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I have been an independent Consulant in South Africa since 2006.
Some key areas to take care of are:
- Sales skills
- Time Management & Project Planning
- Financial Planning (Both Personal & Business Budgets)
- Minismise Debts
- Plan for 6 Months of no work (Savings neede)
- Project Costing and Project Scope
- Administration
You have to be a jack of all trades.
Some key areas to take care of are:
- Sales skills
- Time Management & Project Planning
- Financial Planning (Both Personal & Business Budgets)
- Minismise Debts
- Plan for 6 Months of no work (Savings neede)
- Project Costing and Project Scope
- Administration
You have to be a jack of all trades.
You get paid a retainer upfront.
Rather than plug computer based solutions look at helping small businesses with setting up systems (could be paper based) as well as monitoring for compliance.
Computer based systems will naturally follow. In other words be a market maker. Thats being pragmatic.
Rather than plug computer based solutions look at helping small businesses with setting up systems (could be paper based) as well as monitoring for compliance.
Computer based systems will naturally follow. In other words be a market maker. Thats being pragmatic.
If you don't have a clear picture of your ideal customer, your marketing efforts will fall flat. Your understanding of your ideal customer will drive how you find them, connect to them, talk to them, what value you can provide, pricing, etc. It drives your entire business.
IT consulting is a very broad term, and narrowing it down to specifics will be helpful. Exactly what kind of IT services will you provide? In what industry? To what size companies?
There must be a clear, easy-to-understand benefit for using your services. Will your services help the client make more money, increase efficiency, or cut costs? If so, you can make a far more compelling case for your services if you can quantify the value of what you provide.
Think like a business owner when you talk to prospects and clients: what result do they want? Figure out and demonstrate how you can make that happen.
One mistake I see a lot of consultants make is focusing on their skills rather than what the client wants. The client wants outcomes, and doesn't care about how you achieve the result. I've written about this issue both here in a Tech Republic article and on my blog. It's a critical piece to understand, and will separate you from most of your competitors.
Greg Miliates
StartMyConsultingBusiness dot com
IT consulting is a very broad term, and narrowing it down to specifics will be helpful. Exactly what kind of IT services will you provide? In what industry? To what size companies?
There must be a clear, easy-to-understand benefit for using your services. Will your services help the client make more money, increase efficiency, or cut costs? If so, you can make a far more compelling case for your services if you can quantify the value of what you provide.
Think like a business owner when you talk to prospects and clients: what result do they want? Figure out and demonstrate how you can make that happen.
One mistake I see a lot of consultants make is focusing on their skills rather than what the client wants. The client wants outcomes, and doesn't care about how you achieve the result. I've written about this issue both here in a Tech Republic article and on my blog. It's a critical piece to understand, and will separate you from most of your competitors.
Greg Miliates
StartMyConsultingBusiness dot com
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