Building a Consulting Practice- Who has done it?- Advice & Guidance

[jamesuk]

Morning All

I would like to ask a question to members of the forum, who have experience of building a consulting business, after a number of years contracting.

For background, i have worked for approximately 13 years in Enterprise IT, with 8 years within the area of Cyber Security.

I come from a technical background, moving into strategic roles in the last 5 years, such as Enterprise Architect, Workstream Lead, and Interim Project Manager on Security Transformation Programmes with FTSE 10/100 companies.

While contracting day rates as an independent are strong, i believe there is a glass ceiling, both in financial terms , and also regarding to what can be provided as a single contractor.

Since last September i have taken the step to go direct, and begin to expand the business. It has been a steep learning curve and i have had to learn about Sales, Marketing, Business Development etc.

At present, i am learning through professional colleagues and various mediums when i come across an unfamiliar area.

We are currently a team of approximately 10 associates, with a sales director and are finally beginning to land new business

I am interested in formalising knowledge i am acquiring, to both validate what i am learning, and also, to gain the confidence in what is required to run and structure a successful business.

There are many areas i believe i should learn about :-

Sales
Finance
Marketing
People Management

Is there any here who have taken the similar step? What books are recommend, or professional education you would suggest to formalise this knowledge?

Please share your experiences.

Regards

James.

[cojak]

Building a Consulting Practice- Who has done it?- Advice & Guidance

The best professional education is an MBA. I know of more than one consultancy founder with one.

One was a colleague at the time, he took his at Imperial College and it cost him £40k.

He said that you need to research universities against your own requirements, as even the best have a different focus from others (technical/marketing/consultancy etc.).

He's in the USA now, doing quite well for himself.

[TheFaQQer]

I would like to ask a question to members of the forum, who have experience of building a consulting business, after a number of years contracting.

If they'd done that, do you think they'd still be hanging around CUK?

[cojak]

If they'd done that, do you think they'd still be hanging around CUK?

AtW is (although not a consultancy, admittedly.)

[northernladuk]

If they'd done that, do you think they'd still be hanging around CUK?

That's always my first thoughts when posts like this come up. Wouldn't you be better on a small business forum rather than a contracting one?

[silverlight1]

The best advice I can give is to hire people who are experts in the areas you are not (not suggesting full time but you can often search around for interims who are happy to have a sideline and provide expertise on as and when).

Don't try to do it all yourself.

e.g. A good salesman in my experience will manage to close a deal quickly and at a vastly increased price vs. clumsy attempt to get the business and ending up barely breaking even.

[stek]

Never go into business with another person, I did , twice, burned twice. Well once, the other chap tried it on but was unsuccessful because he was a bit thick (sales guy).

I just rely on stek's brain, and when that goes, I won't care.....

[Contreras]

http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...ng-beyond.html

http://forums.contractoruk.com/gener...isconduct.html

[portseven]

We are currently a team of approximately 10 associates, with a sales director and are finally beginning to land new business

i am intersted as to how you went from a single contractor to 10 people and sales director?

[XLMonkey]

Hi James

I've gone up and down this road a couple of times, in the end electing to remain small and go for higher fees/more complex work rather than taking on staff. However, its often the case that you need scale in order to get the best projects, so I understand why you're interested in it.

The best practical guide to building a consultancy practice I've come across is Million Dollar Consulting by Alan Weiss (there are quite a few related books he's written, but this is the main one).

The second best practical guide is to find someone who has built a practice and see if you can persuade them to act as a non-exec director/business coach. In which case I would probably recommend someone like John Niland, who specialises in this area. Or alternatively, I know a couple of people who are running their own small-medium sized firms that I can introduce you to. PM me if interested.

XLM