CONTENTS

1. Cover
2. Exhibits and the Companion Website
3. Foreword
4. Acknowledgments
5. Introduction
   1. The Timing Is Right
   2. Logical Content Flow
   3. Helpful and Practical Content
   4. Beyond the Content
6. 1 So You Want to Be a Consultant
   1. What Is Consulting?
   2. Why Consulting Now?
   3. Four Ways to Get Started
   4. Myths About Consulting
   5. Realities and Rewards of Consulting
   6. Just What Are You Getting Yourself Into?
7. 2 Talents and Tolerance
   1. Your Skills for Success
   2. Roles You May Play
   3. Signs of a Mediocre Consultant
   4. Your Personal Situation
   5. Caution: Business Owner Ahead
   6. Entrepreneurial Characteristics
8. 3 Dollars and Sense
   1. How Much Income Do You Require?
   2. How Much Should You Charge?
   3. Selecting a Pricing Structure
   4. Other Pricing Decisions
   5. Other Charges
   6. Fee Increases
   7. Ethics of Pricing
   8. Money Discussions
   9. Value of a Guarantee
9. 4 Starting . . .
   1. Why Some Start-Ups Succeed and So Many Fail
   2. What’s in a Name?
   3. Selecting an Accountant
   4. Selecting a Legal Entity
   5. A Business Plan to Guide You
   6. Plan to Use Your Business Plan
   7. Start-Up Costs
   8. Finding Your Niche
   9. Your Image Is Everything
   10. Experiencing the Experience Maze
10. 5 … And Staying in Business
    1. Marketing from Day One
    2. Creating Your Marketing Plan
    3. Using the Internet
    4. Surprising but Practical Thoughts on Marketing
    5. Tactics for Low-Budget Marketing
    6. Contacting Potential Clients
    7. Proposals Lead to Contracts
    8. Why Would You Refuse an Assignment?
11. 6 The Cost of Doing Business
    1. Keeping Records for Your Consulting Business
    2. Watch Your Cash Flow
    3. Track Your Expenses
    4. Set Aside Petty Cash
    5. Charge Your Client
    6. Project Revenues
    7. Deal with Bad Debts
    8. Keep an Eye on Your Numbers
12. 7 Building a Client Relationship
    1. Relationships: It’s Why You’re in Business
    2. The First Meeting
    3. Four Phases of Building a Client-Consultant Partnership
    4. Adding More Value
    5. How Many Clients Do You Need?
    6. How to Improve the Relationship Continuously
    7. It’s the People
    8. Maintain the Relationship After the Project
    9. Ensure Success
13. 8 Growing Pains
    1. Adding People
    2. Growing without Adding People
    3. Expand Your Geographical Market
    4. Doing Everything You Can to Grow Your Current Business
14. 9 The Ethics of the Business
    1. Consultant to Client
    2. Consultant to Consultant
    3. Client to Consultant
    4. Parting Ethics Shots
15. 10 Exude Professionalism
    1. Competencies to Boost Your Consulting Success
    2. Continuing to Learn
    3. Balancing Your Life and Your Business
    4. Managing Your Time
    5. Giving Back
16. 11 Do You Still Want to Be a Consultant?
    1. A Week in a Consultant’s Life
    2. Visualizing Success
    3. Taking Action
    4. Get Ready, Get Set …
17. Appendix
18. Reading List
19. About the Author
20. Index
21. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Guide

1. Cover
2. Table of Contents
3. Chapter

List of Exhibits

1. 1
   1. Exhibit 1.1 Questions to Ask a Consultant
   2. Exhibit 1.2 Are You a Match for the Profession?
2. 2
   1. Exhibit 2.1 Consultant Skills and Characteristics
   2. Exhibit 2.2 Entrepreneurs: Do You Have What It Takes?
3. 3
   1. Exhibit 3.1 Calculating What You Require
   2. Exhibit 3.2 Actual Billable Days
   3. Exhibit 3.3 Calculating Your Fee
   4. Exhibit 3.4 How Much Will Clients Pay?
4. 4
   1. Exhibit 4.1 Sample Business Plan
   2. Exhibit 4.2 Start-Up Expenses
   3. Exhibit 4.3 Budget Format
   4. Exhibit 4.4 First-Year Cash-Flow Projection
   5. Exhibit 4.5 Three-Year Projection
5. 5
   1. Exhibit 5.1 Marketing Plan
   2. Exhibit 5.2 Client Strategy Choices
   3. Exhibit 5.3 Annual Marketing Planning Calendar
   4. Exhibit 5.4 Company Profile
   5. Exhibit 5.5 Sample Introductory Marketing Letter
   6. Exhibit 5.6 Questions to Ask Potential Clients
   7. Exhibit 5.7 Client Contact Log
6. 6
   1. Exhibit 6.1 Monthly Expense Worksheet and Record
   2. Exhibit 6.2 Mileage Log
   3. Exhibit 6.3 Time Sheet and Expense Report
   4. Exhibit 6.4 Petty Cash Record
   5. Exhibit 6.5 Invoice Summary
   6. Exhibit 6.6 Invoice
   7. Exhibit 6.7 Revenue Projections
   8. Exhibit 6.8 Project Time and Expense Record
7. 7
   1. Exhibit 7.1 Contracting Checklist
   2. Exhibit 7.2 Client-Consultant Partnership: Consultant Checklist
   3. Exhibit 7.3 Client-Consultant Partnership: Client Checklist
8. 8
   1. Exhibit 8.1 Building a Firm
   2. Exhibit 8.2 Partnerability
   3. Exhibit 8.4 Subcontractor Expense Record
9. 10
   1. Exhibit 10.1 Competency Improvement Ideas
   2. Exhibit 10.5 Personal Checkup: How Am I Doing?
10. 11
    1. Exhibit 11.1 Visualize Success
    2. Exhibit 11.2 A Consultant’s Action Plan
    3. Exhibit 11.3 Fast Fifty