FIND YOUR CONSULTANT
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
FIND YOUR CONSULTANT
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Setting Up Your Consulting Practice

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1 Overview
  1. Course Intro
2 Strategy
  1. Set Intentions and Goals
  2. Assess Your Core Network
  3. Identify the Problem
  4. Set Your Fishing Line
  5. Name Your Firm
  6. Establish Your Vacation Policy
  7. Managing Your Time
3 Office
  1. Find a Place To Work
  2. Setting Up Your Office
  3. Packing Your Laptop Bag
  4. Building a Facilitator Toolkit
4 Team
  1. Building Your Team
  2. Finding an Administrative Assistant
  3. Find a Bookkeeper
  4. Finding a Graphic Production Service – Independent Management Consultants
  5. Choosing an Attorney
  6. Selecting a Tax Accountant
  7. Getting Health Insurance
  8. Setting Up Business Insurance
  9. Finding a Remote IT Professional
  10. Hiring a Research Assistant
  11. Swing Capacity
  12. Get an Advisor
  13. Expand Your Team
5 Legal
  1. Register Your LLC
  2. Obtain Employer Identification Number (EIN)
  3. Using Contract Templates
  4. Publish That You Are in Business
  5. Apply for MWBE Certification
6 Financial
  1. Calculating Your Cash Cushion
  2. Set Up a Business Checking Account – Independent Management Consultants
  3. Set Up a Retirement Account
  4. Getting Life Insurance
  5. Obtain Disability Insurance
  6. Choosing a Business Credit Card
  7. Selecting Bookkeeping Software
  8. Making Quarterly Tax Payments
  9. Using Loyalty Programs
  10. Estate Planning
  11. Automate Your Financial Life
  12. Using an Invoice Template
  13. Tracking Invoices
  14. Paying a Subcontractor
  15. Setting Up International Wire Transfers
  16. Pricing Your Services
7 Technology
  1. Setting Up a Backup Computer
  2. Keeping Passwords Secure
  3. Maintain a Backup
  4. Use Two-step Verification
  5. Getting a Branded Email
  6. Setting Up Your Email Signature
  7. Manage Your Contact Information
  8. Set up a CRM system
  9. Setting Up DocuSign
  10. Selecting an Email Marketing Tool
  11. Tracking Expenses
  12. Taking Notes
  13. Getting a Scanner App
  14. Scheduling Appointments
  15. Video Conferencing
  16. Setting Up International Calling
8 Marketing
  1. Get a Logo Designed
  2. Print Business Cards
  3. Buy Correspondence Cards
  4. Get a Professional Photo
  5. Update Alumni Sites
  6. Design a PowerPoint Template
  7. Update Your LinkedIn Profile
  8. Update Your Traditional Resume
  9. Create a Bio Page
  10. Create a One-page Overview
  11. Invest in Branded Gifts
  12. Create a Project List
  13. Build a Proposal Template
  14. Line Up References
  15. Create Work Samples
  16. Build a Website
9 Business Development
  1. Business Development Overview
  2. Raise Your Visibility
  3. Create a Newsletter
  4. Write Headlines
  5. Create Human Interactions
  6. Build Relationships
  7. Sign Up With Industry Intermediaries
10 Preparation
  1. Preparing to Transition to Consulting
  2. Build Industry Relationships
  3. Develop Skills
  4. Research Industry Problems
  5. Build Your Thought Leadership Platform
SECTION

Team

Topic: Get an Advisor

An advisor can play an invaluable role in providing guidance on how to develop project opportunities, how to set your fees, how to craft a proposal, how to build your visibility, and how to grow your firm.

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Useful links

We also recommend the services of David A. Fields, who has served as a mentor to hundreds of solo consultants and boutique firms.

Transcript

Find an advisor to add to your virtual team: mentor, someone you can trust, who is not going to bring you work and who is not someone that you plan to bring on to your projects. But, someone who is, probably has been an independent professional, that you trust to give you useful advice. It might be someone that you ask when you have a potential opportunity to make a proposal for a given project.

Asking their advice, “Do you think this is even worth pursuing?” Someone who can give you some advice about what is a reasonable fee to charge. Or how to handle a particular client situation.

I’ve had several mentors like that myself, as I grew my own practice. I give a shout out to Rasina Samadani and Joachim Fisher, who were very helpful for me when I was starting out. It’s useful to have that advisor who you can turn to and who’s been in similar situations before and now as you’re starting up your practice, start searching for that person.