1. Introduction
What makes a good IT consultant?
Advantages and disadvantages
What are your earning and lifestyle goals?
Factors that make people go freelance
Getting experience prior to becoming an IT contractor
2. Who hires IT consultants?
- home
- SMEs
- corporations
What services do they need?
- Build and repair, trouble shoot, viruses
- networking
- programming
- web design
- systems analysis
- IT training
- selling products (and product or software markups)
- selling software
Clients - Local vs. distance
Clients – their attitudes and culture. The decision
making process. Getting to Yes.
3. How to set up an IT contracting business
How to set up a business, the forms of business (sole trader,
partnership, limited company), IR35
Your home office; communications, phone, answerphone
4. How much to charge
What others charge, working out your income needs
5. Managing Money
How to manage the money, keeping the books, tax, staying
out of trouble, getting paid, chasing money
6. Legal issues
Contracts, letters. What kind of contract. Retainers.
Managing risk - liability
Change management.
7. How to find clients, and market your services
Business Cards, Resume, PR, advertising (Google, local press,
postcards, mail drops, blog, writing local articles, writing
online articles), networking, word of mouth, online marketplaces,
getting references)
8. The initial meeting
Understanding a client’s needs. Improving your sales
skills. Selling a service, selling intangibles. Using NLP.
How to project your personality. How to win clients over.
9. The process
Doing an audit.
Writing a proposal, setting a budget, planning a project,
Status reporting, scheduling work.
Intellectual property
10. Managing your business
Customer Relationship Management: managing expectations,
communicating well, assessing client satisfaction through
informal feedback or questionnaire. Developing a lifelong
relationship. Nurturing client relationships. Your quality
of life vs income.
Improving your competence: continuing professional development.
Keeping the work coming in. Balancing conflicting client's
needs.
Making decisions about the length of your working life.
When and how will you retire? How many days' holidays per
year? Managing your holidays. Who will cover? Getting a pension.
11. Growing the business, the advanced IT consultant
Outsourcing work, co-op working, hiring employees.
Moving to higher level work.
How to increase your income
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