As promised in a recent post, here is Marty Zwilling’s “success story.” His story should be of special interest to boomers, as he started his consultancy after he retired – the first time. Geeks too – he was part of the team behind the IBM PC. Marty specializes in helping new entrepreneurs get started. Thus, […]
Had coffee today with Marty Zwilling, of StartupProfessionals.com. It was a great time meeting with a fellow “boomer-geek-blogger-entrepreneur” from Arizona. As the name suggests, Marty specializes in helping new entrepreneurs get started. This includes advice on business plans, funding, angel investors, patents, incorporations, and more. He also writes a daily blog, and has written two […]
Here is a recent comment I left at the Art of Non-Conformity, a favorite blog by Chris Gullibeau – author, entrepreneur, and world traveler (he visited EVERY country in the world by age 35.) If you haven’t discovered him, now is a good time to do so! The topic was The Virtue of Insecurity, where […]
And also for America, as comedian Craig Ferguson says… thanks to the DEFEAT of Arizona’s anti-gay legislation known as SB1062. While I normally avoid political controversy here, couldn’t pass on this one. Besides, there are several good consulting lessons to be shared. First, a little background. SB1062 was ostensibly meant to protect religious freedom by […]
When troubleshooting, common sense and experience go a long way. Here is a story of my great-uncle, a country doctor in Nebraska. I often think of him when trying to diagnose and fix a client problem. This story appeared in my first book, written twenty years ago. While it was aimed at my engineering colleagues, […]
At LinkedIn (Succeed), Dave Wacker posed this question: Any thoughts on starting a small consulting company? Here is my reply: Hi Dave, Started my consulting engineering firm 30+ years ago. Part time for nine years, then went full time in 1987 – the day the market crashed. (The first day in business was the worst […]
So asked the Dean of Engineering to a bunch of freshman engineering students almost fifty years ago. The class was Intro to Engineering, an overview of what we were getting ourselves into. When he asked the question, most of the hands in the room went up. “Well”, he replied, “if you REALLY want go get […]
Still time for New Year’s Resolutions. In case your resolutions include consulting, here are 10 reasons NOT to go there. Not being negative – just being honest. 1. You dislike risk – Starting any business involves risk. To be blunt, some people simply do not like risk. Nothing wrong with that, but if risk makes […]
Down 40 pounds in six months! This post was sparked by comments on my weight loss last year, as reported in the 2013 Year End Review. Specifically, how did you do it, and what got you off the dime in the first place? So I thought this post might be a good way to kick […]
Q. What happens when you stop marketing? A. Nothing… happens… –Advice from an old marketer many years ago. © 2014, https:. All rights reserved.
Time for a short New Year’s rant… Hate your job? Life passing you by? Frustrated, and just want to escape? But no thoughts or plans on what to do next? Waste of energy! Better to have an idea or two in mind. Something to move TO, not FROM. Rather than wallow in misery, time to […]
Here is some boomer humor that arrived recently via an E-mail. A C-130 was lumbering along when a cocky F-16 flashed by. The jet jockey decided to show off. The fighter jock told the C-130 pilot, “Watch this!’ and promptly went into a barrel roll followed by a steep climb. He then finished with a […]
This recently arrived in my mail box, and I wanted to share it. It certainly made my day! This is from Catherine at ViewThatData.com, who I featured a few months back in an earlier post. Sounds like she is making great progress towards her goals of both occupational independence and financial independence. Hi Daryl, I hope this finds […]
Three rifle volleys, followed by the mournful sound of Taps. The folded flag was presented to his widow, and then it was all over. He was laid to rest among his comrades at Fort Snelling, right next to the Minneapolis St. Paul airport. That seems appropriate for this old B-24 crew member from World War […]
Here is a reply I posted over at RainToday.com on an article by Michael W. McLaughlin titled “Should You Really Take On That Client?” In my 30+ years as a consulting engineer, I’ve had to “fire” a couple of clients. Like you, I apply the “life is too short” rule to put up with deadbeats […]
This question was posted recently on LinkedIn. Can’t help myself … I just had to jump in… marketing a consulting practice is a favorite topic! I am a CPA who would like to would like to own my own CPA firm, but clients have been hard to come by. Any ideas on a proven marketing […]
Here is an interesting comment recently posted on LinkedIn that I thought might be of interest: Do You Own a Business or Do You Own a Job? This question was posed to me not long ago. I have often considered whether “I owned a Business or it Owned ME!” But when I was asked the […]
Thinking about consulting, but not ready to go full time? Then consider consulting as a side hustle. You will learn a lot, and it will be much easier if/when you make your full-time JumpToConsulting. First heard this phrase back in 2010 from fellow Arizona blogger Pam Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation. I’ve sung her […]
Or, one reason I finally became an independent consultant… I chuckle to myself every time I’m reminded of this story. Recently posted this as a reply at Perry Marshall’s blog. Incidentally, Perry is another engineer who broke the corporate bonds and went on to found a very successful Internet marketing business. Thought I was in […]
In my last post, I discussed how consulting eventually led me to Financial Independence. The primary focus was prior to making my JumpToConsulting. In this post, I’ll elaborate on things done at and after my break for freedom. First, I put away a startup stash. This is key, as there is nothing worse than having […]
