Writen by Beverley Hamilton
You've left the corporate world behind.
You're excited about running your own business
You know you've got lots of valuable knowledge and experience to impart
You know you are entering an exciting new phase in your life.
SO WHAT?
So have hundreds of other people. What makes you different? What makes you so sure you'll succeed?
* What are you actually going to do?
* What are you actually going to sell?
* Who are you actually going to sell it to?
* What are you actually going to need?
* What is your business actually about?
AND WHO SHOULD CARE?
If the answers to these questions and many more like them are not crystal clear to you, be prepared to become another statistic; and depending on which statistics you read small business failure rates are anywhere between 30% and 90% within the first 3-5 years.
SO DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A STATISTIC?
Well if you haven't addressed some simple foundations for establishing and running your own consultancy you have already unwittingly taken that decision.
So here are 10 things you must know BEFORE you open for business.
1. Know why you are setting up your business
2. Know how your business and your life interconnect
3. Know what part you want to play in your business
4. Know why you have a business that is different
5. Know what you and your business stand for
6. Know what the profile is of your ideal client
7. Know what benefits you will add to your ideal clients
8. Know how you will lead and manage your business
9. Know what support you will need to make your business succeed
10. Know that you must have clarity around the above 9 points if you have any chance of truly succeeding rather than just surviving
Consultants have been called many things, many of which are unrepeatable here! So what can you achieve that will change the face of consulting? What is it that you can provoke, challenge and innovate that will mean as a consultant, you
* Create value and not just add value
* Change behaviours and not just reinforce behaviours
* Challenge conventional thinking and not just agree with conventional thinking
* Innovate in what you offer and not just imitate with what you offer
* Define and measure results and not just talk about results
The world doesn't need another "same as" consultant. The world does need challengers, innovators, success driven inspirers who can help their chosen clients take their businesses One Step Further.
© Beverley Hamilton 2005
Beverley Hamilton works with independent business consultants to help them grow a profitable consultancy and still have time for their life. You can get my Free Ecourse Discover the 5 Most Common Incorrect Assumptions Independent Business Consultants Make and a complimentary subscription to Quickstart, the newsletter specifically for consultants. Go to One Step Further for more instantly accessible resources. Your future Your choice
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