periods
reserves for expansion
etc.

Marketing and advertising has a lot lower buy-in today (percentage-wise) than twenty years ago. With the advent of desk-top publishing and modern color printers, a practitioner can design and print business cards, brochures, client materials, and other hard-copy documents for a fraction of the inflation-adjusted cost from 20 years ago. Certainly, the instantaneous nature of the internet, where on-line documents can be updated and distributed 24/7, versus being a slave to production schedules of hard copy print houses, helps even a one-man operation look as big and as well organized as any of the giant consulting firms.

If the individual practitioner is not savvy enough to host a website or design brochures, there are always OTHER free lancers who CAN do so, for a relatively modest fee.

Probably the most important thing for the beginning or established consultant to understand is that he does not need to operate in a vacuum. The most successful consultants have a wide band of colleagues and experts to call on for help with a necessary piece of expertise (for their own consulting business or for the client of the consultant.) In the days when I was spearheading an IPO drive two to three times a year for different clients, I had literal armies of attorneys and accountants on call to review and critique my firm's activity on behalf of each client.

I would suggest every consultant spend some time finding an attorney who is familiar with the situations small businesses encounter. Once the attorney is found, use him/her to network to find a compatible accountant who can steer you through the legal, accounting, and tax labyrinth you may encounter as well as together to help you create firm and binding contracts, and, even better, COLLECT what you are owed!

Often, you, your attorney, and your accountant may have a form of synergy where you can each refer clients to each other.

Primarily a "bump" to resurrect this thread.

In a related vein, every day brings more and more news of layoffs and "rightsizing."

I'd like to suggest many of the organizations laying off full-time workers STILL need many of the functions those workers used to supply. Consider what functions those organizations are likely to still need. Can you provide those functions? If yes, TELL THEM (marketing) because they won't find you if you are sitting on your deck enjoying the last days of summer.

Tell us how YOU are generating consulting business during this low economic period.

Another "bump" - motivated by some conversations with friends about a mutual "acquaintance" who is struggling to develop a consulting business after losing his job as a quality professional. Apparently, the guy has a ton of personal baggage which is affecting his ability to proceed efficiently. His ego seems to be too big to admit that, though he knows a lot about quality issues, he is very naive about running a consulting business.

Take a lesson:
Nobody (not even I;)) is so smart and knowledgeable he knows everything about everything. I seek advice from other professionals all the time. Best of all, I recognize when I am in over my head and am never too proud to ask for someone to throw me a life preserver.

Note (Jan 2, 2009): I have "bumped" this thread because it seems VERY pertinent in today's economy.
Consulting – Is it in YOUR career future?

In my experience over the last forty years, every time there is a downturn in the economy and full-time jobs seem to become scarce, a lot of folks think they can easily join the ranks of those “high paid consultants” they hear about and occasionally see as shadowy figures talking and dealing with top managers at their organization.

Reason for this thread:
Many of my colleagues and associates around the world actually ARE those high paid consultants who deal with the top managers at organizations. When we talk and correspond, one of the main topics that comes up almost every time are the folks who hold themselves out to be “consultants,” but the only thing “consultant” about them is the title they put on a business card. Often we say, “What a shame this guy is so clueless about how to be a REAL consultant.” And then we jump to another topic and mentally dismiss the person from further consideration. On a few occasions, we say, “Wow! That guy is a menace to the profession. He’s so bad, his stink rubs off on the rest of us!” But again, we do nothing, because our “professional ethics” prevent us from bad mouthing a competitor in public, even a stumblebum who gives the word “consultant” a bad taste in anyone’s mouth who crosses his path.

Just this week, we started on another “insider talk” about such “consultants” and I finally said, “Maybe we need a school on how to be a consultant. Then we could just suggest to these guys that they go to school.”

“Yeah!” they laughed. “You create the school and we’ll refer them! Ha! Ha!”

Well, I can’t create a school, but I can create a thread that folks can read and do a little self-assessment and gap analysis to see where they stand on the road to being a successful full-time consultant in ANY field, not just the Quality profession.


Hi Wes,

Yes, we've had the same discussion in our group of consultant friends - in fact, I was working with someone (who I've lost touch with now) and we had actually put together a business plan for "Consultant School" - teaching everything from basic business (setting up a business, getting website, bookkeeping, etc.) to business etiquette to accreditations (reference list of accreditations and where/how to get them). Unfortunately, other priorities got in our way, and we never executed that plan. Sounds like it might be time to dust it off... hmmm....

Regards,
Mary F. McDonald

Another "bump" because a lot of folks are struggling to find full-time employment - also check this thread ( Contracting/Temping - Viable Alternates in Tough Times (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=26813)) contracting can be a handy "port in a storm" when severance and unemployment benefits run out!

I'm back looking at this decision again after getting laid off a couple weeks ago. I've actually been doing full time process improvement work in the auto industry for the last five years, but I consulted for about five years before that for two different firms - one a husband/wife start up, the second a mid-size accounting/tax firm. I had burned out on the small shop "we just want the ISO flag" mentality. With manufacturing dying at the time in Michigan, plus my firm setting my bill rate at $150 per hour (had to cover that suite at Joe Louis Arena and my nice office I was never in) I couldn't compete against independents charging half what I had to.

I'm not bound by no-compete agreements any more, so I'm thinking about trying to set up my own thing. For the most part I enjoyed consulting (other than the occasional PIA client).

What are those of you already out there seeing? Is demand for consulting up with quality departments downsizing? Or are you losing business with plant closings and cost cutting?

Wes,

Thanks for the clarification on consulting and contracting. I don't know if you will be trying to keep this site purely for consulting and consultants or if you will allow contracting and contractors here also.

I have been contracting for many years and do much work in my home office but also some customers require that I sit in their building and use their resources. I'm a mechanical engineer who does 3D modeling, 2D drafting and sometimes 2D isometric illustration for technical manuals. I'm usually left free to search out the information I need to get the job done. The smaller companies are happy to email their requirements (drawing changes) and I do them and return it to them by email.

Of course, this requires a long relationship which allows them to trust me in nearly everything, although I keep in close touch with their engineers. Most of them are my friends. Marketing for me is to regularly call them to see what they are doing and to suggest how I can help them.

My business, Reid Engineering Services, is licensed in my own city (Ogden, Utah) and I work for several companies in this area. We have four large companies plus a US Air Force Base and its supporting vendors who are my customers.

The work is varied such as the design of auto airbags, aircraft hydraulic actuators, electronic test equipment and pilot and maintenance trainers. I also do quite a bit of tool design.

Sorry for the long post (resume/advertising). I will be watching your site for a while to see if I really fit in here.

Great Idea for a website, keep it up,

George Reid

Wes,

Thanks for the clarification on consulting and contracting. I don't know if you will be trying to keep this site purely for consulting and consultants or if you will allow contracting and contractors here also.

I have been contracting for many years and do much work in my home office but also some customers require that I sit in their building and use their resources. I'm a mechanical engineer who does 3D modeling, 2D drafting and sometimes 2D isometric illustration for technical manuals. I'm usually left free to search out the information I need to get the job done. The smaller companies are happy to email their requirements (drawing changes) and I do them and return it to them by email.

Of course, this requires a long relationship which allows them to trust me in nearly everything, although I keep in close touch with their engineers. Most of them are my friends. Marketing for me is to regularly call them to see what they are doing and to suggest how I can help them.

My business, Reid Engineering Services, is licensed in my own city (Ogden, Utah) and I work for several companies in this area. We have four large companies plus a US Air Force Base and its supporting vendors who are my customers.

The work is varied such as the design of auto airbags, aircraft hydraulic actuators, electronic test equipment and pilot and maintenance trainers. I also do quite a bit of tool design.

Sorry for the long post (resume/advertising). I will be watching your site for a while to see if I really fit in here.

Great Idea for a website, keep it up,

George Reid
As others here will attest - I differentiate, but I don't discriminate, a subtle, but important distinction.

Our primary focus here in the Cove is Quality - for customers, regulators, bosses, but most importantly, for ourselves. We take pride in our work, however grand or small, because we know each part matters in the grand scheme.

Many companies cannot afford to keep full-time employees on the payroll for the occasional expertise they provide - hence the necessity for part-time or temporary workers to fill those roles when and where needed.

My primary function here in these "occupation forums" is to help folks be as efficient as possible in filling those roles or hiring others to fill them. In the machining business we had a mantra - the right machine for the right job - it would have been just as stupid to put a machine that could hold 50 millionths of an inch tolerance to work turning shafts with a tolerance of plus or minus one-tenth of an inch as to try to hold tolerance of 50 millionths of an inch with a 60-year-old Browne & Sharpe lathe.

If the mantra is true for machines, it is certainly true for human beings and their skills, training, and experience. The primary difference is the guy knows when he is doing work above or below his skill, but the machine doesn't.

Here in the Cove, we point the way so a guy can move up the food chain with confidence. In Quality, we put a lot of emphasis on conducting a gap analysis to determine the gap between the present state and the desired future state The concept is just as valid with humans as with processes or organizations. Once the gap is identified, we're ready with all the information you need to fill that gap.

Welcome to the Cove, George Reid!:bigwave::bigwave:

Consulting – Is it in YOUR Career Future? Ithink so/I hope so.

I knew there was a reason that I came back to the Cove. I was never an active "poster", but I was always interested in what everyone else was saying.

I found this post very informative for my own situation. I have always toyed with the idea of going out on my own as a consultant and auditor, but I couldn't give up the security of that regular check and benefits for my growing family.

Well now my kids are grown and starting there own families and I'm preparing myself to take the plunge. I've seen my wife build her business and now I think I'm ready to try my hand at it.

I have worked in Aerospace quality engineering and management for almost 30 years. I've put together multiple AS9100 manuals and developed quality information systems, corrective action programs, training programs; you name it throughout my career.

I'm not looking to make my first million (I gave up on that years ago). For me it’s more of a quality of life issue. I would like to maintain my standard of living and, hopefully, have enough work to be able to select how much I want to do.

Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not ready to retire (far from it) and I'm not afraid of some hard work. It’s just that I think I'm ready for a change after all those years in the plant. I think I can turn this experience and training into a viable business that others will find useful.

My plan; take a couple of years to get might stuff together. Build a little nest egg of cash, get my AS9100 AEIA auditor certification, start doing some side/part time jobs, and then make the break. Get lots of advice from wherever I can get it: this forum, sba.gov, SCORE, and other local resources available from the state community colleges. I like the idea of the gap analysis, and some of your other recommendations.

Thanks for the insight. Wish me luck, and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Now that I'm back to the forum, I hope to be a more active participant.