The New Business of Consulting

5… And Staying in Business

It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.

W. Edwards Deming

Heinrich stared at his calendar in disbelief. It was October 30 and there was not one client for the month of November—or, for that matter, for any other month!

Just four hours ago, Heinrich had been celebrating the final work with his shipbuilding client. It had been a huge project—almost too big for his first six months in business. But he’d bid on the job and won out over two other consulting firms that were much larger. Of course, the truth be known, he probably underbid that project. He didn’t have his project pricing down pat yet, which caused him to work many more hours than he’d anticipated. His family was not pleased with his long hours and absence during weekends. But the project was done and he would be paid. The client was ecstatic with the results and promised him a testimonial he could add to his website.

But now he faced another problem. He had no billable work on the schedule. How did this happen? He thought back. He’d started out with a bang! He’d had too much work to do, but didn’t feel he could turn it down. He sent out postcards to 125 people, just as his mentor had suggested, a month before leaving his job. His colleagues in other companies recommended him to their supervisors; his golf buddies introduced him to a couple of department heads; his old boss asked him to finish up a project during the first month. Oh, most of the projects were small, but ...