4 ms·

I was on my own for 14 years. Yes, doing the work and selling the work and getting paid are 3 different jobs. It is possible to build a sustainable business o

I was on my own for 14 years. Yes, doing the work and selling the work and getting paid are 3 different jobs. It is possible to build a sustainable business on top of 90 day engagements. I don’t recommend it, but it is possible. You need to consider yourself a small business. Not a freelancer, not a consultant, but a small business. Get a good accountant to keep you um…accountable. Alan Weiss is my favorite author on how to run a high margin solo business.

jmll 5y ago
Which works by Weiss would you recommend first? Thanks!
- garrickvanburen 5y ago
  * Million Dollar Consulting * Value-Based Fees * Million Dollar Consulting Proposals Any one of those will have bits of the other two in it. MDC establishes the mindset, the other two are deep dives into setting fees & drafting proposals the learnings in both of which served me very well.
mooreds 5y ago
I never had the guts or expertise to do value based pricing, but that is certainly an intriguing path. The "value based pricing" book was great. Here's a nice "hot take": https://www.alanweiss.com/styles/pdf/The%20Case%20for%20Value%20Based%20Fees.pdf https://www.alanweiss.com/styles/pdf/The%20Case%20for%20Valu...
EvanAnderson 5y ago
I was on my own for 15 years (ending in 2019). It was a great ride, and if factors outside the business itself hadn't put the brakes on it I'd still be doing it today. re: sustainable business on short engagements - I had a mix of long-term contracts and short-term gigs. The short term gigs were the most fun, but most stressful, so I always tried to bill them at the highest rate (and didn't mind if I didn't get the gig because I was bidding too high). I valued the long-term gigs tremendously for the "stability" they provided. Having a diversity of Customers was the key to my piece-of-mind. As long as I didn't do something so bad that my name would appear in the newspaper I knew I could screw-up with one or more Customers and still have a livelihood, even if I did have to tighten the belt for awhile. I can't agree w/ the statement re: considering yourself a small business enough. Definitely have an accountant. Learn bookkeeping if you want to minimize accountant expense. Take a 100-level college accounting class and you'll know enough for a solo venture.

jmll 5y ago

Which works by Weiss would you recommend first? Thanks!

garrickvanburen 5y ago
* Million Dollar Consulting * Value-Based Fees * Million Dollar Consulting Proposals Any one of those will have bits of the other two in it. MDC establishes the mindset, the other two are deep dives into setting fees & drafting proposals the learnings in both of which served me very well.

mooreds 5y ago

I never had the guts or expertise to do value based pricing, but that is certainly an intriguing path. The "value based pricing" book was great. Here's a nice "hot take": https://www.alanweiss.com/styles/pdf/The%20Case%20for%20Value%20Based%20Fees.pdf https://www.alanweiss.com/styles/pdf/The%20Case%20for%20Valu...

EvanAnderson 5y ago

I was on my own for 15 years (ending in 2019). It was a great ride, and if factors outside the business itself hadn't put the brakes on it I'd still be doing it today. re: sustainable business on short engagements - I had a mix of long-term contracts and short-term gigs. The short term gigs were the most fun, but most stressful, so I always tried to bill them at the highest rate (and didn't mind if I didn't get the gig because I was bidding too high). I valued the long-term gigs tremendously for the "stability" they provided. Having a diversity of Customers was the key to my piece-of-mind. As long as I didn't do something so bad that my name would appear in the newspaper I knew I could screw-up with one or more Customers and still have a livelihood, even if I did have to tighten the belt for awhile. I can't agree w/ the statement re: considering yourself a small business enough. Definitely have an accountant. Learn bookkeeping if you want to minimize accountant expense. Take a 100-level college accounting class and you'll know enough for a solo venture.