Becoming a self employed consultant 4

[raydefan]

I am a civil engineer in California, and an am pondering the idea of becoming a self employed consultant. What are the positive and negative benefits of doing this. How do you find work? How do determine what you charge per hour? Are there recruiters that might find work for you? I really don't know much about how it works, and don't really have anyone to ask.

 

[cvg]

http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html

try this website for starters

 

[stanier]

I have worked like this for thrity years. For a start I believe you should have a wife who is a bookkeeper or accountant. You need total support and someone who you can trust.

Next you need sufficient funds to go for year without a client. Then you can start. It helps to have a friendly client who will get you a start.

You will need time to seek work. It is a mistake to get locked into a long term contract only to find people have forgotten about you.

Get a speciality. Civil engineers are a dime a dozen. To get a good rate you need something that is rare. A talent few have. Some topics may include seismic design, surge analysis, flood design, security evaluation of structures etc...

Then begin to network. Standards committees, Institution meetings, this forum, lecture at the university etc etc. If you do some favours for people they will remember you. Always be accessible. Look long term. The guys at Uni who you entor today will be the business leaders of the future. Sow and ye shall reap, but not for a few years.

There is a book called Flawless Consulting thats worth a read. Borrow it dont buy it.

Using Agents is the pits as they likely will skim from you and are generally in bed with the employers. They keep the rates down to get cash flow rather than getting your rate up.

Better to have your network

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Stanier has been in this "specialty" business much longer than I have. However, I have seen enough to know that every word that stanier says is true (if he bills you for his time posting the above answer, suggest you pay - it is well worth it)

The only thing additional that I can offer is to be careful not to take on too many simultaneous commitments - since the business is just you, it is essential to maintain your reputation.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

 

[smwpe]

Stanier is telling you the truth of private consulting-anywhere.

 

[slipform]

I am an expert in slipform technology which is used for construction of Tall RCC Chimneys,Silos of grain,cement,floor etc.Also used for construction of rcc Bridge piers etc. I got an experience of 23 years in the field of slipform shuttering. Under my supervision we had construction near about 200 rcc structures with high quality.

 

[stanier]

What is your point slipform? How does this answer the post?

 

[stanier]

You may want to check this site out and its related links.

http://smallbusiness.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=3750

 

[proletariat]

I'm looking for my specialty within Civil E. It's not easy knowing which path to choose, keeping in mind that you may want to form a one-man business.

I know for instance, that I don't want to get too deep into anything which is cadd intensive, or takes a massive amount of labor-hours to generate the final product.

Personally, I think the best plan for a Civil start-up company is one that is based on reports and studies. Hire surveyors, hire traffic counters, maybe buy a cadd license of some kind, but overall there would be little overhead. You bring the bulk of your value to your customer by packaging your knowledge and judgement into a report.

The trick is finding out what specialized knowledge people will pay for, without that knowledge being expressed through a labor intensive set of drawings.

 

[jimbo]

I have been a self employed consultant most of my life, and sometimes a self-unemployed consultant. Expect it.

jimbo

Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

 

[stanier]

Jimbo,

What's wrong with the Oxford English dictionary?

I concur with the self unemployed consultant bit. But thats when you are researching all the books you never had time to research.

A wise Chinese friend once told me that you get 20% of your profit from 80% of your business and 80% from the remaining 20%. Also its better to get $100/hour 20 hours a week than $20/hour in 100 hours/week.

Its amazing how increasing your rate can actually get more work. The riff raff who wont pay or argue about the bill fall by the wayside and the quality customers come running. Go figure!

 

[RCEJD]

I have a successful CE business (15 employees) and Stanier is essentially right. However, other issues involve the amount of billeable time that is available when you are visiting perspective clients, writing proposals, running to the copier store, buying supplies, and performing admin tasks, that even in a one man show can eat 20 plus hours in a week.

Hourly rate is second to the price you can obtain for a report or plans, that the market can bear.

It is fun and exciting, but it is alot of hard work .. if it were easy everyone would do it. It is well worth buying some of your professional friends dinner and learning what they did right and wrong when they started their business.

Good luck

 

[stanier]

Another point to bear in mind if you are a one man band is what do you do when you have more work than you can handle. Hiring people isnt an answer as two people dont produce twice as much work. The hiree wont work as hard as the owner of the business, different dynamics there. Then do you trust the newbie? Need to check the work before you release it? How hard do the employees work when you are drumming up business?

One answer is to get an arrangement with a trusted friend who can do the work. Reach an understanding. Any work passed on attracts a 10% reward. If it goes one way you make money if it evens itself out every one wins. You arent at risk as you arent in the middle. You mate pays you the commission. Dont get greedy. This ways cuts out some of the worry. ASlso yoiu can work as a team and verify each others design.

In response to RCEJDs points I respectfully suggest that I would advocate working smarter. Just bear in mind that you may charge out at $100 per hour but you are worth $200 per hour to the business. Dont be the courier when you can hire someone for $20/hr to do that. Drumming up business can be done by the direct approach. I try and get my disciples working for me. Over the last fifteen years i have nurtured young engineers with favours, free advice, mentoring and helping with job offers. They are now in positions of power. Even if they dont get me work they recommend me to others. Sow and ye shall reap!

Limit the amount of paper you produce. Stipulate that your reports, calculations, drawings etc will be provided electronically and paper copies are extra. Make sure the cost of the paper is unattractive, the customer will do the printing themselves to save money, they probably have the resources. The other benefit here is you can meet deadlines right up to midnight on the due date. No couriers, taxis, print shops, staff going home etc to worry about. Saves time when working across the globe.

Some of my customers in the Middle East & Asia I have never met. They send me documents, I do the transient or pipe stress analysis and send the report. They bank the money. How sweet is that!