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Your Consulting CareerYour Consulting Career
| | Expense-Tracking Tips | | Watch every penny and trace every nickel you spend on business. Your bank account will thank you later. |
| | Moonlight Your Way In | | Interested in contract work? Get started part-time. Use these tips to manage employer and client expectations. |
| | Prepare to Launch | | Are you trying to start a successful career as a contractor? Here's a detailed plan and checklist. |
| | Set Up to Leave | | Being a contractor doesn't mean severing all ties with the working world. Would you go canoeing without any oars? |
| | Can You Take Them With you? | | Does it go unsaid that you don't solicit customers while still working for your employer? Well, now we're going to say it: Don't do it. |
| | Do Your Own Thing | | Corporate structure and bureaucracy can be stifling. Find out if the market has a need for your knowledge. |
| | Change Their Minds | | A recruiter asks you to work as a full-time employee. Can you get the employer to hire you as a contractor? |
| | Your First Customer? | | You've got good connections with the company you're leaving, so why not see if you can make it your first client? |
| | Bill by Hour or Project? | | Some clients may prefer to see a project price rather than an hourly rate, but you make more by going with the latter. |
| | One Client or Many? | | Should you work for one client at a time or keep a full stable of clients? There's no definite answer on which is better, but here's help on choosing a strategy. |
| | Team Up with Peers | | It might seem like a betrayal of your independent ideals, but teaming up with other contractors has its benefits. |
| | The Ethics of Consulting | | Here are some tips to make sure you stay on the high road when you free yourself from the corporate workplace. |
| | Check Out Potential Clients | | As a contractor, you should do all you can to avoid bad clients. Start by researching their financial stability. |
| | Economics Consultants | | You'll need nerve, a niche and a name to succeed on your own. Learn from those who have made the transition. |
| | Top Consulting Pitfalls | | Learn about some of the most common ways consultants crash and burn so you can avoid them in your career. |
| | You Need It in Writing | | Written agreements can make you more money, secure your income for a project and cover you legally. |
| | The Bad-Client Curse | | You may find yourself in client relationships that quickly turn a project from good to bad. Learn how to protect yourself. |
| | How to Fire a Client | | For whatever the reason, either financial or even ideological, sometimes it's good business to fire a client, but that doesn't make it easy. |
| | Your on-the-Road Workday | | Trying to balance drumming up new business with traveling for current projects? Follow this plan to make it work. |
| | Consulting Heaven | | The ultimate contracting assignments send you to fabulous locations to do exciting work for heavy fees. Sounds like a myth? It's possible. |
| | Have Skills, Will Travel? | | If you fancy traveling, then you can leverage your flexibility as a consultant to globe-trot at a discount. |
| | Avoid Job Scams | | If you want to work from home, follow these tips to distinguish the legit opportunities from the cons. |
| | Motivation at Home | | Sometimes it's OK to procrastinate on household chores. Learn how to work efficiently from home. |
| | Organize Your Home Office | | You get to design the room where you'll do your thinking, communicating and work. You'll spend a lot of time here, so be sure to set it up right. |
| | Have Children, Will Work | | With kids in the house, your home office can be a tough place to work. Learn how to juggle it all. |
| | Home Health Businesses | | Do you have what it takes to make it on your own as a medical transcriber, biller or claims assistance pro? |
| | Contractor Quiz | | How has being your own boss been? Take this quiz to benchmark your work and pinpoint any trouble spots. |
| | Organizations That Can Help | | Even if you've cornered the most unique or obscure niche in the contractor market, chances are there's an organization you can join. |
| | Obtain Startup Capital | | Nothing can come of a great business idea if you can't fund it. Think about financial planning from the beginning. |
| | Manage Your Money | | Do you keep your receipts in an old shoebox? You're 10 steps away from handling your business finances like a pro. |
| | Test Your Business Idea | | Even the best ideas can fail if poorly planned. Use these tips to make sure your brainchild has staying power. |
| | Create Your Brand | | The image you project is integral to your business' success. Learn how to ensure it's positive and relevant. |
| | Are You Entrepreneurial? | | Sure, running your own business sounds like a great idea, but remember what John DeLorean learned: The real world is a tough place to sell things. Are you ready? |
| | Thirteen Marketing Tips | | People are less likely to hire you if they haven't heard of you. Here are 13 ways to get your name out there. |
| | Market Yourself Online | | Need to reach a big audience? Tap into the online market. Learn what you can do to jump-start your business. |
| | Viral Marketing | | Email, T-shirts, newsletters -- anything you can think of that gets people talking about your business is money in the bank. Create a viral marketing campaign for yourself. Spread it. Profit. |
| | Market Nationally | | Can you position yourself nationally while working locally? Sure you can, if you follow these tips. |
| | Sales Pitches 101 | | You and your client agree that you've got the skills to get the job done. Do you still need to put your pitch in writing? |
| | Should You Incorporate? | | Are you thinking of incorporating your own business? First, consider these legal and financial issues. |
| | Business Insurance | | The smallest mistake could cost you your company if you're not covered. Is your practice properly insured? |
| | Resources for Contractors | | So you are really going to
become a contractor. Consider
this extensive list of resources
to help you out. |
| | Five Golden Goals | | The bottom line is, you run a business and that isn't easy. Here are five no-nonsense goals that you can shoot for. Aim well. |
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