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IT Consultant Startup

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by virtual it professional

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I am interested in venturing out into the great unknown of independent IT consulting from the "protection" of a local VAR. I have been in the industry for over 15 years and have a strong understanding of the technology. I have a couple of questions that I would like to ask each of you:

1)What issues in today?s economy are you concerned about?
2)If you were starting out (all over again) what would you do different?
3)What mistakes have you made that slowed your ability to see a profit?
4)If you had it to do over again, would you?

Some answers to questions that you may ask me...

1)Yes, I have owned a business before (closed due to office manager embezzlement)
2)Yes, I am very entrepreneurial
3)Yes, I have a very strong work ethic, and,
4)Yes, I have very strong customer skills.
5)No, I do not have a formal degree
6)No, I do not have formal education in Project Management.

I look forward to your comments and hopefully your insight.

Thank you,
J

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by penguinsrule

www.ceweekly.com has been my lifeline for this stuff. www.dice.com helps too.

Janet Ruhl has a number of excellent books on IT Consulting.

My experience with consulting?
Be prepared to move/travel a lot
Be prepared to be a budget cut at any minute.
Be prepared to be constantly working on your skills, any gap is going to hurt you.
Be prepared for market conditions to change suddently for the better or worse at any time.
Be prepared for downtime, and budget accordingly.
Make sure you obey IRS co-employment laws.
Make sure you have a permanent residence, and don't try to contract/consult with your house on your back.
Attend every trade show you can, you'll need the contacts.
Do great work, earn a good reputation, utilize every opportunity to help people and create a name for yourself.
You may not need a degree or formal training in project management, but everything you know about leading projects helps.
hope my ideas help. It's a hard, but rewarding life.

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