How to Start a Consulting Business on a limited Budget.

How to start a Consulting Business? (For theGuy/Gal Next Door)

By: Justus Bey

What makes my advice different?

There are many places you can go to find out how to start a consulting Business. I will explain how to start a consulting business with the smallest amount of capital possible. Honestly, when I started my business twelve years ago,I gave up buying my lunch for two weeks to get incorporated. I thought I needed to be incorporated to get started. That was wrong.

I will provide you advise that I have tested out in the real consulting world. I do not know everything, but I have learned a few things along the way that I am sure will help you in your new adventure. Welcome to the world of the Technocrat.

I am going to show you how I started my business. I am also going to show you the mistakes I made along the way. Then I will show you what I have learned so that you can avoid making the same mistake.

Before you go any further, I suggest you answer the three following questions:

• 1.    How will you build your business?

• 2.    What do you need to get started?

• 3.    What can you do that other people will pay you to do?

Below you will find two definitions that will be important to understanding my writing.

Consultant – Someone who helps a business do something that they cannot accomplish with their current staff. They are suppose to be experts in their fields, but not every consultant meets that requirement.  Good Consultants are always learning to improve their skills. The more experience a consultant brings to the situation the more useful they will be.

Technocrat (my personal definition) – A consultant who specializes in technology. Not only do they have a wide range of technical skills, but they also have highly developed people skills. They know that the customer is right even if the customer is obviously wrong. They always give their best effort and then some more for their clients. They put the client first since it is not only about the money.

What do you need to get started?
1.    Check to see if you are required to have any government approval to provide your service in your area. You might need a basic business license or something more.  Your local government will be able to let you know.

2.    You must have a service to provide. My service is technology, but my niche is solving technical problems using plain English for non-technical clients. If you are unsure, then take some time to make a list of things that you can do that you can offer as a legal for pay service.

3.    I cannot emphasize enough to setup some type of Business entity. Please consult with a lawyer or an account for a complete explanation. I have also listed some online references you should Google or search on Wikipedia

• Sole Proprietorship

• Limited Liability Company

• Corporation (C or S)

Writer’s Bio: This article was written by Mr.Justus Bey who is a 12 year Technology Consultant
For any question or comments you may follow Mr.Bey at the following Social Networking sites.

Twitter: Techangel_bey or search Justus Bey on Facebook.

Social Media is WHAT?

Image by DBarefoot via Flickr

Posted by: Larry Lewis

Day after day people attempt to define what Social Media is and how to use it. And if you are someone who is new to blogging and multiple Social Media platforms this can be especially confusing. But I think fellow Texan and Internet Marketer got it right as he breaks down the essence of Social Media

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3 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WEB-MARKETING 2.0

3 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF WEB-MARKETING 2.0

By: Larry Lewis

The Internet is full of people who think that they can just market any product or service and voila, they will become wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. But such is not the case. In most instances, marketing on the internet require hard work and persistence beyond what most are willing to commit.

There are 3 things that you must do to ensure that you are going to be successful in your webdevours.

1) Commit to a plan/goal.

• Whether you are selling a product, service or marketing your blog you must develop a coherent plan that will attract visitor and keep them interested in your material. Stay on the cutting edge and become an expert at what you do.

2) Study and research.

• It is imperative that you study and research the market you are entering so that you can find your niche. People want to know that you have the expertise in the area your are promoting, they don’t have the time to wander around while you figure it out. So have good product info, helpful and fresh links and be transparent, open and truthful. If you don’t know something, then say so, then let your readers-clients know that you will quickly find the answer to their issues. They WILL understand.

3) Build Relationships.

• Web 2.0 is all about building relationships through Social Networking Channels. Take the time to “pay it forward with good advice to people so they will trust and get to know you. If you are using Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking channel, go slowly, don’t plaster the forum or new friends you’ve met with your product sales offer before you even say HELLO. Keep it real…then it won’t go wrong for you and people will appreciate you more

There are a plethora of additional thing to consider before you become successful on the internet, but these are three that will make your life a lot easier if you do them now, rather than later.

By: Larry Lewis

Web-Marketing and Social Networking Consultant

larry.lewis@supinn.com