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consulting

Assess your skills, then address weaknesses

by Peter Osborne on July 13, 2010 · 0 comments

Peel back the layers and dig deep to identify weaknesses to focus on

Assessing your strengths and weaknesses is a critical first step in determining whether your personality and skills (i.e., your core competencies) are a good fit for the challenges of a portfolio career.

My strengths in a corporate environment came from my ability to see problems (particularly barriers to marketing success) and bring people together to solve them.  My communication skills helped a lot in that respect, but my success was tied in no small part to my ability to navigate the corporate infrastructure and get people moving toward a common goal.  The challenge is translating those skills to my current path.

But I’m not as comfortable at building strong one-on-one relationships, at going to a function and meeting people in a business atmosphere.  I hang back; I worry that I don’t come across well.  That’s why I signed up for Keith Ferrazzi’s Relationship Masters Academy, to learn some skills that will help me more effectively sell myself to prospective clients (and, I suppose, prospective employers). 

One thing I’ve learned is that maybe my skills weren’t as weak as I thought.  One RMA exercise asked us to describe a way we drove accountability at the team or individual level.  I submitted the Daily Huddle that I used to run at Bank of America (here’s a version that I published in my Bulldog Simplicity blog) and was somewhat surprised to “win” the weekly contest.  Well, Keith described the Huddle in his blog post today.  And suddenly, my weakness is a well-publicized strength.

The point is, you need to take a hard look in the mirror and decide where you come up short.  What skills do you lack that might have made a difference when it came down to you or someone else (either when the layoff decisions were being made or today, when you compete for a job or project)?  What skills do you need as a free agent (consultant or project person) that you really didn’t need (or that you got from another member of your team) in your last job?

Then go develop those skills.  If you can’t (or won’t), then a portfolio career might not be for you.

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Why Consultant Launch Pad was born

by Peter Osborne on July 2, 2010 · 2 comments

Are you an uncomfortable (or perhaps an unwilling) resident of Free Agent Nation?

Nearly two dozen of my peers were laid off from Bank of America’s credit-card unit back in early 2009.  They were great at their jobs, achieving or exceeding on their goals in the midst of a major beatdown for the industry.  Eighteen months later, more than half either haven’t found jobs or have taken positions at lower pay (my wife calls this decision “less that you were making but more than you are making.”)  Interviews for the rest are few and far between, despite submitting dozens of resumes.  I know someone who responded to a job board for a CEO job within two hours of it being posted and was told 200 qualified people had beaten him to the punch.

This isn’t a whine.  This is why we created Consultant Launch Pad.  More than 48% of the nation’s unemployed have been out of work for six months or more, making them part of a group known as the ”long-term unemployed,” according to an Associated Press story early this month.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published a report looking at the data in even more detail, noting that not only did the long-term unemployment rate for all persons increase from 0.8% in 2007 to a high of 2.9% in 2009, prime-age and older workers had a somewhat larger increase on a percentage basis.  And lest we forget, Congress seems committed to eliminating jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.  The projections are that more than 3 million people will have lost benefits by the end of July.

Millions of Americans are feeling like they're at the top of a financial rollercoaster

If all that’s not bad enough, along comes a Charlotte Observer article last week that says an increasing number of recruiters and employers are requiring applicants to have a job if they want to be considered for their jobs.  Beyond the fact that one has to wonder how many employed people are willing to risk leaving the safety of their current situation to become the “low man” on someone else’s totem pole, this adds additional angst to older workers who may also be experiencing a subtle form of age discrimination in a tight job market.  Parenthetically, it also seems pretty short-sighted since it’s pretty easy to see who the more motivated applicant is going to be.

There is a ray of hope in the Observer story.  Recruiters agree that evidence of consulting or project work can offset their clients’ aversion to the unemployed.  And that’s what we’re trying to do through this site:  Help you create short-term revenue for yourself when there are no jobs and see if there’s a way to turn that short-term revenue into a long-term job or career change.

So we’re not focusing solely on the needs of people who have decided they don’t want to return to corporate America, people that author Dan Pink described a few years ago as Free Agent Nation.  We’re also focusing on the unwilling (or perhaps uncomfortable) residents of Free Agent Nation, people who don’t have a choice but need to feed their families and are increasingly realizing they may need to build a portfolio career of a variety of jobs in different industries or functions  In the weeks to come, we’re going to talk a lot more about how to find clients and projects and how to create short-term income while building a great reputation in the marketplace that will enable you to decide for yourself whether this is your best option.  For those who already know it is, we’ll offer advice on formalizing your business structure and being more successful.

We’re all in this together.  Let us know how we can help.  And consider following us on Twitter (@consultantlaunc) or joining our Consultant Launch Pad group on LinkedIn and join the discussion wherever it’s most convenient for you.

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Thinking about consulting?

by Peter Osborne on June 22, 2010 · 0 comments

So you’ve been out of work for far longer than you — or anyone else in the family — ever expected.  You had — or more correctly, have — something special but nobody seems to be seeing it.  Nobody’s calling back, and that ”perfect job” you applied for attracted 200+ resumes within three hours.   And now your severance is gone.  Or will be soon.
 
So what’s next?  Assuming the issue is not your failure to develop a compelling personal brand or effectively help recruiters and hiring managers find you, for many people the answer to the What’s Next? question is exploring consulting or project (1099) work. 
 

 You won’t be alone in making this decision: The number of people who have been out of work for more than six months hit 6.7 million in April 2010, nearly 46% of the unemployed.  The New York Times says we’ve lost 8.4 million jobs in this recession and many of those jobs aren’t coming back.  As many as 23% of U.S. workers are operating as consultants, freelancers, free agents, contractors, or micropreneurs, according to the Wall Street Journal.  The percentage of unemployed workers starting companies rose to 8.6% in 2009, a four-year high, with the biggest increases among people 55 and over, according to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas outplacement firm.  The underemployment rate — which counts people who have given up looking for work and those who are working part time for lack of full-time positions — rose to 17.1% in April, from 16.9% in March.

The trend toward “portfolio careers” — where individuals cobble a career together from multiple consulting (or 1099) engagements is growing and demand for high-end temporary business talent is not focused on cost-cutting projects but on driving innovation.

But not so fast.  Even with a great value proposition or skill, it’s not that easy.  First you need to think through whether you have the temperment for the ups and downs of this strategy.  Then you need to think about company structures, the sales process, and a myriad of other things.

Recapturing what you used to make may not happen for years, if ever.   The percentage of new projects you win will be much lower than you might expect.  Many people warn that you can’t do a full-time job search and consult at the same time…at least not effectively. For many people, the process of selling yourself is more daunting than a root canal and may require skills that are somewhat alien to those you had when your company was giving you direction.

On the other hand…

The best way to find a full-time job may be through an “audition strategy,” where you demonstrate your value to a full-time employer prospect through a short-term project.  Many people think that’s the best way to separate themselves from the masses these days.  And this may be a way to pay the bills and prevent you from taking a job that will make you miserable.

This site is designed to help you make the decision and then, if you move forward, be successful.  In addition to unique content, we will also provide links to other sites with great advice and content.

So, what scares you about making the leap to consulting or project work?  What will help you make the decision or be more successful?  Simply put, what kind of content can we offer that will make this a site you’d bookmark?  Please send us your thoughts at  peter at consultantlaunchpad dot com. We look forward to hearing from you.

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30 Second Launch Pad: Get that first contract

by Peter Osborne on June 15, 2010 · 0 comments

Michael D. Brown

Michael D. Brown is president of StrategyMark, Inc., which provides consulting services in the specialty chemicals industry; managing partner of TZ Chemicals International Pty Ltd, a consulting and data publishing firm he helped start in January 2010; and one of the founders of Consultant Launch Pad.   A consultant for 12 years with 30 years of experience in marketing and business management of coatings and engineered plastics, Michael is considered an international expert on the specialty chemicals market and speaks regularly at trade organizations and the financial community.  For more information on Michael, you can go to the About Us page of this website or his LinkedIn profile

What do you know today that you wish you knew when you were starting out?   The one thing I wish I knew when I started was how to properly assess the risk/reward of leaving a corporation and starting a business.  I did some modest scenario planning but didn’t fully grasp BOTH the full extent of the risk AND the full extent of the rewards.  I should have talked to more consultants, both well-established as well as those just starting.  Specifically it would have been helpful to know the volatility of income (even for established practices!), the long hours, and, in my case, the heavy travel.  Conversely, I did not fully appreciate the degree of satisfaction I now have as a consultant and how good I feel about being in business for myself.  Simply – I wish I had known more about the “lows” and the “highs!”

Knowing what I  know today, my decision to consult would not have changed, but the way I managed my personal finances in the early years might have changed a little.  I would also have started my own practice much earlier.

What was your most important decision starting out (e.g., financial, organizational, marketing)?  My most important decision was deciding that my passion for strategic planning and consulting would never be fully realized or appreciated as an employee of a corporation and I would be better off professionally and financially as a consultant.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity at that time to enter the consulting profession as a partner in a small well-established firm.  Looking back I realize the importance of entering the market this way as it gave me the opportunity to learn the significance of having a focused value proposition and “elevator speech,” to learn the consulting business and to gain confidence while doing so with some financial stability.

Can you offer one piece of advice to help a new consultant get through the first six months?   My advice for a new consultant is to focus on getting that first contract!  Certainly you should put time in to your value proposition, business plan, company organization and marketing, but the impact of having cash flowing is immeasurable to your confidence and ultimately your success.  You should learn from this first contract more about your skills (and any gaps), you commitment and where your value proposition and business model need tweaking.

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Welcome to the Neighborhood!

by Peter Osborne on May 23, 2010 · 0 comments

Welcome to Consultant Launch Pad, where we want to help people decide if they’re cut out to consult or do contract work and then help them set up their businesses and find customers.  Our success depends on inviting visitors who have been doing this for awhile and are willing to offer their advice and counsel. 

Many people are predicting that portfolio careers are the future — working for many different clients, being with one employer for a much shorter period of time.  They believe many of the jobs that have been lost are not coming back.  Some people are here because their choices are limited — they can’t find the right jobs (executive level or otherwise) and they need project work just to pay their mortgages and feed their families and prove what they can do to a prospective employer.  And this neighborhood is getting bigger by the day.

We’re still in the early stages of construction; after all we want the people who live here to have a voice in what their home and community looks like.  We do want to point your attention to a few features that we think you’ll like:

  • You can ask questions (or provide answers to other people’s questions) in the Forum but it’s also a place to network, share suggestions, and collaborate.   We’ve started a few discussions, but want you to ask the questions.  Please register on the Forum page (we’d like everyone to provide user names when they participate).
  • Everybody likes Free Stuff, and we’ll be adding new things all the time to that section (you can find it on the Navigation Bar).  Free Stuff includes Downloads of checklists, charts, and other resources that will help you regardless of your experience and a page with Links to blogs and sites we’ve found useful during our travels.  Let us know about other terrific ones you’ve come across.  Please add your suggestions to the Comments or send them to us separately.
  • 30 Second Launch Pad enables experienced consultants to share what they’ve learned over the years.  If you’re interested in contributing, please let us know.  These will start as blog posts, but you can find them all together by clicking on the category listing or under — yes, you guessed it – Free Stuff…along with an Elevator Speech page.

In addition, the one thing we know is that we don’t know everything, so we’ve posted some Guest Blogger guidelines under the Contact Us tab.

There’s a lot more cool stuff coming very soon, all geared toward one of our three primary Missions.  Please come back often and see how construction is going.  And let us know what you think.

Welcome to the neighborhood!

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30 Second Launch Pad: Focus, focus, focus

by Peter Osborne on May 13, 2010 · 0 comments

Ed Callahan

Ed Callahan is a Philadelphia-area EOS implementer who helps organizations clarify, simplify, and implement their visions.  For more information on Ed or to contact him, click on his LinkedIn profile, read his Stay Focused blog, or go to his website.  

 What do you know today that you wish you knew when you were starting out?  Match your consulting practice to a passion; don’t just create an extension of what you have been doing in your career up to this point. If you are passionate about doing something, it will give you the fortitude to stick to it through the inevitable difficult days while you are building your practice. I am now on the third iteration of my practice in 10 years, and I have finally accomplished this particular piece of advice as an EOS Implementer where I combine my business experience and my passion for being a small business teacher.

What was your most important early decision (e.g., financial, organizational, marketing)?  I stopped billing myself out on an hourly basis. It rid me of the hassle of keeping track of my hours and having to justify them to the client. I transitioned to a monthly retainer, paid in advance, with contract-based expectations as to deliverables from both me and the client. Much simpler and a great qualifier of real prospects, as distinguished from tire kickers who want you to work on commission or equity only.

Can you offer one piece of advice to help a new consultant get through the first six months?  Focus, Focus, Focus. Focus your value proposition. Focus your target market. Focus your messaging.  Build a very narrow brand in which you can become the dominant player.  Ideally align yourself with an existing set of intellectual property/business proposition so that you can focus all your energies on getting clients. Generating cash early should be your only objective.
 
You can find Ed’s elevator speech on the My Elevator Speech page.

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Five ways to get more business from LinkedIn

by Peter Osborne on May 11, 2010 · 0 comments

LinkedIn is probably best known for helping business people network to find jobs.  But many successful consultants are finding that their LinkedIn network can also be a great source of new business.  Here are a few ways you can find new clients:

Request targeted recommendations.  Take your list of core competencies and ask people you’ve worked with — clients, former co-workers, and business partners — to write recommendations that highlight your key selling points (particularly if they counter the normal objections you face).  That’s right.  Provide some specific direction.  It’s one thing for you to claim that you’re good at something, but recommendations that say you’re great at that thing build credibility and trust.  This is particularly important if your practice is more greated toward a portfolio of 1099 projects, rather than focusing on one or two long-term clients.

Build your industry network.  You may already have searched LinkedIn’s Group network to find industry associations and networks that you can join.  Doing this will expand your potential network (it’s much easier to invite someone to join your personal network if you’re in the same group or groups), increasing the likelihood that you may know someone who knows someone who can support your business proposal.

Let people know when you post.  Many consultants take advantage of the ease of WordPress and other blogging platforms to post on subjects of interest within their areas of expertise.  One great way to drive traffic — and again, build credibility — is to match the subject of your blog post to appropriate LinkedIn groups and start discussions.  Think like the reader and write a great head that captures the thrust of your posting (perhaps with a question) and then quickly summarize your main points and then provide a link to your blog.  Consider asking the reader who decides to comment on your posting to copy his or her comment on both the Group Discussion and your actual blog.  I will often block and copy the stronger Linkedin comments into the blog Comments myself to advance the discussion. 

Set aside time to answer some questions.  Use LinkedIn forums to answer questions that demonstrate your knowledge and experience.  You build credibility with strong answers and may well expose yourself to a potential client who use LinkedIn’s advanced Answers search to find your answers.  I’m a big believer in karma so helping someone else could come back in positive ways if you…

Ask questions in areas where you need help.  There are hundreds of different categories on Answers, so I suspect you can find answers to many of your questions related to your new consulting business.  And if you can’t find an answer, there are many experienced people out there who will likely respond if you clearly explain the challenges you face.

Please consider sharing how you’ve found new clients through LinkedIn.  In future posts, I’ll share other ideas.

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