Start your own Consultancy from scratch – practical tips

Posted on March 20, 2013 by admin

So you really want to start your own Consultancy business from scratch !?

Here are some tips I hope will help:-

Identify your key skills – if you want to sell yourself as a Consultant the first thing you need to identify is the skills you possess which people will be willing to pay for. If you can’t do this don’t give up your day job.
Develop a Business Plan – don’t put it off because you can’t be bothered or don’t think it’s necessary. If you want people to take you seriously as a Business you need to start thinking like a Business.
Identify your target market – who are you going to sell your skills to ? – your current or former employer perhaps ? Former customers or suppliers, ex colleagues, business partners etc etc
Network – Develop your contacts, LinkedIn is great for this but don’t forget about your address book & business card collection.
Have a look at the Professional Contractors Group website www.pcg.org.uk – it has a fantastic free downloadable guide for freelancers/consultants.
If you still want to take the plunge this is perhaps the hardest step of all – You will need a MINIMUM of 6 months income in the bank before you start. Do not plan to earn anything from your Consultancy business for the first six months. If you really want to succeed with your own Consultancy business you will find this money. If you see this as too big a hurdle then sorry but Consultancy is not for you.

Look out for my new book “Start your own Consultancy – Now!”

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Why not start your own consultancy ?

Posted on March 19, 2013 by admin

As Chairman Mao famously said “we live in interesting times”.

Millions of people live in daily dread of redundancy, working longer & longer hours to appease the boss in an effort to avoid the dreaded 90 days notice interview and ultimate dismissal. I know, I’ve been there once or twice myself and it sucks!

However, there is an alternative, and that redundancy payment can provide a great springboard to a new successful and rewarding career.

Any professional person with a skill to sell can start their own consultancy business but it does need a set of personal attributes which not everyone has:-

Persistence – you will need this in abundance to generate leads and pursue opportunities.
Flexibility – are you willing to travel or work away from home.
Pick up things quickly – can you hit the ground running & “add value” from the start of any assignment.
Positive Outlook – do you let things grind you down or do you react by seeking solutions to problems.
Uncertainty – can you live with not knowing what you will be doing in 3 months ?
Outgoing personality – if you can get on with people from different backgrounds & talk to the cleaner as well as the CEO you will do well, if you are a shrinking violet who prefers staring at a computer screen all day you will fail.
Embrace Change – if you love ding different things in different places you will thrive. If you prefer the routine then consultancy is not for you.

For more practical advice on starting your own consultancy look out for my next post.

Extracts from my future book ” Start your own Consultancy….now!”

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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10 tips to eliminate the blame culture…..#pmot…#leadership

Posted on January 30, 2013 by admin

Changing a company culture is not an easy thing to do & the blame culture which is endemic to many organizations needs to be eliminated for innovation to thrive. Here are some tips to eliminate the blame culture:-

Adopt a leadership position by ignoring the accepted blame culture & practicing a solution based mind set.
Instead of asking who did what & why identify the steps required to move from the current position to the desired one.
Look to the future not the past, develop a vision of where you want the organization to be.
Ignore the jibes of others who try to lay the blame by focusing on the steps required to achieve the desired outcome.
Lead by example – people will begin to notice & copy positive behavior.
Reward positive behavior with encouragement.
Deal with negative behavior by ignoring it.
Promote positive people within the organization at the expense of those who cannot change.
Forgive those who exhibit redemption.
Celebrate success & generate genuine teamwork.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Our New Year hopes for 2013

Posted on December 31, 2012 by admin

2012 has been a pretty miserable year with freakish weather on both sides of the Atlantic, in the U.K the highest rainfall since records began saw people washed out of house and home and businesses ruined. In the USA Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast and several lives were lost, homes ruined & businesses destroyed.

Scandal followed scandal in the world of banking, PPI miss-selling, Libor fixing, Rogue traders etc etc

As austerity measures bite, wages decline & the economy bumps along the bottom like a flat baloon.

OK, so that was 2012, what do we want from 2013:-

Less emphasis on GDP and more on sustainability. The current system based on mass consumption, Consumerism & unsustainable growth fed by mountains of debt is bust ! We need to replace it with a more responsible, ecologically sound system based on managing the worlds scarce resources more effectively and equitably.
We need to take environmental change seriously. Whether there is a direct link between recent extreme weather & man made global warming is up for debate but there is irrefutable Scientific evidence that carbon dioxide emissions are having a direct impact on average global temperature. The long term consequences could be cataclysmic.
More People Power – the disaffection with the banks has led to huge defection to “community” banks like the Co-operative bank. Long may this continue. We are the mass consumers and we can have a massive impact by promoting ethical business practice & behavior.
Reduce our thirst for Oil – despite most of the Western world being in recession (or near) the price of Oil remains stubbornly around $100 a barrel. There are a number of factors at work here but there is little doubt we have reached “peak oil” where future supplies will gradually decline and the price rise. We need to break the cycle by urgently seeking alternative energy sources AND reducing consumption. The Automotive industry has made great strides in recent years but nowhere near enough. Much more Innovation is needed in this area.

A flatter playing field – whilst workers real wages & salaries have reduced year after year the income of Senior Management & Board members has continued to rise. The gap between rich & poor gets larger every year. This defies rational thought. It is up to us to change things by greater political action, workers representatives on company boards, greater shareholder influence on remuneration committees etc etc. There is NOTHING inevitable about allowing this obscene poverty gap to continue increasing.

So there are some of our wishes for 2013. Whether they come true is up to me and you. All the best.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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#innovation project of 2012 – Discovery of Higg’s boson at CERN

Posted on December 27, 2012 by admin

“It really is an incredible thing that it’s happened in my lifetime,” said Peter Higgs of the University of Edinburgh. Higgs was speaking on July 4th this year shortly after Scientists at CERN announced the discovery of the sub-atomic particle named after him which he first proposed back in 1964.

Several physicists independently dreamed up the idea of an energy field that would have permeated the early universe (and persisted to the present).

Like a puddle of treacle, the field resists the motion of particles moving through it. Such resistance to motion, or inertia, is the defining quality of mass. Subatomic particles therefore acquire differing amounts of mass depending on how strongly they interact with the energy field.

Known as the Higgs field, its existence also required a new particle — the Higgs boson. (Bosons are a class of fundamental particles defined by their quantum properties.)

Today, CERN scientists hunt the Higgs by smashing two beams of protons together at the $10 billion LHC. (Large Hadron Collider) Out of a trillion proton-proton collisions, perhaps one will create a Higgs particle, which then decays almost instantaneously into other particles. Sensitive detectors placed at the sites of these smashups look for signatures of several ways the Higgs might have decayed.

If each of the LHC’s 500 trillion collisions were represented by a grain of sand, they would fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, said Joe Incandela, a physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a spokesman for one LHC experiment. Yet the grains from the signals of interest — the possible Higgses — would cover only the tip of your finger.

The ramifications of the discovery of the Higgs boson particle are largely unknown but it’s impact on human knowledge will far outshine the current economic malaise as viewed by future generations. It is a major stepping stone in our understanding of the Universe.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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10 great reasons for #freelancing & #contracting

Posted on November 28, 2012 by admin

Following on from our last post about Freelancing here are some great reasons
you might want to go down this career route:-

Have you got a low boredom threshold ? – Freelancing allows you to choose
the length of your contracts based upon your own preferences. 3 months, 6 months, 12 months – whatever suits you so your never anywhere long enough to get bored.
Do you thrive on a challenge ? – instead of sitting around doing the same old thing, getting stuck in a rut every contract opportunity presents a fresh challenge, new people to meet, new things to do.
Do you like traveling ? – open up your horizons by working in different
parts of the country……. or even other parts of the world.
Fed up of Office politics ? – Freelancing allows you to ignore petty
politics & get on with your job. You’re there to complete a task to the best of your abilities not to impress the boss into giving you promotion.
Would you rather have the cash than holidays or other perks ? – contracting offers higher rates of pay without the frills associated with “permanent” employment.
Do you enjoy looking for work ? – a serious question, if you love interviews you will love freelancing !
Are you available at the drop of a hat ? – if you are you may be offered a contract on the basis of a telephone interview as long as you are prepared to start immediately.
Can you handle uncertainty ? – some people love not knowing what they will be doing in 6 months time – if you can embrace this you will get a buzz out of freelancing.
Are you sociable & outgoing ? if you don’t enjoy meeting people &
integrating you had better stick to that day job.
Are you flexible & adaptable ? – If you can join a new organization & hit the ground running, adding real value & making a big difference – contracting might just be the career for you.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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#Freelancers earn loads of wonga………..#HFD2012

Posted on November 21, 2012 by admin

It’s Freelancer day today so lets debunk some of our favorite myths about freelancing:-

Freelancers earn loads of wonga – Freelancer pay is very much dependent upon industry, location, length of contract etc. In Engineering a typical freelancer may earn 25% more than a “permie” but that’s like comparing apples & pears as the freelancer gets no paid holiday’s, sick pay, pension, bonus etc etc so a direct comparison needs to take into account the monetary value of these “permie” benefits.

Freelancers pay less tax – There is some truth in this. By owning a Limited Company a Freelancer may structure his pay to take home more income (perfectly legal) but the biggest benefit is being able to deduct legitimate business expenses like car mileage from taxable income. It should be stressed that legitimate Freelancers pay their full contribution according to UK tax law.

Freelancing is insecure – This is largely down to career management. In a lot of respects it can be more secure because the contractor has more active control. Rather than being at the whim of an employer the Contractor tends to be secure for the length of his contract & needs to be active in seeking another towards the end. If her Network is well developed this is perfectly manageable.

Freelancers can’t get a proper job – some people move easily between Contracting & “Permanent” roles. The majority, however, prefer freelancing. Most Freelancer’s wouldn’t take a permie job given the choice.

Freelancers are ruthless opportunists – no more so than the companies who employ them on short notice contracts. Freelancers are certainly not naive & are perfectly capable of exploiting an opportunity should it arise.

Freelancers are essential – Of course I would argue this but who else is going to step in & cover for 12 months maternity leave or provide invaluable support through a period of rapid growth. If it wasn’t for Freelancers the corporate world would be like a Swiss cheese.

Freelancers are competent Professionals – undoubtedly true. To survive without the fluffy blanket of corporate support, to learn on the job, hit the ground running, contribute immediately & be effective are all signs of competent professionalism. If you want an easy life don’t go into freelancing.

So why would anyone want to go into Freelancing ———that’s for the next post.

Happy Freelance Day!

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Are you listening to the Voice Of the Customer?….#business, #innovation

Posted on October 30, 2012 by admin

One of the most difficult choices in New Product Development is in deciding what products to develop !

Lot’s of us watch “Dragons Den” on TV and it’s pretty obvious some of the budding entrepreneurs believe they have a great idea but have never even considered asking their customers or potential customers what they think.

To avoid wasting millions of dollars on products no one wants it is essential to listen to the Voice Of the Customer. (VOC)

Companies involved in New Product Development & Innovation need to establish effective methods to capture VOC.

This can take many different forms such as surveys, telephone conversations, face to face interviews, feedback forms, Social Media strategies etc etc etc

Whichever mix is used the information then has to be filtered and sorted to identify priorities for New Product Development. To do this effectively it is essential to have a multi-functional team involved to get a number of perspectives.

If you are involved in Innovation you need to capture the VOC.

chris@projectsguru.co.uk

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Your #business cannot compete on cost alone…

Posted on October 16, 2012 by admin

According to new research published today by Allianz Insurance, some 83% of UK managers rank Innovation as the key to their organization performing strongly.

However, despite the fact most leaders are fully aware of the benefits of innovation, the ongoing challenging economic environment has caused many to opt out of such projects in recent months.

For instance, 23% of the 500 respondents noted that the economic slump has pushed innovation further down their list of business priorities, with issues such as a lack of funding and a focus on profits being the main reasons behind this fact.

This approach is not only wrong it is patently short sighted. Innovating value added products or services is the only way to ensure long term survival never-mind success. Long-term it is not possible for organizations to compete purely on cost. Globalization ensures that whenever you compete purely on cost, someone, somewhere will be able to undermine your cost base and do it cheaper. The only way to compete successfully, particularly in the West, is to produce differentiated products with high added value, which cannot be easily reproduced elsewhere where labor costs are significantly cheaper.

This requires investment in R & D, training and advanced manufacturing techniques.

Innovation is essential to long term survival.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk

Amberhill Associates Ltd ©️Chris Robinson

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Tag Archives: Innovation

Start your own Consultancy from scratch – practical tips

Why not start your own consultancy ?

10 tips to eliminate the blame culture…..#pmot…#leadership

#innovation project of 2012 – Discovery of Higg’s boson at CERN

10 great reasons for #freelancing & #contracting

#Freelancers earn loads of wonga………..#HFD2012

Are you listening to the Voice Of the Customer?….#business, #innovation

Your #business cannot compete on cost alone…