Shenson on Consulting, by Howard Shenson

For my second resource review, I’ve selected Shenson on Consulting by the late Howard L. Shenson. For over 20 years (mid-1970s to mid-1990s) Howard Shenson wrote books, published newsletters, and conducted seminars that focused on beginning consultants. Before he suddenly passed away in 1994, he was known as the “consultant’s consultant.” Howard’s materials were based […]

20 Ways to Attract Clients

Fishing for business… OK, let’s get started with the question that has most of you chomping at the bit. How do I get clients/customers, anyway? In simple terms, you need to find customers, and then sell to them.  And if you are just starting out, nobody else is going to do it for you. Oops! […]

Karl the Engineer

A retired engineer does the math… Every time I tell Karl’s story, it bring me joy. My engineering colleagues always love it, too. You see, when some big company bureaucrats (BCBs) tried to stick it to Karl, he struck back and won. Karl didn’t intend to consult. Nearing retirement, he alerted his company that it […]

More Insurance Comments

How I handle my insurance … This post is a quick continuation of the previous post on insurance, as someone asked how I handle my personal insurance needs.  My philosophy is to self-insure the small losses, and put the premium savings into higher coverage. As such, I carry larger deductibles than most subsidized policies, but […]

Words count… and have consequences…

OK, I promised an occasional rant — here is my first… Less that a week ago, and less than 100 miles away in Tucson, AZ, a crazed gunman tried to assassinate a US Congresswoman. He failed, but he did kill six other innocent bystanders, including a beautiful nine year old girl. (As a grandpa, I […]

Insurance Questions

So what is it about insurance (particularly health insurance) that spooks so many people? After the Four Key Questions (a previous blog post), this is probably number five. The question is usually posed as, “So how do YOU handle insurance?” For many, this issue is a potential show-stopper from making the Jump to Consulting. It […]

My Grandfather’s Legacy

Food for thought… In the middle of the depression, my grandfather started a new new career — selling hybrid seed corn out in Nebraska. As a farmer himself, he was excited about this new technology. Still, he was literally asking his fellow farmers to “bet the farm.” Even though he was now a salesman, he […]

Escape from Cubicle Nation, by Pam Slim

Here is my first  Resource Review. These include books, web sites, and other resources that you may find useful in your consulting quest. The initial plan is to do at least one of these a month. Since she was a catalyst for this blog, it is only appropriate to make Pam Slim’s Escape from Cubicle […]

Four key questions…

Whenever someone gets curious about consulting, they usually end up asking one or more of what I call the “four key questions.”  How Do You Get Your Clients? How Do You Set Your Fees? How Do You Decide What To Consult About? How Do I Get Started In Consulting? 1.  How do you get your […]