Seeking Advice on Starting a Consulting Service

Dear All,

Some of you might remember me?

My name is Luke Hannant, and I was implementing ISO 14001 for a Paper Mill some 2 years ago.

With the help of this board (Randy, Claus, Marc, a few more Important Others), I managed to implement ISO 14001 at the Paper Mill (not sure how they have managed since, mind!), before moving to a different part of England (South East), to help my father rescue his business (his partner ripped him off).

Well, to cut a very long story short, I find myself living in Cornwall (South East England), starting life a fresh, but with very bleak employment prospects. I have been looking for work for 4 weeks, and suffice to say there are very few jobs, that pay more than £6 an hour, unless one is a very skilled tradesmen.

There are however companies with ISO 9000, and a general consensus that the UK companies as a rule, are very keen to become accredited to ISO 14000.

So I have finally come to the conclusion, if I can't find a employment working for someone that suits their "job description/position", then perhaps I should take my fate in to my own hands and become a Self-Employed Environmental Consultant, with the specific aim of Implementing ISO 14001 for Local Companies (I have also started working on Old VW's as it is earning me £15 an hour, as there are quite a few to go round, with no local specialists, but mechanics live a hard life, so I do not want to do it full time).

So, once more I find myself in need of your valuable guidance.

I am going to spend the next few days reading through the last 2 years of posts, to refresh my memory.

Then I need to pick up the phone, and start looking for leads.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW I SHOULD GO ABOUT THIS?

I do not have any contacts in this part of the country. In fact all I have is the Yellow Pages, a List of Local Companies I have complied that have ISO 9000, or might be interested in ISO 14001 (i.e. Process Engineering Contractors), and sheer determination to be my own boss, and earn an honest wage that will help me pay back my University Fees.

Sincerely Yours,

Luke

Luke Hannant said:

Some of you might remember me?

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Hullo Luke, Long time no see. Of course I remember you...Welcome back, mate.

I see that you' have set another big task for yourself? I'm sure you'll do fine, and that "sheer determination" of yours will probably serve you well.

Where to start? Well, that's the trick I suppose, but I've been employed in large corporations for so long that my skills in that area are very limited. I do however, just like you, have great confidence in the combined force of the Cove dwellers. There may even be some covers with knowledge of the Cornwall area?

/Claes

Luke Hannant said:

I am going to spend the next few days reading through the last 2 years of posts, to refresh my memory.

Then I need to pick up the phone, and start looking for leads.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW I SHOULD GO ABOUT THIS?

I do not have any contacts in this part of the country. In fact all I have is the Yellow Pages, a List of Local Companies I have complied that have ISO 9000, or might be interested in ISO 14001 (i.e. Process Engineering Contractors), and sheer determination to be my own boss, and earn an honest wage that will help me pay back my University Fees.

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Wow....got ISO 14001 in a papermill?!?! Good job! I recall a papermill that was about 45 minutes away from where I grew up...hated driving through that town...always knew we were getting close if the wind was blowing a certain way!

I'm not sure how things work over the UK, but I know that in Ontario almost every town has a Chamber of Commerce. This group usually has business directories for sale...if you do go the route of a consultant, the purchase of a directory may be tax deductable (it is over here anyway).

I'd expand your focus to beyond just local companies. Many consultants travel. Perhaps expand your radius to include companies that are a day's drive away? Your fee would then include mileage, meals, and accomodation.

Many of the directories include information like:

• Company name
• Main contacts along with titles (i.e., don't contact the Sales Manager!...go for the Plant Manager or even President!)
• Company description - is there a specific industry you may wish to focus on?
• Company size - you may want to start off with the larger organizations, first
• Company registrations - if they already have ISO 14001, are they someone to avoid for now?
• Company website - to obtain more information on them

From there, I'd develop a database of the companies you wish to contact, leaving room for meeting dates and overall results.

What you send to them is like a resume. A cover letter explaining your role as a Consultant and how you wish to become part of their Team.

I've never phoned around for leads...usually emailed or faxed...or sometimes even did it the old-fashioned way...mail! It was just more formal (i.e., professional) than a phone call. The phone call has been, in my mind, more of a step 2 action. Step 1 was the email/fax/letter.

But I'm sure that the folks with real consultanting experience on here will be able to help you. My experience comes from helping out my Father with his company and my own experience in fund-raising and looking for employment.

Good luck!

In addition to what RCB wrote, which is all good advice, I would also place an ad in the local larger paper and industry specific papers for services available. Also keep in mind that it is important to have a professional message on your answering machine or spend the extra money for an answering service. Have professional letter head for written correspondence. It will cost some money in the beginning but it is well worth it.

Good Luck.

Luke Hannant said:

DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS HOW I SHOULD GO ABOUT THIS?

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ONe thing you might want to do is to start small, prime the pump so to speak. Perhaps some of the companies could use some help in internal auditing. This will give you a few billable days a month, and get your foot in the door to have an opportunity to find other areas where you can assist them more. Make the audits show real improvement, adding value to the organization.

Also, you might want to explore lean manufacturing and (dare I say it) six sigma. The important thing is you need to be able to show value in what ever you do.

Good luck.

Perhaps some of the companies could use some help in internal auditing.

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Great suggestion! I've just been informed that once our TS2 program is up and running, my *permanent, full-time* position will be eliminated! :mg: (I'm really not too crushed over this, as I am working in my home office for extra $$ and doing quite well). Anyway, when I'm gone from here, there will be a need for an internal auditor and an outside person may just be the route the company will take.

Good luck Luke, and welcome back!

Thanks for the quick response.

A) The Chamber or Commerce, will be my next contact.

B) Internal Audits are a good idea, and should as you say get my foot in
the door.

C) I am getting my business stationary, and a database organised before
the week is out, as finances dictate I act quick!

D) I was a bit impatient

As, I decided about an hour after writing my post, to get on the phone, and see what I could drum up.

So far so good, I've managed to get the attention of one company who wishes, to pursue ISO 14001, but not for a few more months. So that is at least a lead. He was impressed with the basic premise, that it will be cheaper for them to employ me, than for someone in-house to spend the time figuring it all out. So a good start

Luke Hannant said:

I decided about an hour after writing my post, to get on the phone, and see what I could drum up.

So far so good, I've managed to get the attention of one company who wishes, to pursue ISO 14001, but not for a few more months. So that is at least a lead. He was impressed with the basic premise, that it will be cheaper for them to employ me, than for someone in-house to spend the time figuring it all out. So a good start

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Now, that was quick... A good start indeed... It means no £'s in your pocket as of yet of course, but a good start nevetheless. Being a bit impatient seems to have its advantages.

/Claes

Luke

I'm in the early days of starting out as self employed (process improvement and quality management mainly), in Hemel Hempstead, north of London, UK. I've tried various networking approaches - BNI, ecademy etc, but the best has been my local Chamber of Commerce. That runs networking sessions and publishes a directory of local businesses - this states the number of people in each company. I'm coming to the conclusion that the best companies to target are small - no more than 100 employees. Big UK companies have too many people in them who are afraid to take decisions and need to play company politics - and they are more likely to go with one of the big 5 consultancies.

Get a website set up - my website has helped me get enquiries and business leads.

Good luck

Brian

Brian Hunt said:

Get a website set up...

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Yes, you're right of course, Brian.... Now, why didn't the rest of us think about that? Having a (good) website is getting more essential by the day.

/Claes