Here is an answer posted to the question “Any Regrets About Retiring Sooner?” at a private financial forum to which I belong. I thought the question applicable here regarding making a JumpToConsulting. When my business partner was dying from cancer, I asked him if he had any regrets about our business. He replied with an ironic […]
Never judge a book by its cover, right? And never judge this consultant by what he is wearing – particularly on the weekend… The more I thought about the following personal story, the more humorous it was to me. I hope you enjoy it too. In my last post, I mentioned my wife breaking her […]
During our most recent FREE Monthly Teleconference, questions were raised about insurance. This led to an interesting discussion I thought best to share here. But first, let me share some personal opinions on insurance. These are based primarily on an insurance class I took as an undergraduate engineering student. Although not a technical class, looking […]
With tax time* upon us, I thought it might be helpful to share my thoughts on financial advisors (aka consultants.) I am all in favor of paying for sound financial advice from professionals. Although semi-retired (and financially independent) I follow several financial and retirement blogs. They often provide confirmation of the my financial/retirement philosophies, along with […]
Here is a reply to a post by Cubert at Abandoned Cubicle regarding layoffs… which somehow seems appropriate for Labor Day… Best damn thing that happened to me – twice. The first time got me thinking about starting my own business — the second time (a dozen years are) cinched it. Thirty+ years of running my […]
Here is a link to a recent consulting fee study from Consulting Success. Over 33,000 consultants were polled, including Yours Truly. Not sure how many responses, but with that size database the results are statistically significant. Here are some a key findings: 44% of the consultants with less than 4 years experience earn over six […]
Making mistakes are part of starting and growing any business (including consulting firms.) In fact, if you’re not making some mistakes, you’re probably not trying hard enough — nor are you learning. Here are five mistakes I’ve made: (1) Not sticking to the knitting – Back in the late 1990s, we got caught up in the […]
Time for a mini-rant… While walking the dog (Sami the Shih Tzu) a few nights ago, I was struck with an epiphany of sorts. It involved a neighbor and his vehicles. Parked in his driveway were a new Cadillac Escalade and a new Audi, along with a pretty nice Harley motorcycle. Nothing wrong with that, except he […]
Here is a link to a recent fee study by Consulting Success. While this blog focuses on general business consulting, technical consultants should find this of use as well. FYI, typical fees at Kimmel Gerke Associates were project based. Typical projects were in the $5,000 – $20,000 range and up. Typical annual compensations exceeded our […]
As a consultant, you’re offering your expertise as a more efficient way to do things. Follow your own advice, and hire the expertise you need. Years ago a new consultant (and fellow engineer) was grousing about how much trouble he was having with a fax program on his computer. My response was “Why spend time on […]
Time for a financial rant – based on a recent news article. One of the first things to do upon making your JumpToConsulting is to set up a retirement account. Trust me — years later you will be glad you did. I am! According to a recent on-line article by CNBC, about half of US […]
Sooner or later you will be asked to cut your fees. The reason may be legitimate (budget constraints) or your client may just be testing you (particularly if you are new.) Either way, do NOT cut your fees. Rather, cut the scope… If the budget is truly limited, this may salvage the project and allow […]
Just finished gathering my annual tax information, so taxes are on my mind. It gets shipped out tomorrow to my accountant, who (as a consultant) will do the financial magic. Years ago my accountant advised me to keep good records and to keep them clean. One never knows when one might be audited. Sometimes it […]
It depends… If your clients come to your office, it probably makes sense… If you go to your clients, it probably just wastes money. In the first case, a public office adds a level of professionalism, and keeps you out of trouble with home owners associations or zoning boards. But don’t get carried away – […]
How much IS enough? The question still haunts me… Here are three stories. All three affected my thinking. Perhaps they will affect yours. Story 1… The question of enough was posed by a fellow consultant several years ago. His wife had just been diagnosed with cancer, and we were talking after a professional society meeting. […]
Here is a reply I left recently at my favorite financial blog, Mr. Money Mustache. Pete, a fellow engineer, spent the last several years challenging and cajoling people to become financially independent. He “retired” at age 30, and now does what he wants with no financial worries. Lives a nice lifestyle in nice digs, too. […]
Here is a reply to a post by Michael Zipursky over at Consulting Success, where Michael discusses the pros and cons (mostly cons) of accepting equity or shares as payment for services. Either way, both Michael and I do NOT recommend this. I completely agree! Never took stock, nor did I ever agree to work […]
Here is my reply to a post at Consulting Success regarding fees. Good info on this site — but with an emphasis on business/management consulting rather than on technical consulting. As consulting engineers, we’ve used “project fees” for years. When quoting, we provide a budget and a general estimate for time. We use an internal […]
Do you treat all clients the same? That question was posed recently on Succeed, a small business forum on LinkedIn. Always ready to share my opinions, here is the answer I posted there. Like so many have said already, we strive to treat all our clients with respect. But in reality, some clients are better […]
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 […]
