Entrepreneurship Introduction to Consulting

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Introduction to Consulting A consultant hires him/herself out to businesses/corporations for fixed or variable

periods of time to perform a service needed by that business entity. A consultant, in most instances, will be at a completely arms-length business distance

from the client corporation and will therefore not receive any benefits from the corporation that an employee would (medical, dental, holiday pay, etc.).

A consultant usually must pay for all equipment, tools, computer equipment, supplies, and software that he or she needs to utilize while on the consulting engagement.

All costs related to getting to the client location to complete the consulting engagement are usually borne by the consultant unless otherwise negotiated with the client prior to the engagement commencing.

A consultant is usually an individual proprietorship or “one person/small business” corporation.

To work, a consultant needs to find each new client and secure a consulting contract for each engagement.

A consultant when working, usually submits periodic invoices to the client (bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly) and then must wait to be paid by the client based on the payment terms defined in the client/consultant agreement/contract

Consulting Advantages A consultant usually commands a higher pay-rate than an employee would – can often

achieve rates from about $40.00 up to or exceeding $100 per hour if his/her skills and experience are extensive enough. Some senior level resources can even reach rates as high as $200 to $250 per hour.

A s an individual proprietorship or “one person/small business” corporation, the consultant can claim many expenses against revenues received that an employee cannot.

The consultant, once an engagement has completed, can choose roughly when next to look for work again.

A consultant (IT Consulting Example) is often hired to build new or extend existing capabilities in a corporation. As such, he/she often stays on the cutting edge of business and technologies and remains easily employable. Employees on the other hand, are frequently forced into “maintenance” roles on

older systems where their technological currency often fall behind and, over time as these older systems are retired, so are the employees…who then have trouble finding their next job due to the waning skill-sets.

Consulting Disadvantages and Risks The consultant often will need to either directly market to and find each new client,

respond to an RFP (Request for a Proposal) and submit a proposal, and then secure the engagement against competitors trying to do the same in order to work. Employees can just work.

A consultant, in most instances, will be at a completely arms-length distance from that employing corporation and will therefore not receive any benefits from the corporation that an employee would.

All costs related to getting to the client location to complete the consulting engagement are usually borne by the consultant unless otherwise negotiated with the client prior to the engagement commencing.

A consultant is at risk of getting paid by the client on each engagement. Care must be taken in selecting clients and in managing how one gets paid – only recourse is to sue the client for payment if the client refuses to pay – not always a winning strategy to pursue...

To Become a Consultant First You Have to Put in the Time and Studying to Be Able to Sell Yourself on Projects –

Can Take Years Depending on the Discipline Chosen… To Be Successful, You Will Need…

The Education – For Example, At Minimum, a College Degree to be Able to Cross Borders to Consult in Other Countries (E.g., Trade Nafta Status – for USA and Canada cross border consulting projects or: You work as an affiliated representative of a consulting company allowed to

complete projects in the target country or “state/Province” of that country – they handle your cross border qualification

The Resume – to Document Your Experience Levels to Prospective Clients Probably a Portable Computer and Your Own “Toolkit” of Current Project

Delivery Applications, Templates, Agreements, Proposal Examples, Deliverable Examples, etc.

Usable References – They Will Call Them! Access to and Registration on Several Field Related “Staffing/Resourcing

Databases”

Consulting RequirementsBeing a Consultant Requires Learning How To…

Find Clients for Your Services How to Use Bulleting Boards How to Use LinkedIn, Google Plus and Facebook How to Use “Project Headhunters” Good Places to Go Online to Drum Up Business Opportunities How to Collaborate With Major Consulting Firms

Building Your CV, Skills Matrix and Usable Reference List Building Quality Proposal Templates Agreement Templates You Should Have Available How to Negotiate Contracts With Client Prospects Travelling Internationally to Consult

Canada/USA/Mexico and Trade Nafta Relationship Consulting in Countries Difficult to Get Into (such as India) British Commonwealth Countries

Closing Comments… Employees are often stuck – they usually work for the same company at

whatever task the company assigns them for the wage the company chooses to pay them. They exchange this lack of freedom for the steady paycheque and promise of a pension at the end of their careers.

You have freedom as a consultant to work for whoever you want and do whatever project you want – keeps life exciting.

As a consultant, you must take care to ensure you get paid – you do not have the same safety nets that an employee has – such as Labour Boards, etc.

Consulting can be very financially rewarding – but remember, every time you finish an engagement, you are in effect once again unemployed and looking for your next project. Can be stressful for some…