When people tell me they are thinking about consulting, I often share this story with them. It helped me on several occasions, including making my own personal JumpToConsulting. In high school, I worked as a “soda jerk” at the drugstore in our small town. Since we were next door to the town doctor, he often […]
Need some immediate exposure? Is your market primarily local? Do you serve a niche market that is tightly focused? Big trade shows – local or otherwise – too expensive? All good reasons to start your OWN local mini-trade show. We did this in 1986, just prior to launching our engineering consulting business. Like most startups, […]
From lunch this week at a favorite Chinese restaurant: Joy comes from the adventure today. Time to shake up the world. Really liked this fortune cookie quote. How about you? It captures my feelings about small consulting practices in particular — and micro-businesses in general. PS – Well, as of today our downsizing move is […]
We’ve often been told we’re lucky to have our own business. But luck really has very little to do with it. Here is a response made to a recent guest post at Man vs Debt, an inspiring blog by Adam Baker on his challenges of overcoming a big load of debt acquired at a relatively […]
Warning — Geek Story Ahead! My brother Jim is a retired civil engineer. When we get together, we often share war stories. This one has a good lesson for consultants. “It was Friday afternoon, and it was time to head into town for a cold beer and hot meal,” Jim began. He was working on […]
“Behind every successful man is a woman who is still amazed.” Or so the old joke goes. In reality, success as an entrepreneur is often highly dependent on a supporting spouse. If you don’t have that support, it may never happen. This post was inspired by a Mother’s Day e-mail from Perry Marshall of AdWords […]
Chris Guillebeau’s latest book (The $100 Startup) contains a wealth of information for anybody considering the jump to ANY small business (not just consulting.) It is a mix of inspiration and real-world examples backed up with proven business advice. This is Chris’s second book. The first, the Art of Nonconformity, encourages people to follow their […]
When asked about becoming an independent consultant, my business partner and I often share these two observations from our early days: We thought we would work 20 hours a week and get rich. Instead, it often seemed like we worked 20 hours a day just to make a living. We thought we’d find wealth and […]
Here is a recent email exchange that I though some of you might find of interest. I’ve hidden the name for confidentiality, but I’m sure S will recognize himself. Hi Daryl, My name is S. I’m also a follower of your blog. How are you doing with that these days? I’ve noticed you’re an engineer […]
Done properly, trade shows are a great way to generate leads. Done poorly, they can be a tremendous waste of time and money. Trade shows represent a unique opportunity for both networking (one-on-one) and/or gaining exposure (one-to-many). And unlike most other methods, trade shows can be very personal. Where else can you spend a few […]
This is what 40 attendees of the recent “Start Your Business Workshop” in Chandler AZ are considering. As an aside, all 40 had recently lost their jobs. But rather than sulk or wait for the government to intervene, these 40 budding entrepreneurs were taking matters into their own hands. On a beautiful spring day in […]
Here is my reply to a recent IEEE article “Are Engineers Really in Demand?” The authors posed this question in response to a recent Washington Post story that discussed unemployment among engineers. Being a geek myself, I was intrigued. What disturbed me, however, were the comments that followed. Way too much griping about how the government, […]
Just gave a talk titled “Consulting for Geeks – So You Want to be a Consultant?” at DesignCon2012 in Santa Clara, CA. With over 100 attendees, it confirmed my suspicion that many of my technical colleagues are considering consulting — at least secretly anyway. And why not? If you are a professional (engineer, architect, accountant, […]
Nor was it Bush’s, or Clinton’s, or anybody else’s. If your business failed, it was YOUR fault. But don’t sulk about it — figure out what you did wrong, fix it, and try again! This rant was precipitated by a recent comment on a business blog. The author whined that his new venture failed because […]
So said a favorite boss, many years BC (before consulting.) His advice that day has stuck with me over the years, and has served me well. I’ll elaborate shortly. The catalyst for this was a recent post by Seth Godin (another bald guy fascinated by small business.) He talks about solving problems, rather than just […]
You are invited to join me… at an upcoming talk at DesignCon 2012 on Consulting for Geeks. This is an update of a talk I gave at last year’s IEEE EMC Symposium. Sixty people showed up for that presentation — as the LAST talk of the LAST session on the LAST day. Turns out a lot of […]
