Billable with Baby^® Blog

Getting Started is the Hardest Thing: I heard back from several people and the landslide winner is Getting Started. I got started a long time ago, so that’s obviously no longer a challenge for me. But here’s the thing, I didn’t have big, overwhelming thoughts about starting a business and everything that means.

I have been a successful consultant for 15 years and I love it! I’m married and I have two kids, ages 14 and 4. I traded my corporate job for consulting and make more money than most executives.

On the minus side, there is no regular pay check, no benefits, no IT department, and no one to blame but yourself if something goes wrong.

I love being a consultant. The advantages are freedom, flexibility, control, interesting and engaging work, good pay and sometimes equity. You rarely get caught up in company politics and nearly all of your work is direct value add.

The hardest thing any consultant does is bring in the business. Doing the billable work is the easy part. Always be selling.

I speak at least once on a month on how to start a successful consulting business. It’s common to have at least a couple people who were laid off from their corporate jobs and had consulting projects fall into their laps. In fact, that is how I got started more than 15 years ago.

A few years ago, I had a client who was a CPA and started her career in public accounting. She went on to work for several other companies, always in tech and always in finance and accounting functions. She said, “I’m tired of tech and I don’t want anyone to know I am a CPA.

A solid consulting practice is built through hard work and a willingness to take risk. No check goes into my bank account unless I go out and win the business.  In consulting, you have to hunt what you eat.  I get out the binoculars, climb the mountain, scout the...

It’s surprisingly easy to start your own consulting business. All you need is a computer, a phone, brainpower and business experience. The work is the same as the work you’ve been doing in your corporate job only better. If you start right away, you can be doing billable work as soon as next week.

I’m a working Mom of two kids, ages 14 and 4. I traded my corporate job for consulting and I love it. I live a blended life with hardly any boundaries. I work and play every day. I typically work half my work day during the day and the other half at night. I take...

Last week I asked about your biggest challenge. What is your biggest challenge with your consulting business? Finding the courage to dive in? Fear of leaving your corporate job? Getting started? Charging enough? Finding Clients? Juggling it all? Something else?...

Getting started as a consultant is easy.  However, building a sustainable business takes hard work and perseverance.  Below are the top five things to know about building a successful consulting business.  Click each topic to drill deeper. 1. Be Willing to Work Hard...

A few years into my consulting business, I started getting requests from friends to get together and talk about consulting.  These people were thinking about starting their own consulting practices.  Over time these requests became more frequent.  I started thinking...

Do you NEED to make six figures? This is less about the six figures and more about needing to make money.  Unless you need the money, you probably aren’t going to be willing to do the hard work it takes to build a successful consulting business.  I’ll tell you right...

On the minus side, there is no regular pay check, no benefits, no IT department, and no one to blame but yourself if something goes wrong. Remember earlier I said that no check goes into my bank account unless I go out and win the business?  That is the cold,...

I love being a consultant. The advantages are freedom, flexibility, control, interesting and engaging work, good pay and sometimes equity. You rarely get caught up in company politics and nearly all of your work is direct value add. Even before I had kids, freedom and...

I speak at least once on a month on how to start a successful consulting business. It’s common to have at least a couple people who were laid off from their corporate jobs and had consulting projects fall into their laps. In fact, that is how I got started more than...

No check goes into my bank account unless I go out and win the business. I get out the binoculars, climb the mountain, scout the herd, get out my bow and arrow, shoot it, kill it, cook it, eat it, and throw away the bones. It’s all up to me. This is a bit of a funny...

Top Five Things to Know About Building a Successful Consulting Business: 1. Be Willing to Work Hard and Take Risk…

A few years ago, I had a client who was a CPA and started her career in public accounting. She went on to work for several other companies, always in tech and always in finance and accounting functions.

I got started in consulting the way most people do – accidentally. My last real job was an Internet company during the Internet boom at the turn of the millennium. When the bubble burst, we crashed and burned like many other Internet companies. I found myself...