The New Consultant's Quick Start Guide

Book description

An action plan for working as a consultant

Management consulting is a $250 billion industry and growing at a rate of over four percent annually. Many predict that more than 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will soon be contingent, freelance, or consulting members of the workforce—making this book more relevant than ever.

Individuals become independent consultants out of necessity or preference: necessity because they lost their job or the company offered an attractive exit package; preference because they want a career change, more control over their time, or an enriched, varied work situation. Consulting also appeals to the Millennial workforce who are searching for careers that offer a good salary as well as meaningful work. The New Consultant’s Quick Start Guide:

• Serves as a companion to The New Business of Consulting

• Provides you with a place to plan your transition into consulting

• Helps you identify your niche, develop a business plan, charge what you’re worth, and create a marketing strategy to ensure a steady stream of clients

• Prepares you for changes you will encounter beyond your professional life, including social, family, and financial aspects

The New Consultant’s Quick Start Guide helps you work through the challenges of consulting such as working alone, deciding on necessary insurance coverage, finding your first clients, struggling with cash flow, and understanding market trends.  

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. Introduction
    1. Why This Guide?
    2. Why Consulting?
    3. Who Will Find This Guide Useful?
    4. How to Use This Guide
  4. 1 First Things First: Why Consulting?
    1. Consulting: What Is It?
    2. Why a Consulting Career?
    3. Explore Your Experiences
    4. Inventory Your Competencies
    5. Assess Your Consulting Aptitude
    6. Pull It Together: Your Initial Consulting Focus
    7. Entrepreneur Attitude: Do You Have What It Takes?
    8. Quick Start Action
    9. Quick Start Lists
  5. 2 Planning Your Consulting Future
    1. Your Preferred Future
    2. Will Consulting Lead You to Your Life Goals?
    3. Professional, Financial, Personal, and Health Considerations
    4. Identify the Changes You Will Need to Make
    5. Quick Start Action
    6. Quick Start Lists
  6. 3 Dollars and Sense
    1. Establish a Start-Up Budget
    2. Put a Price on Your Head
    3. Calculate Required Revenue
    4. Fill Out Financial Forms
    5. Quick Start Action
    6. So What’s It Take to Get Off the Ground?
    7. Quick Start Lists
  7. 4 Taking Care of Business
    1. Getting Started
    2. What’s in a Name?
    3. Hire the Best Accountant and Attorney
    4. Quick Start Action
    5. Determine Your Business Structure
    6. Explore Your Banking and Insurance Needs
    7. Check Local Zoning Laws, Licenses, and Taxes
    8. File Legal Documentation
    9. Quick Start Action
    10. Quick Start Lists
  8. 5 Your Business Plan
    1. Are Business Plans Really Necessary?
    2. Write Your Plan
    3. Plan to Use Your Business Plan
    4. Quick Start Action
    5. Quick Start Lists
  9. 6 Make the Switch Painlessly
    1. Gain Consulting Experience Before Leaving Your Job
    2. Determine Your Transition Plan
    3. Quick Start Action
    4. Quick Start Lists
  10. 7 Setting Up Your Office—or Not
    1. Office Location Options
    2. Set Up Your Office
    3. Paper, Paper Everywhere!
    4. What About a Website?
    5. Quick Start Action
    6. Quick Start Lists
  11. 8 Finding Clients
    1. Determine Your Market Niche
    2. Quick Start Action
    3. Who’s Your Competition?
    4. Identify Your First Clients
    5. Land Your First Work
    6. Quick Start Action
    7. Quick Start Lists
  12. 9 Marketing
    1. What Is Marketing?
    2. The ABCs of Marketing
    3. Create Your Marketing Plan
    4. Build Your Marketing Plan
    5. Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
    6. Quick Start Action
    7. Write Winning Proposals
    8. Track Your Clients
    9. Tips to Become a Better Marketer
    10. Quick Start Lists
  13. 10 Surviving the First Year
    1. Take Care of Your Health
    2. Manage Your Time
    3. Establish Good Business Habits
    4. Delight Your Clients
    5. Balance Your Life
    6. Did You Hear the One About the Consultant . . . ?
    7. Quick Start Lists
  14. 11 So, Now What? Year Two and Beyond
    1. Assess Your Progress
    2. Quick Start Action
    3. Plan Your Next Steps
    4. Bring It All Together
    5. Quick Start Action
    6. ebb’s 13 Truths to Ponder
    7. Quick Start Lists
  15. Electronic Resources
  16. Reading List
  17. About the Author
  18. Index
  19. Wiley End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The New Consultant's Quick Start Guide
  • Author(s): Elaine Biech
  • Release date: April 2019
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119556930