Billable at the Beach® Articles
Valuable articles about starting and running your 6-figure consulting business.About Me
My name is Amy Rasdal, and I’m the founder of Billable at the Beach®. I traded my corporate job for consulting 15 years ago and make more money than most executives. The advantages are freedom, flexibility, control, interesting work and excellent pay. Work when you want, where you want and how you want. I have been running my own multiple 6-figure consulting business for more than 15 years. I have helped hundreds of people start their own successful consulting businesses through speaking, workshops and various programs over the past 10 years.
Proposals are Hard!
Proposals are hard! I remember my first proposal. It was for a 100-hour market research project and it took me 40 hours to write the proposal! 40 hours to write a proposal for 100 hours of work??? Houston, we have a problem…Proposals are really hard at...
Never Work for Free!
NEVER. WORK. FOR. FREE. PERIOD. It doesn’t pay the mortgage or the health insurance or the college tuition. As soon as you become a consultant, smart people with good ideas will come out of the woodwork looking for your free expert help. Make a rule now that you...
Billing for Travel Time
I am frequently asked how to bill for travel time. There are several factors to consider: How much travel will be involved in the project? How far will you need to travel? What is the total value of the client project?…
Getting Started is Easier than You Think
Getting Started is the Hardest Thing: I heard back from several people and the landslide winner is Getting Started. I got started a long time ago, so that’s obviously no longer a challenge for me.
10 Reasons Why You Should Start Your Own Consulting Business
I traded my corporate job for consulting 15 years ago and make more money than most executives. I work and play every day. I founded Billable at the Beach®…
You Have to Hunt What You Eat
The hardest thing about being a consultant is bringing in the business. I get out the binoculars, climb the mountain, scout the herd, raise my bow and arrow, shoot it, cook it, eat it and throw away the bones.
Should You Make Less Money Because You Work from Home?
Should you make less money because you work from home? Are you less smart? Are you doing lower quality work? Not at all. In fact, you’re probably far more productive…
Never Take Up Residence
If you give a client 40 hours a week, and take up residence, what happens? Are you still a consultant? For a few minutes maybe, but you very quickly become a de facto employee. You lose all the benefits of being a consultant and you get none of the benefits of being a full-time employee.
Live and Die by the Billable Hour
Welcome to consulting where you live and die by the billable hour. You must internalize this concept until it becomes instinct. I know some of you are probably thinking, “Wait, I’m not charging by the hour.” But it doesn’t matter if you’re billing by the hour or the day…
How to Succeed in Business
I do a lot of speaking. My audiences range from college students to senior executives. I enjoy them all. Speaking can be a great way to build your business and your brand. I have met so many great friends and clients through my various speaking engagements. I end every presentation with the points below…
How to Create a Value Proposition that Slays
A good value proposition is a short statement of who you are, what you do, and how your services can offer value to customers. It outlines your service and its promise to deliver. The focus is on the benefit to the customer. As Mark Twain once said, “I didn’t have time…
How to Write an Effective Case Study
Case studies are a great way to illustrate the impact of your work. They can provide content for many things: value proposition, elevator pitch, networking discussions, sales meetings and web site to name a few. You may be thinking, “But wait, I’m new to consulting…
How Many Hours Should You Work?
How many hours a week do you think you can bill? In the early days, I thought I could bill at least 40 hours a week and maybe 50 or 60. After all, like you, I had been working upwards of 60 hours a week for several years in my corporate jobs.
The HARDEST Thing About Being a Consultant
The hardest thing any consultant does is bring in the business. Doing the billable work is the easy part. If you are a partner in a big consulting company, what is your top priority? Bringing in the business. Not doing the billable work.
Amy’s Mantras for Getting Things Done
I am an action taker and I’m organized. I love making that list and crossing those things off. I get things done. I don’t even have to try because Baby, I was Born this Way. On my refrigerator at home, I have a grocery list. You’re thinking, “So what, I have one too.”
When was the Last Time You had a Raise?
The average annual merit increase in the US has been 3% for the past several years. Consulting allows pay for performance not possible when merit increases are 3%. I left the corporate world to achieve pay for performance and you can too.
Ready to Get Lucky?
From time to time, someone will say, “You’re so lucky,” referring to my work lifestyle. I’m never quite sure whether to be happy or offended. Should I reply, “Thanks!” or “It has nothing to do with luck.” Or they say, “Well, if I had your job…” or “It must be nice…” and I’m thinking, “Honey, this ain’t no job, I created this…
Should You Have a Backup Plan?
What if you dive into this consulting thing and it doesn’t work? Do you go back to your corporate job and cancel the golf games? Postpone the marathon and take your shirts to the cleaners? I have a lot of experience running large medical device product…
Pour Out the Bucket
Is your bucket list bringing you more stress than joy? Are you feeling left out because you don’t see how you’ll ever have the time or money to tackle your bucket list? I poured out my bucket and you can too. What is a Bucket List? The definition of “bucket list” is a list of things that one wants to do before dying.
Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow – NOT!
If Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow had been a Katy Perry song instead of a book, it would have been the anthem of the late 80s and early 90s. This advice didn’t stop there. On June 12, 2005, Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios…
Flip Your Mindset Upside Down
I have a monthly speaking gig at Lee Hecht Harrison. I do a half day seminar on how to start your own successful consulting business. LHH attracts high quality clients so this has been a great way for me to make new connections.
A Passion with No Strings
You must have a passion separate from the work you do for money and separate from your family. When I look around at all the happiest people I know, they have this in common. I am not talking about finding YOUR passion, I am talking about finding A passion. I am not talking about LIFE passion…