3 ms·

How early can I start doing this? I'm young but confident and I do feel like I have something to offer people already. I guess it's getting the first client whi

by lhnz 14y ago

How early can I start doing this? I'm young but confident and I do feel like I have something to offer people already. I guess it's getting the first client which will be tricky...

sidupadhyay 14y ago
It's totally doable. You'll probably start off with a lower hourly at first, but you can quickly establish a higher rate and then eventually a consistent weekly as patio11 described. Early in college, I found the best way to find my true hourly rate was through project-based pricing with well defined scopes. The scope needs to be clear and you have to prevent any scope creep, as that will negatively affect your rate. Once you've gone through a project or two this way, you will have established a pretty good reputation with your clients, which would let you bill out at the real rate. After that you would be free to continue billing at an hourly or make the jump into weekly rates.
Alex3917 14y ago
"How early can I start doing this?" Read the book Million Dollar Consulting. It pretty much gives a step-by-step guide, from lead gen to writing proposals to how to bill by value: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_19?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=million%20dollar%20consulting http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_19?url=search-alias... It repeats itself a lot and is generally poorly written, but there's still a reason why it's been the top consulting book for decades.
- pfanner 14y ago
  I have absolutely no idea how people start consulting. How old are they? Did they work something else before? Did they major in anything? Are they all independent or work at consulting companies?
  - ams6110 14y ago
    Yes.
    - ams6110 14y ago
      OK, the point is any of these things could be the case, or not. Some people start consulting immediately. Some don't start until they have been working "regular jobs" for 20 years. Some start young, some start old, etc. There is no one way to start. Just start.
      - saryant 14y ago
        There's only one consistent answer to any questions WRT consulting and that is "it depends." I've been in your shoes before, trying to figure out exactly what consultants do and how to start doing it. Once I gave up on finding a simple answer and just did it I started to understand the game.
graeme 14y ago
There are lots of ways to find a first client: * Craiglist/eLance/oDesk ad * Tell people you want to do consulting work. People know other people. * Walk into a relevant business, after having found something could contribute, and ask them if they'd be interested in you helping them make money. I've used all three. A local Kijiji ad has been surprisingly lucrative. Probably 10K over the past couple of years. Referrals work great, as you're already proven. The third one may sound iffy, but if you ACTUALLY can help, and you sound like you can, people will JUMP at the opportunity to have you help them. Happened to me multiple times.

by lhnz 14y ago

How early can I start doing this? I'm young but confident and I do feel like I have something to offer people already. I guess it's getting the first client which will be tricky...

sidupadhyay 14y ago

It's totally doable. You'll probably start off with a lower hourly at first, but you can quickly establish a higher rate and then eventually a consistent weekly as patio11 described. Early in college, I found the best way to find my true hourly rate was through project-based pricing with well defined scopes. The scope needs to be clear and you have to prevent any scope creep, as that will negatively affect your rate. Once you've gone through a project or two this way, you will have established a pretty good reputation with your clients, which would let you bill out at the real rate. After that you would be free to continue billing at an hourly or make the jump into weekly rates.

Alex3917 14y ago

"How early can I start doing this?" Read the book Million Dollar Consulting. It pretty much gives a step-by-step guide, from lead gen to writing proposals to how to bill by value: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_19?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=million%20dollar%20consulting http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_19?url=search-alias... It repeats itself a lot and is generally poorly written, but there's still a reason why it's been the top consulting book for decades.

pfanner 14y ago
I have absolutely no idea how people start consulting. How old are they? Did they work something else before? Did they major in anything? Are they all independent or work at consulting companies?
- ams6110 14y ago
  Yes.
  - ams6110 14y ago
    OK, the point is any of these things could be the case, or not. Some people start consulting immediately. Some don't start until they have been working "regular jobs" for 20 years. Some start young, some start old, etc. There is no one way to start. Just start.
    - saryant 14y ago
      There's only one consistent answer to any questions WRT consulting and that is "it depends." I've been in your shoes before, trying to figure out exactly what consultants do and how to start doing it. Once I gave up on finding a simple answer and just did it I started to understand the game.

graeme 14y ago

There are lots of ways to find a first client: * Craiglist/eLance/oDesk ad * Tell people you want to do consulting work. People know other people. * Walk into a relevant business, after having found something could contribute, and ask them if they'd be interested in you helping them make money. I've used all three. A local Kijiji ad has been surprisingly lucrative. Probably 10K over the past couple of years. Referrals work great, as you're already proven. The third one may sound iffy, but if you ACTUALLY can help, and you sound like you can, people will JUMP at the opportunity to have you help them. Happened to me multiple times.