Top Seven Things to Know About Starting Your Own Consulting Business
Hi I’m Amy Rasdal, and I’m the founder of Billable at the Beach®. I traded my corporate job for consulting 15 years ago…
#1 – It Really is Easy to Get Started
It’s surprisingly easy to start your own consulting business. All you need is a computer, a phone, brainpower and business experience. The work is the same as the work you’ve been doing in your corporate job only better. If you start right away, you can...
#2 – Now for the Hard Work and Risk
A solid consulting practice is built through hard work and a willingness to take risk. No check goes into my bank account unless I go out and win the business. In consulting, you have to hunt what you eat. I get out the binoculars, climb the mountain,...
#3 – People Buy Your Experience
A few years ago, I had a client who was a CPA and started her career in public accounting. She went on to work for several other companies, always in tech and always in finance and accounting functions. She said, “I’m tired of tech and I don’t want...
#4 – This was My Biggest Surprise
I speak at least once on a month on how to start a successful consulting business. It’s common to have at least a couple people who were laid off from their corporate jobs and had consulting projects fall into their laps. In fact, that is how I got...
#5 – Always Be Selling
The hardest thing any consultant does is bring in the business. Doing the billable work is the easy part. Always be selling.Do you NEED to make six figures?This is less about the six figures and more about needing to make money. Unless you need the...
#6 – What Do I Love?
I love being a consultant. The advantages are freedom, flexibility, control, interesting and engaging work, good pay and sometimes equity. You rarely get caught up in company politics and nearly all of your work is direct value add. I work when I want,...
#7 – What Do I Hate?
On the minus side, there is no regular pay check, no benefits, no IT department, and no one to blame but yourself if something goes wrong.No check goes into my bank account unless I bring in the business Remember earlier I said that no check goes into my...