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 who had a lifestyle-enabling consulting business. Were you able to liberate yourself with the income and time required to live your ideal lifestyle?

Always love to learn what my fellow community members are up to, and the obstacles they are facing.

S

Hi S,

So far, so good. After 25 years as a full time consulting engineer, I think it might work 🙂

Seriously, it has worked well. The consulting business has been a lot of fun — probably more than had I stayed in the corporate environment. Freedom is more important to me than status or a lot of money. I prefer to be the captain of my own ship, even if it is just a little rowboat.

A couple of secrets I’ve learned. Live below your means, and sock away money for retirement and/or lean times. I draw a relatively low salary to cover living expenses, which usually leaves a bonus at year end for savings and funding a Keogh, etc. This also smoothes out the cash flow, and prevents the lifestyle from rising to the income peaks.

No great obstacles. The biggest initial challenge was bringing in the business, which required a lot of up-front marketing effort. Now that I’m established, that part is easier but it still requires some attention. Kind of like tending a garden.

I assume you are an engineer, too. I’ve found consulting a great way to practice the profession. It took me a while to make it work, but it has been worth it.

Best Wishes,

Daryl

Daryl,

I’m not an engineer… I am however focused on using the recipe to make more free time for myself.

I enjoyed reading your answers. There is one thing that I would like to learn more from you: how did you specifically bring in the business and execute the up-front marketing initially?

Thanks,

S

Hi S,

Ah, the number one question I hear — how do you get the business? The short answer — peddle, peddle, peddle…

Seriously, we have used a number of methods to get business over the years. There is no simple “silver bullet”, and it takes both time and effort. Here are some things we’ve done:

• Write – articles, newsletters, books
• Speak – local meetings, national symposiums
• Network – professional organizations, trade shows
• Internet – Web site, blog, LinkedIn
• Collateral – business cards, letterhead, simple brochure

Many of these are discussed in more detail in my blog. Not all have been addressed yet.

We didn’t do all of these at once. We started with writing tutorial articles for the local business magazines and for the “second tier” technical magazines. Both can get you published in 90 days or less. We also got active in our local professional organization.

Probably more important in the very beginning, however, was identifying a couple of potential clients, and then working with them. Our first two major clients were a test lab and a training company. We subcontracted to both of them for several years.

• For the test lab, we were like substitute teachers, filling in as needed. That meant we did a lot of second and third shift work, often called at the last minute.

• For the training company, we spent a lot of time on the road the first couple of years. Neither were full time. In our “spare time”, we actively pursued other clients.

So, as you can see, at first it was a lot of work. To be blunt, if your goal is more free time, starting a business may NOT be the way to go. In the early years, you’ll likely work much harder than you ever would with a full time job, and probably make less money.

In closing, I’m fond of analogies. Starting a business is a like the old pioneers who homesteaded on the prairie (as several of my great-grandparents did out in Nebraska.)

• First, you start out in a dirt (sod) house, made after you busted the sod yourself.
• Next, you plant a garden & orchard, but you scrape by until they start to produce.
• Soon after that, you build a barn for your cow and horse, and then work from sunup to sundown to feed and tend them.
• Finally, if you are lucky (no tornadoes, droughts, or other disasters), in several years you start to get ahead.

But even then, you don’t get rich. Such is the price of freedom to do your own thing. Would I do it again? Absolutely! But it was a LOT of work, with very little free time in the beginning.

Good luck in your pursuits,

Daryl

PS – It just occurred to me that my message might be a bit negative.

Yes, if you want to start a full time consulting practice, plan on a lot of work. On the other hand, if you are looking for a PART TIME practice, and don’t need to make a full time living, then consulting can be a very viable way to make more free time for yourself.

I’m kind of slipping into that mode myself, as I become “semi-retired.” The real goal, of course, is to free up time to do other stuff I want to do — such as this blog.

Daryl,

No worries. I’ve been emailing enough people to hear similarly toned opinions before.

I can currently live on a part-time income while spending the rest of my time on a product (i.e. front-loading my work time right now so that I’m not making decisions based on financial consequences later).

Best wishes to you too,

S

And good luck to all of you! Similar questions?  Drop me an email at daryl (at) jumptoconsulting (dot) com, and maybe you’ll appear here too.

© 2012 – 2013, https:. All rights reserved.

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 days and be in contact with so many industry leaders, influencers, and potential clients?

A trade show is a business opportunity, not a boondoggle. Corporate employees often see a trade shows as a company paid vacation. As a small business person, however, you simply can’t afford that. Rather than goof off, you need to WORK the trade show. Here are some recommendations:

1. Decide who you want to meet. Industry leaders often attend trade shows. So do influencers, like magazine editors. Want to write for a magazine?  A trade show is an excellent way to make the initial contact. Certainly more personal than a query letter. If you really want to meet someone, make a “date” for breakfast, lunch, or even just coffee.

2. Volunteer to participate. This is a good way to meet the “movers and shakers” in your community. Your help will be appreciated, and you will be remembered.  Just be careful not to bite off more than you can chew, particularly when starting out. As the old saying goes, do a little — do it well — you’ve done a lot.

3. Support the tutorials. If you present, make it a tutorial session rather than a formal paper.  Tutorials expose you to the “newbies” most in need of your services. While others are busy trying to impress their colleagues, you’ll be in front of  potential clients.

4. Visit the vendors. Ask about new products and services in your industry. Don’t spend all your time in technical sessions — you can read the papers later. Furthermore, vendors can be a great source of recommendations to potential clients. I always enjoy my time with vendors.

5. Attend the social events. Remember, “all work and not play…” Besides, this is a great chance to meet people on an informal basis. That includes hitting the bars. Even if you don’t drink, you’ll often find interesting discussions going on — particularly later in the evening. (Offer to buy a round and you will be most welcome to join in.)

6. Exchange business cards. Yes, I know they may see old fashioned in our electronic age, but trade shows are all about live personal contact. After the show, send an e-mail or note to those of interest to you. Invite them to join you on LinkedIn — add them to your data base. Don’t just throw the cards in a pile.

Remember, leads are the lifeblood of the consulting business. No, the world is NOT going to beat a path to your door — you need to light the way. Too many consulting businesses have crashed while waiting for business to walk through the door.

PS- Been a little lax here is going through my list of 20 lead generators. We’ll work on picking up the pace.  In the meantime, any topics you would like to see?

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

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 Arizona, no less. Bravo, I say!

The workshop was an extension of Laid Off Camp/Phoenix , a program staffed by volunteers intent on helping those who have recently lost their jobs. This special session focused not on getting another job, but on starting your OWN business. It was my privilege to discuss consulting as a small business possibility.

The group (attendees and speakers) ranged in age from the 20’s to 60’s. While I was probably oldest person in the room, my boomer colleagues were well represented. Unfortunately, the new boomer reality is often “Too old to hire — too young to retire.” 

Almost all of the speakers (like me) had been laid off at least once. In addition to offering “nuts and bolts” advice, we also shared our stories — the zigs and zags of starting and building our businesses. The talks were both practical and inspiring.

The session was kicked off by Arizona’s own Pam Slim (Escape From Cubicle Nation.) Her insights are priceless — over the years, she has helped hundreds launch/build successful small businesses of all types. I’ve sung her praises before, and gladly do so again.

The most inspiring talk of the day came from Randy Walters, the founder and owner of Pittsburgh Willy’s Gourmet Hotdogs. Laid off at 53 (boomers take note), Randy had an epiphany while watching a TV commercial. Rather than look for another job, he decided it was time to follow his dream — running a hot dog stand like his father had done in Pittsburgh in the 1930s.

So he plunged in and bought a hot dog cart — but then didn’t sell his first hot dog for six months. He described, with great humor, the Catch-22 bureaucracy along with the bad business advice he chose to ignore (gourmet hotdogs — never work — keep the menu simple–etc.) But Randy stuck with his dream, and five years later, he now has a full restaurant that is a “must visit” here in the Valley of the Sun.

Several people expressed interest in consulting. One was a former HR person, another was a retired teacher interested in tutoring, along with a fellow geek (engineer.) Of course, many of the speakers were consultants, and included a newly minted lawyer, a graphics artist, a former car salesman, a couple of web experts, and an accountant who also runs a women’s exercise studio. What an interesting bunch!

Here were some key points gleaned from the presentations. While several of us emphasized these, it was probably good to hear them repeated.

• Marketing is key — No, the world won’t beat a path to your door. You’ve got to light the way. Remember, without customers you don’t have a business.
• Follow your dream — Don’t compromise, and be true to yourself.  Don’t wake up at 60 wishing…
• Don’t give up — As Pittsburgh Willy said several times, if one way is blocked, just hunt for another way to get there.
• Don’t be afraid — Probably the most important. A little fear is perfectly normal, but don’t let it overwhelm you.  And don’t be afraid to ask for help.

So, if you are looking for a job, why not consider creating your own?  Many of us have already done so — consultants and others — and we’re having a ball.

P.S. – Best wishes to all who attended — yes, you CAN do it!  And while happy to share my perspective, I’m sure I gained more than I gave. Special thanks to organizer Susan Baier (www.audienceaudit.com), who does this as a labor of love.

Now, off to Pittsburgh Willy’s for a hot dog…

© 2012 – 2015, https:. All rights reserved.

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, big business, or foreigners (H1B visas) were to blame. Whoa!  What happened to being responsible for your own career?

So here was my response:

Lot’s of complaining here. Let me offer an alternate (more positive) view.

After being laid off twice early in my career, I decided to hang out my shingle as a consulting engineer. After 30+ years (25 in full time practice,) I can say it has been great. The technical work is interesting, the pay is better, and the respect is even better yet. Not only that, as you get older, the perception is that your experience is even more valuable — rather refreshing.

The down side is that you no longer have the “security” of a company behind you. But as most of us know, that is a myth anyway. In fact, with consulting it is quite the opposite — no one client can put me out of business.

But you DO need to hustle for the business, something that frightens many engineers. I just look at getting new business as another technical challenge. After all, we’re supposed to be problem solvers, right?

Frankly, I wish more engineers would adopt the mindset of working for themselves, rather than depending on the corporate bean counters for sustenance. If doctors, lawyers, and accountants can be in practice for themselves, why not engineers?

Food for thought. Finally, if you are considering this, get your PE license. You’ll need it to open some doors. Then start hustling — you might be pleasantly surprised with the results. I’ve certainly enjoyed my way of practicing engineering. Good luck!

The results? A bit disappointing. One troll did respond with a rather bizarre comment “… You escape for now. The giant vampire squid of capital is seeking the small leaks next…”  Huh?  Missed the point, or really bitter I guess.

But I shall remain positive. If you are reading this, you are presumably not willing to depend on  “the man” to give you a job.  Creating your own can be a satisfying alternative — consulting or otherwise. You have my encouragement…

P.S. Will do a talk on consulting at the Start Your Own Business Workshop this Saturday in Chandler AZ. The workshop is sponsored by LaidOffCamp, a great program for those who have lost their jobs.

Who knows — maybe we’ll even help launch some new consultants!

© 2012 – 2013, https:. All rights reserved.

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, lawyer, doctor, nurse, etc.) and are tired of being micro-managed (or mis-managed), consulting can be the way to go. You can gain some independence (the biggie for me), and you get to keep the profits you generate too.

You may not get filthy rich, but in the long run, you may do better that staying in the corporate world. Plus you may have a lot more fun. After 30+ years (25 years in full time practice), that is how it has worked for me. No regrets whatever for making my own JumpToConsulting. Well — maybe one — that I didn’t do it sooner!

The decision to go out on your own is not without risks. Ask your self, “What is the worst thing that could happen? ” Sure, you might have to grovel and go back to a “real” job. I did that when the first try at full-time consulting didn’t work. But like Bob Parsons of GoDaddy says in his Rule #4, “Well … if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you.”

The biggest hurdle for many is how to get started. Hopefully, my blog can help. But for more details, I’m planning a five part webinar series on consulting later this year. Topics will include:

• Introduction – An overview with four key questions.
• Marketing – Defining your niches and getting the leads.
• Sales – Collateral, contracts, and closing the deals.
• Financial & Legal – Fee setting, advisors, professional licenses, & more.
• Getting Started – Part time/full time, setting up your office, and commencing your marketing.

The series won’t be free (still gotta pay the JumpToConsulting project expenses), but the cost will be nominal, and the series will include group Q&A sessions to further enhance learning the “nuts and bolts” of consulting.

Watch my blog for more details on the upcoming webinars. Better yet — sign up for personal notifications (eNEWS…) or drop me an email (daryl at jumptoconsulting dot com) for more details on the webinars.

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

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 Obama had “tinkered with the health care system.” What a crock — I just wanted to reach out and slap some sense into him.

Time to grow up or shut up!

Just for the record, it took me two times to get the consulting business right, and four times to get the training part of the business right. And there have still been the occasional rocky times since then.

In 1987, on the first day in full time business (the second time around) for my consulting business, the stock market crashed. Scared of failing again? Yes, but this time we succeeded, and we now joke, “The first day in business was the worst day in business.”

Failures are merely learning experiences. Sure, they may hurt at the time, but if we let them, they almost always teach us something. Furthermore, I don’t trust anyone who “never failed.”  Either they are lying, or they are very good at placing the blame on others. (Had a boss like that once… one reason I went out on my own.)

Here is a quick story that has served me well over the years. It was my first engineering sales job, and my new boss sent me to a multi-week sales training class. One evening at a break, I asked an older (wiser) and very experienced salesman how he handled the inevitable setbacks and failures.

• He smiled, and said, “Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on.”  He went on, “If you never fail, you’ll never learn, and you’ll never make progress. By the way,” he added, “I’ve been at this for over twenty years, and I still fail to make the sale more often than not.” His advice alone was worth the price of the class.

So if you are serious about running your own show (consulting or otherwise), expect failures along the way. Try to manage the risk and minimize the damage, but know that you WILL have failures. And when you do, LEARN from them.

But don’t blame Obama, or anyone else! Finally, remember the immortal words of Harry Truman, “If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.” And I’d like to add, “If you can’t stand the failures, don’t start a business…”

P.S. Off to DesignCon 2012 in Santa Clara to present “Consulting for Geeks”. Watch my blog for follow-on webinars on consulting.

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

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 identifying them. He also advises that you “go find the help your organization needs to solve them.”

Thank you, Seth. That sounds like a solid endorsement for consultants.

Back to my old boss. It was almost thirty years ago, and I had been hired as a Field Sales Engineer. I’d only been there two weeks when told I needed to submit a monthly status report. The format was one page, with three problems and three successes.

Not sure what to do, I approached my boss. “What’s this all about?” I muttered. “I haven’t even been here a month. No successes to report. Furthermore, admitting problems at the last place I worked was like giving somebody a knife to stick in your back.”

• John smiled, and then said, “Let me share my business philosophy. Businesses have problems. We hire people to work on those problems. If you’re not working on solving those problems, then what are you doing here?”

I quickly replied, “John, I think I’m really going to like working here!” What a refreshing approach. Sure was an improvement over the last place.

• He went on, “The only way you’ll ever get into trouble with me is if you sit on a problem too long. If you need help, just ask. By the way, I hired you because I sensed you like to take the ball and run with it — please do so now.”

I worked for John several years, and enjoyed it immensely.

I’ve shared this story many times with clients in trouble. This can be particularly helpful when someone feels they are to blame. Problems in business? Don’t be upset or embarrassed – problems are perfectly normal.

My attitude — now that you’ve brought me in as your consultant, let’s work together to solve those problems. Like puzzles, the problems often turn out to be interesting, and a great chance for everyone to learn and grow.

Hope you enjoyed this bit of advice. So what problems are you working on?

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

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 my fellow geeks are seriously curious about consulting!

Here are some details:

• What – Consulting for Geeks – So You Want to Be a Consultant?
• When – Wednesday, February 1, 2012  – 1 – 1:45 PM
• Where – ChipHead Theater at the Santa Clara Convention Center

DesignCon 2012 is hosted by UBM (United Business Media) , a major technical publisher serving the engineering community.  Among others, they publish EDN Magazine, Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry (MDDI), Test and Measurement World, and EE Times. We’ve happily written for all four publications over the years.

One very rewarding publishing effort was the EDN Designer’s Guide to Electromagnetic Interference, first published in 1994 and updated in 2000. When this 100 page supplement (written entirely by us) went out to EDN’s 120,000+ readers, it immediately moved us from a local firm to one with national prominence. It was a LOT of work, but worth it. (And still timely – reprints are available on the EMIGURU web site.)

We also now have an on-line column at EE Times (Planet Analog.) This grew out of the EMIGURU site blog, and has been well received. This has also been good for visibility, and is a great way to share our technical insights and experience with our fellow engineers.

So, if you are in the Santa Clara area on February 1 and can make it to DesignCon 2012, please join me! Attendance is FREE – just sign up for the FREE Expo Pass at DesignCon2012.

If you can’t make the live session, watch my blog here or watch EE-Times for some future related on-line events.

P.S.  Been a bit sparse recently with the posts. Not to worry — there have been some interesting and exciting developments that have grabbed my time and attention. All good, by the way.  This is one of them.

© 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

As 2011 ends, it is time to look both back and ahead.

For the past few years, Chris Gullibeau has ended each year with an annual review on his popular blog, The Art of Non-Conformity. This year he challenged others to do the same.

What a great idea! So, challenge accepted.  Thanks to Chris!

Following Chris’s example, I’ll address both high-lights and low-lights for 2011, as well as a brief look forward to 2012. I’ve identified three categories to review:

• Jump-to-Consulting (www.jumptoconsulting.com)
• EMI-GURU, a.k.a. Kimmel Gerke Associates Ltd. (www.emiguru.com)
• Personal (www.linkedin.com/in/darylgerke)

But first, a little background…

The Jump-to-Consulting project began just over a year ago. The catalysts were questions by my older son, questions by other colleagues, and a fat file for a prospective book. With today’s economy, many people are considering options such as consulting.

I was also intrigued by blogging, and simply wanted to learn more about this Internet phenomena. What better way that to just start a blog. Incidentally, that was the same attitude that got me into consulting. Curiosity, and a desire to learn.

The EMI-GURU project began 30+ years ago, and led to full time consulting in 1987. It has been great fun, and quite successful. I’ve traveled the world, and made a lot of friends along the way.  It allowed me to practice my profession as an Electrical Engineer in a ways I didn’t even imagine as a student or young engineer.

EMI-GURU also provides the grist for Jump-to-Consulting. Much of what is discussed here is based EMI-GURU experiences. The stuff I talk about is not theory — rather, this is real world and is based on 30+ years in the consulting business.

HIGH-LIGHTS in 2011…

Jump-to-Consulting –  Initiated the blog, and published almost 50 posts. Presented So You Want to be a Consultant at a technical conference, the IEEE International EMC Symposium.  Provided start up advice to several new consultants on an informal basis. Not too bad for the first year of a “helping-hobby” project.

EMI-GURU – Finished remodeling the web site, including adding a blog. The blog was picked up as a monthly column for EE Times, an on-line publication for electrical engineers. So I guess I’m now a multi-blogger, although in two rather narrow niches.

Published a detailed article for In-Compliance magazine on Military EMC, along with newsletters for our clients (Kimmel Gerke Bullets, or the KGBs.)  Developed and conducted a webinar, along with several multi-day pubic and in-house training sessions. Also had some interesting design and troubleshooting consultations.

Personal – Stuck with the workout routine, making it to the gym about 80 times. This is the third year, and not being a jock, I’m proud to say I’m still at it. Feel a lot better, too.

LOW-LIGHTS in 2011…

Jump-to-Consulting – No progress on the book. Need to set aside specific time to “Git ‘er Done” as they say in my old home state of Nebraska. Not as many blog posts as hoped, but given the work load, have kept a fairly steady pace.

EMI-GURU – Class attendance at our public seminars a bit down. Training represents discretionary spending, so many companies are still holding back. Would more aggressive marketing help? Not sure — we’ve been pretty aggressive all along. The good news is that feedback on the classes continues to rate very high, which keeps us going.

Personal – Still haven’t lost much weight. Had hoped the regular workouts would help, but guess I simply need to focus more on the calories in.

LOOKING FORWARD to 2012…

Jump-to-Consulting – Invited to do a session in February on Consulting for Geeks at Design Con, a major engineering show in Santa Clara, CA. Curious to see where this might lead.  Got to get started on the book!

EMI-GURU –  Hope to ramp up attendance at the technical classes, an area I really enjoy. As an old codger, there is nothing like seeing a younger engineer (and even an old timer) suddenly “get it.” And it is very satisfying to hear later how our classes helped improved products and designs.

Personal – Spend more time with the grandchildren, along with reading, writing, and just “goofing off.” Social Security kicks in this year which will help with the cash flow, but I still plan to stay reasonably active with both Jump-to-Consulting and EMI-GURU.

Wishing you all the best in 2012! And thanks for reading my blog this past year.

© 2011 – 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

Here are four web sites that specialize in consulting which you may find useful. I’m sure there are more — please let me know if you have favorites to share.

–Summit Consulting Group – www.summitconsulting.com– Alan Weiss, Ph.D. – Focus on taking successful practices to the next level. Strong emphasis on management/business consulting. Dr. Weiss is the author of Million Dollar Consulting (see my review) plus over thirty other books on consulting issues.

This content rich web site includes a blog, free newsletters, forums, and much more. Wide range of products/services ranging from books to workshops/seminars and personal mentoring.

A product I’ve enjoyed this past year is the Friday Wrap, a weekly 15 minute audio program supplemented with a monthly video. I consider it a weekly tonic on the business of consulting.

–Rain Today – http://www.raintoday.com/ – Michael Schultz and John Doerr – Focus on sales/marketing of professional practices, both management and technical. Appear to be expanding their reach beyond consulting, as they recently added a sales/marketing program for business entrepeneurs. Schultz and Doerr are the authors of Rain Making Conversations (see my review).

Web site is membership based, with some free articles from a wide range of authors, but a lot more information for members. The latter include webinars, case studies, and more. They also offer a detailed class on selling professional services, plus research reports.

I belong to their membership site, plus attended the on-line sales class for consultants. Found it useful and got some new ideas. The class was an on-line version of their popular two day live class.

–Business Consulting Buzz – http://www.consulting-business.com/ – Michael and Sam Zipursky – Recently stumbled across this web site, although it has been around for several years. Focus on business/management consulting for both beginners and existing practitioners.

Products/services are primarily on-line, and includes an introductory course/workbook for a nominal price. I recently purchased their series of audio interviews of successful consultants and found them useful and interesting.

–Jumptoconsulting – https://www.jumptoconsulting.com – Yours Truly – Focus on starting a consulting practice, with an emphasis on “geeks and boomers”. As a consulting engineer and a baby-boomer, these are two demographic groups to which I belong.

About to complete my first year of this blog. No current products, but some plans are brewing. Stay tuned…

Took a break… If you have been following this blog, you noticed a lack of activity this past month. The schedule got busy between business commitments and a road trip, but the dust is finally starting to settle. Been busy writing, however — a technical blog, a magazine article, and soon another company newsletter. Still, hope to be able to dedicate more time here.

Thanks… Appreciate those who have contacted me regarding the JumpToConsulting project, and am glad to know you’re finding it useful. Please keep me posted on your progress, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.

If referrals are golden, then multiple referrals are platinum! As you become established, cultivating referrals should be a high priority.

Here is a personal example, just published in Million Dollar Referrals, the latest book by Alan Weiss. When asked for examples of “greatest referrals” earlier this year, I responded with the following story. It is an honor to be included in his new book (pp 126-127.)

My Greatest Referral…

While not the greatest financial referral, this was kind of fun. Not one, but multiple referrals, that had the client clamoring to do business with us. No need to sell this one — the client was so hot to buy he was sizzling.

First, some brief background information. We are electrical engineers who specialize in a very narrow niche, electromagnetic interference and compatibility (EMI/EMC). For the non-technical, we are the “ghost busters” of the electronics industry.

Our clients often call us when they are in pain. Something is broken, or they have failed a critical test that prevents shipping their product. Expensive either way, and they need help fast. But they do want to make sure whoever they call can solve the problem and not make it worse.

So a typical first step is to ask others for recommendations. This is exactly what our client, a young engineer recently out of school, decided to do. His boss told him to check around, so he first called a favorite college professor to ask if he knew anyone that could help. The first referral: “Call Kimmel Gerke Associates.“

Not knowing who we were, he decided to get a second opinion. He called another college professor who had just written an article on EMI/EMC. The second referral: “Call Kimmel Gerke Associates.”

The professor also mentioned a nearby EMI/EMC test laboratory. So he decided to call them too. The third referral: “Call Kimmel Gerke Associates.”

The next phone call was to us. He said, “Look, I’m a new engineer and I don’t know who you are. But every time I call someone, the tell me to call Kimmel Gerke Associates. Either you guys are good, or you have been paying everyone off. Either way, I need help!”

After a brief discussion, it was obvious we could help. So we set up a meeting, reviewed his design, made recommendations, and accompanied him to a test lab to validate the fixes. After the consultation, we knew that if anyone asked him for a referral, he would say: “Call Kimmel Gerke Associates!”

The multiple referrals were the result of what Alan Weiss calls marketing gravity. Thanks to our multiple marketing efforts, the first referral knew us from technical articles we had written. The second referral knew us from our professional society activities. And the third referral knew us from collaborating on several projects.

We’ve seen this happen a number of times. As engineers, we refer to this as an exponential multiplier. That is, if one referral doubles your chance of success, a second one quadruples it, and a third one drives it up by a factor of eight.  Call it gravity or call it exponential, multiple referrals really work!

Million Dollar Referrals, by Alan Weiss, PhD.  McGraw Hill, 2012.  ISBN 978-0-07-176927-3.  The latest in Dr. Weiss’s series of over 30 books on consulting.  Recommended reading for both new and established consultants.

© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.

Speaking can be a good lead generator, as long as you are in front of the right audience. The secret is to identify your ideal clients, so you don’t waste your time in front of the wrong groups. Focus on your target niches — specialty, geography, industry, and type of business (B2B, B2C, B2G)

Speaking (like writing articles) is something you can do prior to launching your consulting firm. If you speak about your existing specialty, it likely won’t be seen as a threat to your employer.  In fact, it may enhance your perceived value.

Keep the topics simple and tutorial. Like magazine articles, you are not trying to impress your peers — you are trying to show potential clients how you might help. Here are a couple of examples of focused yet practical topics – both professional and business:

• Professional -An accountant talking about estate planning

• Business – A marketer talking about LinkedIn for lead generation

OK, you’ve convinced me. Where can I speak?

• Professional groups – Local society chapters are always looking for speakers, and are a good place to start. Symposiums are also good, but focus on the “tutorial tracks.” Leave the advance topics to the academics.

• Business groups – For business topics, local organizations like the LIONS, Rotary, and Chamber of Commerce are also hungry for speakers.  Once again, focus on helping those who might actually need and buy your services.

Your talks (professional or business) must be informative and entertaining. Make your talks interesting. Whatever you do, don’t make them salesy.  A good test is to ask yourself, “Even if we never do business, has the talk been helpful?”

If you are really good and enjoy this, it might even lead professional speaking. Many leading consultants make thousands of dollars a year as speakers, doing keynote addresses, etc. Don’t expect to achieve that overnight – you need to earn your stripes. But even if you never make it to the paid speaker ranks, the business you bring in can make it worthwhile.

What to talk about?  Something of interest to both you and your audience.

• Keep it basic. Think tutorial — you’re not doing a college lecture.

• Keep it short. 20 -30 minutes for a lunch meeting.  30 minutes to an hour for a professional meeting. If an hour, make sure there is some technical meat in it.

• Keep it simple. Three things to…  Top five problems…  Four ways to approach… New regulatory impact of …  How to avoid… Understanding the mysteries of …

• Recycle. Did you write a  magazine article or publish a paper? Turn it into a talk. Add some overheads and you are good to go.  Don’t overdo it, though — we all know about “Death by Powerpoint.”

Your first talk.. Here are some last minute thoughts..

• Practice, don’t wing it. Have a friend (or better yet, a group of friends) critique it. Time it to make sure it doesn’t run too long. Then practice it again until you feel confident.

• Going live. If you are like most of us, there may still be butterflies.  Perfectly normal, don’t worry about it. In fact, I get worried if there are not butterflies — that is when thing usually turn sour.

• Prepare an introduction for your host. Type it out, but keep it brief. No life history. Should be deliverable in about 30 seconds.

Unsure of your skills? Try Toastmasters. Although not a Toastmaster alum myself, several colleagues have praised the organization. I developed my “platform skills” through in-house presentations and teaching technical classes. We’ll talk about the latter in a future post.  Like sports, the more you practice, the better you get.

My own experience. Although I’ve now done hundreds of talks (and taught over 200 technical  classes), I did not start out as a natural speaker. In fact, I took a speech class in college and absolutely hated it!

Later, I discovered that  when I was interested in a topic, I could easily talk about it.  It wasn’t a speech — rather, it was a conversation with a friend or group of friends. The goal was not to impress, but rather to convey information. It does get easier with time — I promise.

A favorite talk was for the Society of Women Engineers many years ago as a sales engineer.  As the only man in the room, it was an eerie feeling to say the least.  Remember, engineering is still a male dominated profession.  (But I am delighted to see that is finally changing a bit..)

So, I began my talk with “I’ve been trying to figure out why I feel so different here. Then it dawned on me — I’m the only person in the room with no hair… “ They roared. A little self deprecating humor can go a long way. For several years, I would run into attendees at that meeting. One even became a client after I launched the consulting practice.

In closing — speaking can be a very effective way to and generate leads and business, and can  generate new friends as well. Both have happened to me.

Comments or questions?

© 2011 – 2019, https:. All rights reserved.

As part of a special session at a recent engineering symposium, I gave a half hour talk titled “So You Want to be a Consultant? — Four Key Questions.”

Being the last speaker in the last session on the last day, I did not expect much of a turnout. Apparently the symposium organizers felt the same way. Would anybody really be interested in this non-technical topic?

What a surprise when almost 60 people turned out to hear four of us share our experiences and advice!  We were expecting perhaps a dozen.  Many other symposium attendees said they wish they could have been there. Personal discussions revealed that a lot of engineers are concerned about their futures. A sign of the times, no doubt.

Two of us were old timers, and three were newer to the consulting field. One of the newcomers was a recent retiree, and the other was an engineer laid off in mid-career. All have successfully made their own JumpToConsulting. And none plan to go back…

The general session was not recorded and is not available to the public. However, since I own the IP on my presentation, I’ll make it available  in a webinar format if there is enough interest.

Although originally targeted at engineers, the content should be of general interest to anyone considering consulting — either part time or full time.

Interested?  Please reply here, or contact me by email.

© 2011 – 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

As the Boy Scouts say… be prepared! Because Dave was prepared, he was able to make a rewarding career change to consulting after unexpectedly losing his job.

Dave’s experience was a actually a catalyst for Kimmel Gerke Associates. I knew Dave casually, and my business partner was pretty good friends with him.  It was the mid-1970s, and we all worked together at the same defense contractor.

Dave loses his job…

Due to a business downturn, a significant number of engineers were laid off — an occupational hazard of the defense business. Dave was a very competent engineer, but as he was just winding down on a project, management considered him “expendable.”

Job hunting was tough, as other defense contractors were downsizing as well. But several years earlier, Dave had obtained his PE (Professional Engineer) license. While this credential often means little in the defense industry, it is very important for engineers working for consulting firms. It is a bit like having a CPA license in an accounting firm.

Dave quickly lands a new job…

On a lark, Dave called up one of the largest engineering consulting firms in town to inquire about jobs.

• The FIRST QUESTION was, “Do you have a PE license?”
• With a YES answer, the SECOND QUESTION was, “What is your background?”
• When he answered electronics, he was immediately invited in for an interview.

You see, most of their electrical engineers specialized in power, not electronics. A PE with electronics experience was rare. He had exactly what they needed to work on electronics systems in buildings — security, fire alarms, HVAC (heating/ventilation/air conditioning), etc.  Furthermore, as a PE, he could legally sign/seal the engineering drawings, and also supervise the work.

Prior preparation paid off…

Thus Dave began his new career. He called my partner and told him to “Go get your PE  — you’ll never know when you will need it!” Soon after, we were both enrolled in a class on the PE license. Not long after becoming licensed, we started our own part time consulting practice – later to become full time.

Today’s Lesson… Get credentials and licenses BEFORE you need them!

© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.

In 1996, I mentioned to a client that I was toying with a move to Arizona.

He commented, “My Dad always wanted to do that. Every year he and Mom would go to Arizona, and look for just the right place to eventually retire.”

Excited, I asked, “Wow!  Did he finally do it?”

My client sadly replied, “No, he died before he got the chance.”

With that “encouragement,” I decided to make my move a few months later!

© 2011 – 2019, https:. All rights reserved.

Like it or not, age often matters in marketing a consulting practice. Age also matters in customer perceptions, as evidenced by the following examples.

Real Life Story # 1 – Floyd, a fellow engineer, was going to law school at night.  At the time, he was in his mid 40s, and I was in my late 20s. As he approached his graduation, I asked if he planned to hang out his lawyer’s shingle. His reply surprised me, but also set me thinking about my future.

“No,” he replied, “not unless I have to. I really enjoy what I do here, but law school is my insurance policy.”  I should add that Floyd had been in a car accident many years earlier that had left him partially paralyzed.

“Look at me,”  he said. “I’m over 40 and a cripple.  Who would hire me if I lost my job?”  I started to mumble an apology, but he continued. “No, don’t be embarrassed by your question — it was a good one. But even if I had no handicap, finding another engineering job would still be a problem because of my age.”

He then added, “The irony is that, as an older attorney, age is an asset, not the liability it can be in corporate world. Everyone will just assume I have many years of experience. Like fine wine, my value will increase — not decrease — with age.”

Wow! That set me thinking about my life after 40. Within two years, I hung out my shingle as a part time consultant.

Real Life Story # 2 – A dozen years later, now a full-time consultant over 40 myself, I was called in to help a small company with a serious design problem.  I was also now completely bald and starting to show some gray in the beard.  Oh, the ravages of time…

After solving the problem, I was wrapping things up with the equally bald VP of Engineering.  He thanked me, and then added with a twinkle in his eye, “You don’t know how happy I was to see a bald guy walking in here.  I knew I needed some old rooster that had been around the barn a few times… ”

That’s when I realized Floyd was right — as a consultant, age can be your friend!

Real Life Story #3 – For those of you who are younger, you may want to consider this approach. A consulting colleague has sported old fashioned  “mutton chop” sideburns from a young age.  As he explained, when he started out he looked even younger than he was, and it was hindering his ability to be taken seriously.

Incidentally, it worked (although like many of us, he no longer needs to add years…)

The bottom line — while age should not matter, perception does.  And in the mind of the customer, that perception is their reality.

PS – Don’t miss the “Special Welcome for Geezers”

© 2011 – 2012, https:. All rights reserved.

For this month,  I’ve selected What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles.

Updated almost every year since it was first written in 1970, this is often recognized as the Bible of job hunting. The analogy is certainly appropriate, as the author is an ordained Episcopalian priest.

The catalyst for writing the book was his own job loss in the 1960s. Rev. Bolles soon landed on his feet with another job, which included counseling campus ministers looking for jobs. To facilitate those efforts, he did some research and wrote a guide he initially distributed free of charge. But the guide caught on, and to date, the book has sold over 10 million copies!

Although focused on finding a new job, the book also addresses changing your career. The book contains a number of exercises that should be useful to anyone considering the JumpToConsulting. Things like where would you like to live, what would you really like to do, etc.

He even includes a chapter on starting your own business.  No fluff, either, just lots of “nuts and bolts” advice.  All delivered in a manner you might expect from a caring pastor.

In 1978, he wrote a companion book,  The Three Boxes of Life and How to Get Out of Them: An Introduction to Life-Work Planning. Since then he has added another dozen or so to his arsenal.

Rev. Bolles also has a web site, and he periodically offers a five day workshop at his home in the San Francisco Bay area. At 82 years young, he is still going strong.

Although I’ve not met Rev. Bolles, I am an avid and grateful fan. His book certainly came in handy when I lost my job in 1982, and later when I finally got serious about making my own JumpToConsulting.

What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles – Ten Speed Press, 2011
ISBN 158008267X
www.jobhuntersbible.com

Update: It is with regret I report that Rev. Bolles passed away in 2017 at 90.  But his legacy lives on… 

© 2011 – 2020, https:. All rights reserved.

When I left my last corporate job at Intel (the day the market crashed in 1987), I stopped by the division General Manager’s office to say goodbye.  The GM, known as “Rocky”,  was a good guy with a sometimes wicked sense of humor. We chatted a bit, and he wished me well in the new consulting venture.

As I headed out the door,  though, Rocky threw in a barb.  “Quitter”, he muttered.  Without thinking, I spun around and quickly replied, “I’m not a quitter — I’m a starter…”

As I recall, he smiled, and said “Good answer.”

So how about you?  Are you a quitter, or a starter?  The reason I started this blog was to help those who wanted to start consulting … not necessarily those who just wanted to quit something else.

Please make sure you are considering consulting – or any other business venture –  for the right reasons.

© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.

Will writing a book help your consulting practice?

In my experience, yes! But it is a lot of work, and not something I recommend to those just starting out. Unless you have materials already (such as class notes or a bunch of research), better to start small and consider a full blown book when better established.

Still, there is no doubt that a published book is a huge marketing asset. Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting (plus 31 other books ) calls a book the gold standard for credibility. I agree. When our first book hit the streets almost 20 years ago, we immediately went from a local consulting firm to one with nationwide recognition.

Before beginning a book, you need to decide if you seeking profit or seeking visibility.  Unless you are a NY Times Best Seller, you will unlikely achieve both. Ask any author — most books never make enough money themselves to justify the time and effort. The real payoff for consultants is in the additional business.

Three ways to publish: Prior to the Internet, virtually all books were printed and sold through bookstores or catalogues. Although you might be the author, you still needed a publisher to print and distribute your work. Today, of course, that has all changed.  Here are three popular avenues:

• Print – Commercially published –  Generally confers the most status (with a recognized publisher) with the least direct profit. It also likely involves the most work (rewrites, proofing, indexing, etc.) with the longest time to market. Since this is the most complex, you may want to engage a literary agent. Ask existing authors for recommendations.

• If you can pull this off, it can vault you to the top. Although usually a poor strategy when starting out, it often makes sense after a few years in business. On the other hand, an engineering colleague wrote a comprehensive technical book while employed. When he retired, this quickly launched his successful consulting practice and his book is still his main marketing vehicle.

• Print – Self Published – Provides medium to low status but more direct profit. Still a lot of work with a medium time to market. A word of caution — beware of the “vanity publishers” that prey on hopeful authors. For self published books, you don’t need a literary agent, but proofreaders and other support may be helpful.

• If you are already well known, this may be a good approach. Thanks to “print on demand” and Amazon, you can even handle your own production and distribution. I know a successful business consultant who uses this approach. He sells his book on his web site, and also on Amazon. He prints them as he needs them, usually a dozen or so at a time.

• E-Book – Self Published – Provides the lowest status but potentially the most direct profit. It has the lowest status (anybody can do this — no vetting by a recognized publisher) but can provide the fastest time to market.

• This is a good approach when just starting out. An added advantage is that E-books are not expected to be as comprehensive as a printed book. As such, you can turn out an E-book pretty fast. Many bloggers supplement their content with a series of E-books. Most are pretty basic, but sell well at low cost and high profit.

Sources of materials: So you’ve decided to write a book. Where do you get the materials? With a 200 page book, you may be looking at upwards of 100,000 words, but even a shorter E-book could be 20,000+ words. Recycle! If you are considering a book, you have probably written other materials that can be reused.

Using existing materials makes a lot of sense. Just be sure they are your materials and you are free to use them. Whatever you do, don’t plagiarize! Here are several sources:

• Articles and white papers — These can be excellent book resources. You’ll probably need to expand certain areas, and you’ll need to tie everything together in an organized manner. We used this approach in a specialized book for the medical design community, based on an earlier series of magazine articles.

• One caveat. In order to repurpose magazine articles, you’ll need to either obtain a copyright release, or retain the subsequent publication rights in the first place. With white papers, that is not an issue since you are the original publisher, unless you have assigned the copyright.

• Blogs and newsletters – These are also excellent resources for a book. Since blog posts and newsletter articles are generally shorter than magazine articles or white papers, they may require additional work to incorporate into a book.

• On the other hand, even leading authors today often publish collections of their blog postings. Just organize them into sections, and add an introduction. Once again, if you own the copyright, you are free to repurpose your materials. Many readers appreciate having these collections all in one place.

• Class materials – If you have taught a class on a subject, you already have notes (and most of the words in your head.) You also have the benefit of past questions, so you know your reader’s likely concerns.

• You could even record a class, and have your lectures transcribed. You would still need to polish things, but much of the original work would already be done.

Personal experience –  My business partner and I currently have three books under our belts. One was commercially published, one was first published as a magazine supplement, and one was a series of columns turned into a book.  Both self published books were later turned into an E-books. People were asking for digital copies, so why not?

Our books were based on class notes, magazine articles, our newsletter, and a column for a specialty newsletter. The self-published books are for sale on our web site, while the commercial book is available from a publisher specializing in technical books.

All three books have been very helpful in establishing both our credibility and visibility. They didn’t happen overnight, so don’t feel you need to do everything at once.

Publishing books is more a marathon than a sprint — stay with it for the long haul. Comments or Questions?

© 2011 – 2016, https:. All rights reserved.

Learned this lesson the hard way, at a cost of several thousand dollars. You’re getting it here for free.

This story goes back to 1981 and my early days as a part-time consultant. IBM had just introduced the PC. Our major client, a vocational school, asked for an evening class that focused on how to use PCs in small business.

Their original request was for a multi-week series, but realizing how valuable time is to a small business, my business partner and I suggested a single four hour evening session instead. They agreed.

So, off we went. We developed the class, and the school advertised it in their next bulletin. We knew we had a winner when over 80 people showed up for the first class. We repeated it several times, got good reviews, and the attendance continued to be strong.

Recognizing an opportunity and with the school’s permission, we decided to expand the class to a full day and offer it ourselves. This meant placing expensive newspaper ads (no Internet in those days) and renting a hotel meeting room.

Figuring the class was a certain success, we plunked down several thousand dollars and went for the gold. We didn’t bother with a pre-registration, but opted for walk-ins. After all, “Build it, and they will come, right?”

But when the big day arrived, only three people showed up — and they were all from the same small company!

Well, the show must go on. There we were with three students, a room that could seat 40, and plenty of (expensive) refreshments. Over lunch we explained we didn’t know what had happened. After all, the previous sessions had been so successful.

“What did we do wrong?“, we asked. One of them replied, “Nothing. The class is good, but we are here only because we missed the FREE class last week.”

“FREE!!! What free class?” we responded. Well, it turns out that a new computer store had just opened, and to bring in business, they decided to offer a FREE seminar. Now how do you compete with FREE?

So that was the end of that adventure. It also quickly killed the classes at the school. But as we were licking our wounds, I ranted, “We are engineers. Never again will I go into a business where some kid from a computer store can eat my lunch. I now fully understand barriers to entry!”

Not long after that, we decided to focus our efforts on Electromagnetic Interference, an area in which we both had extensive experience. It usually takes a degree in Electrical Engineering plus several years of direct  experience to become proficient. Furthermore, most engineers would rather not deal with these problems in the first place — another good reason to pursue this niche.  Thirty years later, those barriers are still there.

What are YOUR barriers to entry?

© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.