Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Are you driving your consulting business (or is it driving you)?
I was reading Seth Godin’s post, “Profitable, Difficult, or Important?”, and it struck me: that’s a tension I’ve felt throughout my consulting career. Although the tension was inside my head, it showed up in my business model,[*] which means it eventually showed up somewhere else. You guessed it: In my bank account! For example, early…
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Why Hourly Rates?
Many veteran consultants aim to secure retainers with their clients—and that is a valid goal. Or they’ve heard that “project fees” (charging a flat rate for projects) are the way to go. Retainers provide consistent income over time, whereas hourly rates clearly depend upon the number of hours you work. Similarly, charging project fees is…
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What Does Your Prospect (Really) Think of Your Proposal?
As a consultant, how many times have you wished you could have been a fly on the wall as a prospect reviewed your proposal and those from your competitors? We might be gratified. We might be mortified. But oh, what we could learn!
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Don’t Make This HUGE Mistake When Starting Your Consulting Business!
The single biggest mistake that people make in starting their consulting business is thinking they’re ready just because they have strong technical skills or content knowledge. They think that their years of experience in their field, their skills in some technical area, or their content knowledge is enough to start a successful consulting business. Oh,…
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Five Myths About Introverts and Extroverts
This post is a companion to our “Success Secrets for the Introverted Consultant” article. Adam Grant, a professor at the Wharton Business School has studied some popular notions and misconceptions about introverts and compared them with what the research literature says. And he identified five myths that don’t hold up to the scrutiny of research.
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Success Secrets for the Introverted Consultant
Have you considered starting a consulting practice but wondered whether an introvert is cut out for this career? Who’s really an introvert, and can we build successful businesses? Let’s find out.
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Are You Confident about Your Confidence?
Here are five ways you can boost your confidence as a consultant. As you start a business, it can be tempting to set up shop, secure a client or two, then expect that things will continue to pop. I was guilty of this myself at times. I thought that my busy first year would translate…
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How’s Your Hustle?
When you first thought that you might consult, did you assume that your years of experience in the trenches would propel your new career path forward? Most of us learn quickly that this field is filled with talented people. Yet the overarching trait that keeps consulting businesses at full capacity isn’t talent—it’s hustle. You likely…
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Attorneys and Accountants: Your Quest for the Best
One of the biggest investments you will make as a new consultant is in those who will provide professional services to you. At a minimum, you will likely consider engaging an attorney and an accountant. Given their influence on your early business decisions, you will want to do all you can to ensure that you…
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7 Signs of a Good Consulting Project
If you believe that choosing good clients makes consulting life more blissful—and in my experience it certainly does—then you might consider putting the same weight on the projects you take. “Hold on,” you might be thinking. “If I am going to be choosy about both the client and the project, how in the world will…
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