I'd like to set myself up as a consultant but (besides a bit of imposter syndrome) have no idea how to start.
My field - climate change education, sustainability for schools. Would any consultants out there be able to give me some advice on starting out or be happy to be an informal mentor? Thanks
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- Hi PaulaIt’s worth thinking about the toolkit or approach you’ll take as a consultant and how it’s productised.How do you identify challenges?What’s your approach to solving the challenges?How do you implant the learnings and get the business to take them forward and become self sustaining?There are lots of consultants - the trick is not to look at how you become the best but how you leverage your uniqueness to be the most differentiated.Then, focus on your clients, who they are and how you’d reach them.Finally, charging. The ideal position is to charge based on the value you’ll create (a la the example below about Henry Ford). There’s a great book called ‘Value Based Fees’ by Weiss that is definitely worth reading.And go for it. Unleash your knowledge and wisdom.Stay Boom!
- Have a breakdown — that’s to say dismantle the problem and map out how short-term goals can lead towards the long-term goal.Professional mentors exist, but mentoring works best when pro bono.Consultants command sizeable fees for solving sizeable problems.When Henry Ford had a mechanical issue at his automotive factory he brought in Charles Steinmetz.Steinmetz was a superstar engineer.He studied the faulty generator and indicated the location of the problem with a chalk mark.He invoiced $10,000.Ford wanted to know what he was paying for.Making the chalk mark $1Knowing where to make the mark $9,999Maybe a local organisation could be your next Ford plant?
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