Getting Started in Consulting, Third Edition

Chapter 2. Physical Space and Environmental Needs: Act Like You Have a Business and You'll Have One

In 1985, I was fired by the owner of the small company I had been employed by as president for two years. It was an unceremonious, and rather parsimonious, departure. My wife and I decided that my best chance for success was to neither work for someone else nor have others work for me. I would be a solo practitioner.

• My immediate focus was to secure an office.

• "Why do you want an office?" asked my wife.

• "Well, I'll be running my own practice, formally incorporated."

• "But why do you want an office?" she persisted.

• "I'm going to need my own work space, materials, support, image."

• "Are clients going to come to your office? Is consulting a walk-in business, like a manicurist or a flower shop?"

• I realized that the real consultant was giving me some invaluable advice. I wanted a formal office because I thought it was an accoutrement of the job. What I really needed was a work space.

I've worked out of my home ever since then, from the time I launched my solo practice to the time I'm writing these words in this latest edition. I know that will never change. A home-based practice is viable for the beginner and for the successful veteran. So don't feel that if you're starting out working in a spare bedroom that you're inferior, temporary, or cutting corners.

Moreover, I estimate that office rent, equipment, utilities, insurance, and even part-time staff would have cost me at least $30,000 a year, which ...