Computer Consultants Secrets ™

Overhead costs are those expenses that do not vary with your production level.  A term that is synonymous with overhead cost is sunk cost.  The cost of the item or service is sunk regardless of whether you generate any income or not.  You need to pay for electricity and basic phone service and these costs do not go up as you bill more hours.  

Because these overhead costs are spent right from day one, it is wise to try to minimize your totals.   

Overhead Cost Minimization

• Work from home.  This is the single largest way to save on overhead costs.  There is no need at the start to spend your money renting commercial office space.  
• Set up a separate personal credit card account.  You don’t need the overhead cost of an annual fee for a business credit card. In most cases, you can just get another personal, non-fee credit card.
• Market through networking.  Not only is networking the most effective means of marketing it is also the cheapest.  Keep your overhead costs low by attending as many networking events as you can.  
• Target your direct mail as much as possible.  You don’t want to pay to fill up someone else’s recycling container.
• Stay away from product sales.  Do not put your cash into products.  This represents an overhead cost whether you sell the item or not. Sure you may miss out on some sales margin revenue but the overhead costs and the aggravation are generally not worth it.
• Avoid high price consumer advertising.  If you want to keep overhead costs low, steer clear of expensive ads for the Yellow Pages, advertising in coupon packs, or advertising in large newspapers.  The audience is not targeted enough for your needs.  
• Join an established health plan.  If you can, get on your spouse’s plan or try to stay on your work plan for as long as possible.  

The Bottom Line on Overhead Cost
Overhead costs aren’t retrievable in terms of billable hours.  They are spent regardless, so it makes good sense to keep them as low as possible. Keep good records and analyze your overhead costs on a regular basis.  Try to find ways to cut these costs and make business decisions that keep overhead costs to a minimum.  You need to keep a positive cash flow and high overhead costs are the quickest way to drain your cash away.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to overhead costs. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of overhead costs, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

When starting an IT consulting busines,s it can be very easy to get carried away and overlook some very common mistakes others have made in the past. Unfortunately for some, when they start out moonlighting, they are so turned on by the idea of having their own IT consulting business, they forget to plan ahead and think about the transition to full-time income.

Look for Steady Clients

A lot of people dream about being able to run a full-time IT consulting business, but sadly most people are never going to make it. The two most common mistakes made are that new IT consulting businesses are taking on clients that don’t have steady potential and they are messing around with non-steady clients.

Don’t get caught up in anything but steady clients. You have to ask yourself how are you going to take your IT consulting business full time if you don’t have steady work among your clients. In fact it may be a lot easier than you think to find people that need your services on a regular basis.

The Importance of Having Steady Work

When you start playing with the numbers you’re going to see that steady work is very important to the success of your IT consulting business. The ideal situation for moonlighting is to look for clients that need to see you one or two evenings a month and one or two Saturdays and Sundays for light phone support in between.

For a client situation like that, that could be $800 to $1200 a month you’re bringing in. The minimum situation to qualify a steady client is someone who can budget somewhere along the lines of $500 a month consistently.

The Bottom Line about the IT Consulting Business

If you’re moonlighting and you don’t have clients that have enough work, the willingness and the ability to pay for that kind of volume, you’ll have a hard time making the transition to full-time IT consulting.  

In this article, you’ve learned about the IT consulting business. To learn more about the IT consulting business click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Payroll management is an issue that is never too early to start considering.  Obviously, in the early stages of your business, your payroll management will consist of paying yourself.  As your business grows you will have to concern yourself with compensation for you and your employees.  

Payroll management in a business that has employees requires planning for salaries and hourly wages.  There will also be payments to subcontractors for technical and sales related services to consider.  You will eventually become too busy to do it all yourself and you will need help.  

Before you get to the stage where you need to hire additional help, it is a wise strategic move to think about your payroll management needs and plan accordingly.

Payroll Management Issues

• Salary versus hourly wage
• Bonuses and commissions
• Compensation Package - vacation pay, time off, sick days, holidays
• Employee Benefits - health care, dental plan, pension
• Insurance - Disability and Life

A common aspect of payroll management that gets overlooked is payroll taxes.  No matter what you do, you can’t avoid these for either yourself or your employees. The employer’s portion of payroll taxes will cost you money.  Effective payroll management takes this expense into consideration from the start.  

The Bottom Line on Payroll Management
Payroll management is an issue you need to think abut before you have employees.  Even if the payroll roster is just you, your business will still have payroll expenses.  It is never too early to start thinking strategically about your payroll management.  You should be formulating a plan for handling employees and subcontractors and the expenses that come along with them, long before you actually need them.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to payroll management. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of payroll management, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business expenses need to be budgeted for when you are starting a business.  These expenses are typically categorized according to type.  One of the larger categories of business expense falls under the heading Administrative Expenses.  These business expenses are those related to the day-to-day operations of the company.

It is important to understand these administrative expenses.  When you are preparing your budget and pro forma statements you need to be aware of the options that impact each of these business expenses.  

• The first business expense to look at is payroll.  Your business needs to be able to pay you. This business expense may be regular or infrequent but it needs to be budgeted for. 
• Next is business expenses related to telecommunications.  These are items like cell phones, business phone lines, and Internet access. 
• Insurance is an important business expense in the administrative category.  Here you need to consider business insurance, general liability insurance, casualty insurance and health insurance. 
• Health insurance is a huge business expense. Our recommendation when budgeting for this is:  If you have a spouse that has health insurance try to stay on their policy. If COBRA is an option for you, try to arrange that.  This is a very costly business expense so do your homework carefully.
• Bank fees are a business expense that many people don’t even think about.  You should realize though that banks charge a fee to open a business account and the monthly fees are typically higher than for personal accounts. 
• A related expense is the fees charged by the credit card companies.  These add up to huge business expenses as they typically charge at least two or three percent on each transaction.  And many small-business owners absolutely love American Express, which usually charges even higher percentage fees.
• Another large business expense item is professional fees. These are the fees you pay to your accountant and/or attorney to advise you on different stages of your business as well as other benefits.
• Other common business expenses in the administrative category include:

• Travel and Entertainment
• Office Supplies
• Vehicle Expense 

The Bottom Line on Business Expenses
You need to understand and research every business expense when you begin the process of budgeting.  The business expenses related to administration often get overlooked as they are not the obvious sales related expenses.  This business expense category accounts for a large portion of your overall expenses so it is worth examining closely.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business expenses. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of business expenses, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

Competitors are one of your largest business threats. You have to know who your competitors are and how they operate.  You will use this information to decide how to position yourself, where you price yourself, and how you’re perceived by your marketplace.

Competitor Analysis
When you research your competitors you should list what kinds of companies are your biggest competition. Possible competitor types you should consider are:

• Big PC manufacturers
• Computer consulting moonlighters
• Established computer consulting businesses
• Software producers and distributors

Once you decide which types of competitors pose the most threat, go through the list and identify specific companies in each category that you consider to be significant competitors.

When you have a good idea who exactly your largest competitors are, then you need to find out how they operate.  You need to uncover their biggest strengths and biggest weaknesses.  You want to be able to exploit their weaknesses. In fact a lot of your business value will come from exploiting your competitors’ weaknesses. 

Listen to what people are saying in the large electronics stores and warehouses.  Talk to your friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances. 

• What are they saying about computer support? 
• What are they complaining about? 
• What causes them frustration? 

Use this information to be better than your competitors.  You need to understand how you can be better than your competitors and then use that information to fit yourself into the market.

The Bottom Line on Competitors
Competitors will always be around.  Your job as a new business owner is to understand how you fit into the market.  Figure out where your competitors are strong and where they are weak.  Then exploit your competitors’ weakness by positioning yourself as the obvious, better alternative.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to competitors. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of competitors, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business. 

Market penetration refers to the process of gaining market share by introducing your product to customers. When you are planning your business strategy it is important to consider market penetration issues in terms of your revenue goals.  If you need to generate a certain level of revenue, then a market penetration analysis will help you determine the type and number of customers you need to achieve your target.

Market Penetration Analysis
First you need to determine your revenue goal for the next twelve months.  Then you need to figure out how much of that revenue will be generated per client.

Let’s look at an example:

 

Say you wanted to do $120k in revenue for your company within the next 12 months.  In terms of market penetration you have to determine whether that is going to be earned from six clients at $20k each, 12 clients at $10k each, or 20 clients at $6k each?  

Market penetration analysis forces you to consider your average client size.  This will help you determine your sweet spot customer.   The bigger the client the more services you can provide and the fewer clients you need overall and vice versa.  But this is only the first step.  

To make market penetration decisions you also need to analyze the number and types of businesses in your area.  Are there enough businesses who can afford $20k of service per year? It’s fine to have a market penetration strategy that targets large businesses but this target market must be realistic. By fitting your market penetration strategy with the types of businesses in your area you will be able to achieve your revenue goals.  

The Bottom Line on Market Penetration
Market penetration is a strategy that looks at the type and number of target customers for you business.  It is a strategy that starts with your total revenue goal.  Market penetration is important to your overall business success and you need to make sure that you sweet spot clients will actually be able to generate the amount of revenue your business needs.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to market penetration. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about market penetration, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Contingency plans are absolutely critical for first year business success.  A contingency plan is what will help you deal with the curve balls that get thrown at you. Despite your best research and planning, you will encounter surprises:  good and bad.

When you start your contingency plan you need to list out anything you can think of that will either positively or negatively impact your business. There are a number of things that you should consider for your contingency plan including:

• Concentrating on a niche - what contingency plan can you put in place if your niche dries up or turns out to be unable to support your business?
• Labor market issues - do you need a contingency plan for a lack of availability of contract workers or employees?
• General comfort with ASP software - if clients don’t need the services you provide, are you able to  branch into different service markets?
• Strategic alliances between competitors - if there are mergers or alliances in your industry have you thought of how your business can react and stay alive?   

A thorough contingency plan address 15 - 20 reasonable possibilities that could affect your ability to remain profitable. These are things that are outside of your control that you must react to.  Your contingency plan only needs to cover a one-year time horizon but it should be revised often.  

The Bottom Line On Contingency Plans
You don’t want to be caught without a contingency plan.  Things happen - some positive, some negative. Your ability to weather the ups and downs of your business will depend heavily on the thought and time you put into your contingency plan.  Your ability to deal with the unexpected is what will keep you on track for success, or derail you completely.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to contingency plans. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about contingency plans, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business plan outlines vary in their complexity.  Depending on your situation you may just want to follow a very basic business plan outline.  Regardless, the process of sitting down, creating a business plan outline, and writing a business plan is one of the most valuable exercises you will do.

Basic Business Plan Outline

• List your business credentials - why are you qualified to start this business and sell your products and services?

• List your staff:  Is it going to be just yourself, or do you have a definite plan in terms of when you are going to hire sales, technical, or administrative staff?

• Project revenue:  Will you be selling services, products, or a combination of both?

• How much revenue will come from products? 
• How much profit will come from products?
• How much revenue will come from services? 
• How much profit will come from services?

• Sales and marketing plan:  outline your major sales and marketing activities - the things that you’re going to do to bring in key, sweet spot clients. Talk about what you’re doing on a month-by-month or week-by-week basis. How much time you think it’s going to take up and how much money you think it’s going to cost to execute.

• Operations: Where will you be located? Home office or rented space? How will you get to your clients’ places of business?  Personal car or leased vehicle? Will you need to rent facilities from time to time for meetings, seminars, etc…

• Finance:  What capital do you need to start?  Where will you get this capital? Where will you get additional capital during your first year in business?

• Salary and Payroll:  What are your expectations for your personal salary or drawings.  Do you have to pay staff as well?

• Expertise of principals:  What makes you and/or your partners qualified?What kind of skills and experience do you bring to the table that will be of valuable to this business venture and valuable to the clients you want to pursue? 

The Bottom Line On Business Plan Outlines
Business plan outlines can be as detailed as you want.  The most important aspect is that your business plan outline covers off the basics.  Make sure the business plan outline you adopt allows you to answer the five W’s and provides you with a plan for how you will start and operate your business.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business plan outlines. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about business plan outlines, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Consulting salaries are very closely related to the hourly billing rates that you charge and the salaried equivalents that you can afford to pay both yourself and others down the road. The consulting salary you expect must be affordable given your hourly billing rates. 

This consulting salary must also be enough to attract sales and technical staff as your business scales up.  If you don’t set your rates at an appropriate level then you won’t be able to offer competitive salaries to future employees and your business growth will falter.   

The Consulting Salary Equivalent of $75 an hour
$75 per hour sounds like an attractive rate.  Most people will equate it with a yearly consulting salary close to $150,000.  The assumptions are that there is little overhead and people with their own businesses hardly pay any taxes.  

Unfortunately, figuring out a consulting salary is not that simple.  You need to remember that you’ll only be able to bill out about 75% of your week.  This takes you from a starting place of a $150k consulting salary to $112k per year.  That still doesn’t sound bad though, right?

There’s still something you’re missing here.  It’s called the Triple Billing Rule.  

Triple Billing Rule
Your overall revenue is actually split into three.  1/3 goes to sales and marketing, 1/3 goes to taxes, insurance, fringe benefits and other overhead items. The final 1/3 goes toward a consulting salary. If we take our $75 per hour scenario, suddenly we have a maximum consulting salary of $49,500 but we haven’t accounted for the other business expenses that come out the final third.  

When you look at consulting salaries realistically it is easy to see how setting billing rates is very complex.  Your rate has to be high enough to pay yourself or a contractor/employee a decent consulting salary but not so high that it impedes finding clients.   

The Bottom Line on Consulting Salaries
Consulting salaries come out of the final third of overall consulting revenue:  marketing, sales, taxes, insurance, and administration all take precedence.  When you start a computer consulting business it is important that you are able to pay yourself a consulting salary that is equivalent to what you would expect to make working for someone else.  You may be an employer someday and you want to make sure the consulting salary you offer will be sufficient to attract the talent you are looking for.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to consulting salaries. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about consulting salaries, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Hourly rates that you charge your clients are very closely related to the ultimate success or failure of your business. Your hourly rates must be high enough to sustain your income needs and not so high that you drive away your sweet spot, small business, target client.  

The most common mistake people make early on is setting an hourly rate that it too low. You have to get  your small business clients used to paying a certain hourly rate up front.  It is very difficult to raise your rates up to where they should be after the fact.  Increase of 5 - 15% overtime are ok but if you need your hourly rate to jump form $5 to $85, you will likely lose all of your current customers.

Setting a low hourly rate in the hopes of attracting new clients is a poor strategy.  These clients expect low rates in the long term and you can’t afford to give permanently discounted hourly rates. By charging too little you may have to effectively dump your whole client list and start over. This could put you out of business real fast.

If you want to attract a few clients fast, you can do a grand opening special.  Offer a low hourly rate for one type of service or for a one-month contract.  This will bring customers in the door but does not set up an expectation that your rates will stay low forever.  

The Bottom Line on Hourly Rates
If your hourly rates are too low you will have a hard time scaling up your business.   You want to attract customers that will be long-term regular clients.  If the hourly rates you use to secure those customers are not sustainable long term then your relationship with these clients will not be long term either: lack of long term clients spells lack of business success!

In this article, you’ve been introduced to hourly rates. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge of hourly rates, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Small business startups require a lot of work.  You might however, be surprised by what type of work should be taking up the majority of your time.   Computer consultants, when they contemplate small business startups, tend to focus on the technical aspects of the business.  The rational is that they want to offer a decent service and must have great technical skills before anyone will be willing to pay them.

In fact, the 90/10 Rule tells us that during small business startups, 90% of your time should be spent on direct marketing activities and only 10% on building technical skills. The type of small business startup activities to spend 90% of your time on include:

• prospecting
• lead generation
• going out on sales calls
• preparing proposals

During the small business startup phase you must be very attuned to the need for acquiring high quality clients. Every non client hour that does not have to go into administrative or organizational duties should be plowed into prospecting and networking.  This can ease up a bit once you start to get beyond the small business startup phase.  For now though, client generation is your priority.

The Bottom Line on Small Business Startup
For small business startups, following the 90/10 Rule is critical.  Spending 90% of your time on direct marketing and business development activity versus 10% on technical skills development is a trade-off that is well worth it.  There is no point gaining technical skills if you have no clients to practice them on.  Small business startup is a time that will make or break your business.  Put your training and certifications on hold for a while and get out meeting people and making as many contacts as possible.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to small business startups. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about small business startups, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business dress codes can be tricky to navigate as a consultant.  You are going into other people’s businesses so your personal business dress code has to appeal to a wide range of clients. This is also true when you are prospecting for future clients.

The business dress code that you use when prospecting will depend on the event.  You always want to dress to be your best but you also have to know your audience.  The first time you attend an event or meeting it is best to wear a sport jacket and tie.  This type of business dress code is very middle of the road.  Not too conservative but not too casual.

Business Dress Code and Marketing
A very good choice, especially for people who hate getting dressed-up, is to use your clothes to advertise.  When you are in a situation where business casual is appropraite, do some branding and marketing through your attire.  

• Wear a polo shirt with your logo on it
• Have your logo put on a sweater
• For sporting events, wear a logoed ball hat
• At the very least wear a name tag that has your name and logo on it

This is a great way to incorporate a business dress code that is not only professional but productive as well. Don’t feel like you have to be the snazziest dresser but use your business dress code to send a marketing message and convey your professionalism.  

The Bottom Line On Your Business Dress Code
Incorporating a business dress code that is not too formal and not too causal is often the best bet.  This type of business dress code allows you to appeal to the maximum amount of people and it allows you to feel comfortable within a mixed crowd.  These will both help boost your confidence and prospecting success. Adding logoed attire to your business dress code is a highly effective way to get your company name out to people while maintaining your professionalism.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business dress codes. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about business dress codes, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Small Business Server 2003 is an excellent choice for your computer consulting business.  It is sold as a suite so you get a lot of great features.  And Small Business Server 2003 is designed strictly with the needs of small business computer consultants in mind.  

Small Business Server 2003 Features

• It includes a reporting tool that allows you to get log files emailed
• There are different performance model thresholds for when windows space is running low or when the virtual space is running low
• There are access logs for the server
• There is web proxy, Internet caching and acceleration so you can get all kinds of metrics about what is going on with a client’s network without having to be there
• There are many wizards that make it relatively easy for someone with limited knowledge to be able to install the product successful without having to be an expert on the individual components

The best aspect of Small Business Server 2003 is that it was designed specifically for small business computer consultants so they can get going in the right direction without having tremendous, specialized skills.

The base line installation of Small Business Server 2003 provides for a lot of customization. This is especially important because you can then continue adding value and selling more services to your clients.  Essentially, Small Business Server 2003 allows you to build on the investment that your clients have already made.  

The Bottom Line on Small Business Server 2003
Small Business Server 2003 is a great platform and the only product that Microsoft has ever built, and continues to build today, that was designed from the ground up strictly to meet the needs of the small business computer consultant. The application has a huge number of features and Small Business Server 2003 gives you the opportunity to sell value-added services to go along with all of those features.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Small Business Server 2003.  To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Small Business Server 2003, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business support systems are critical to your business success.  The most important business support system is your family.  The spousal relationship is particularly key to your ability to launch and operate a successful business.

If your spouse or significant other is against your business, then you are missing a huge portion of the business support system you need to sustain yourself.  Running a small business is a family affair.  Whether your family thinks they are involved or not, they are.  They truly are the largest source of support your business will get.

Impact of Negativity
If your family is negative about your business then this influence will almost wipe out any other business support systems you have in place.  It’s going to be tough for the next couple of months while you get your business off the ground.  A strong, positive, encouraging business support system will sustain you through the lows and temper you through the highs.  

Negativity, on the other hand, will kill your business faster than anything else.  If you are hearing all day that you’re no good, you’re business is crappy, you’re ruining your life, blah blah blah blah, you will go down a black hole with the rest of the business support systems you so carefully put in place.  

The Bottom Line on Business Support Systems
You need to have positive business support systems and the main source of this support is your family.  If your family is not going to be supportive then the circumstances are not optimal for your launch. Despite all the other business support systems you may have in place, your family trumps them all.  Think seriously about where your family rates in your business support system and then decide if now is really the right time to start your business.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business support systems. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about business support systems, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Business software solutions come in many shapes and sizes.  Choosing the right business software solutions at the start will save you a lot of time.  Time you can spend growing and developing your business.  Here are a few tips.

Keep your business software solutions very simple. Many times we’re tempted to think that if we had a magic piece of software, the business would run itself. Not true.  Computer consulting is not going to run itself regardless of the type of business software solutions you are running.  It’s a people business that relies on relationships not software.

Recommended Business Software Solutions
Make real simple choices:

• Use Microsoft Office, Outlook, Publisher, Word, and Excel.You will use these business software solutions very heavily.

• Use a time, billing, and accounting package that provides business software solutions to small business. Quickbooks is a good, simple choice.

• Get a good contact management package.  Use a business software solution like ACT.

• For basic research use the tools at support.microsoft.com. Their knowledge base is tremendous and you’ll likely be working on Office, Windows and Microsoft SBS all day.

Don’t reinvent the wheel and try to build these solutions yourself. There are very good and inexpensive business software solutions on the market that will do 99 percent of what a custom built program will do.  Your time is much better spent doing more networking.

The Bottom Line on Business Software Solutions
The best business software solutions for a small business are the ones that come pre-packaged.  Remember, you’re not in business to develop business software solutions.  You are a consultant who only needs the basics to run your own business.  Leave the fancy business software solutions to others and be there to implement or troubleshoot them as required.   

In this article, you’ve been introduced to business software solutions. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about business software solutions, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Information overload can cause your head to spin. As a new business owner, you need to keep only the most important information in your head at one time.  If you try to keep up with everything that is happening, you will succumb to information overload syndrome and you may never recover.  

There are four sources of information overload that are particularly insidious and must be eliminated.  By doing this you will free yourself from the burden and have more time to spend on the activities that really matter - those that will develop and grow your business.

Consultation Information Overload
Those free consultations that are actually mooching sessions disguised as sales calls are a prime source of information overload.  Don’t let moochers’ issues fill-up your thoughts and create information overload.  Reserve space in your valuable gray matter for client’s issues only.  

Contact Information Overload
When you network you meet many prospects.  Many of these have no likelihood of being converted to leads let alone sales.  Don’t waste time chasing after the wrong prospects. Shake their hand, say nice to meet you, and move on. If you don’t, these people will be a constant source of information overload.

Tax Information Overload
You are a computer consultant.  You are NOT an accountant.  Don’t try to be an expert at tax codes; you’ll be in information overload mode after the first hour. Hire a good accountant early on and use this person as a source of tax information.  

Technology Information Overload
You are not in the technology business; you are in the client acquisition business.  Keeping up with the latest technology leads to information overload.  You’re not going to release the next thirty-two bit platform so you don’t need to learn how to do it. Concentrate on the skills and information that your clients need and are willing to pay for.

The Bottom Line on Information Overload
There are many sources of information overload: prospect’s issues that cloud your head, contact information for people who won’t become clients, tax information, and information about the latest technology.  While some of this information may be interesting, you don’t have the luxury of spending time on it.  Your priority is marketing and business development so you need to eliminate sources of information overload and streamline your activities accordingly.

In this article, you’ve been introduced to information overload. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about information overload, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Small business networking is absolutely critical to your business success.  As a computer consultant you are in the professional services business.  This industry is all about relationships and relationships are built through networking.  

You will need to make small business networking your priority for the first few months of operations.  This is a process that can’t be rushed.  You’re not going to go to your first network event and get six clients who all need network upgrades next week. But if you do participate in a small business networking event there’s a good chance that you will come away five or six quality contacts.

Networking For Contacts
Aside from the potential client contacts you make, the beauty of small business networking is that the accountant you struck up a conversation with just happens to have a neighbor who’s brother is looking to network his company’s regional office.  Or the dentist you were talking to has a similar business philosophy and would probably be a great client to do business with.  These contacts are priceless

Once you make the contact you then have to spend time following up with meetings, proposals and sales calls.  But this time is much better spent than chasing down one-shot clients.  Though small business networking you make in-roads with people who are, or who can put you in touch with, the steady clients that will support your business long-term.

Don’t expect to walk out of every event with a handful of paying clients. Do expect, however, to generate a bunch of quality leads and referral sources.  These referrals and leads are the crux of small business networking.  

You need to have a bunch of different leads in your funnel and a lot of different contacts in your funnel at any given time. Some of these will be hotter at different stages and will be ready to move into paying client status at different stages and different dates. Small business networking keeps you in contact with these people throughout their buying phases.

The Bottom Line on Small Business Networking
Client contact and client referrals are what will lead you to long-term, steady clients - The kind of clients that will make your business a success.  Getting out and attending small business networking events may appear to be unproductive socializing but the contacts you make will generate an enormous return on your invested time.  Start your small business network today - you never know where it will take you.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to small business networking. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about small business networking, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.

Potential clients need to be evaluated for their ability to become steady clients.  It’s ok to pick up clients who you will see once or twice a year. When you are starting out, however, you need to build up a clientele of steady customers.  These steady customers will provide steady income.

Potential clients qualify as potential steady clients when they generate $500 or more per month in revenue.  The question is, how do you evaluate potential clients for this ability?

Potential Client Evaluation
There are a number of things you must find out about a potential client:

•     Current Number of PCs

If this is a home office with one or two computers and a husband and wife working at home, it is very unlikely they will have $500 per month to spend on IT services.

If this is a micro business with 8 to 10 computers and a dedicated server, this is a potential client worth further investigation.

•         Current Support

Is this potential client currently well-maintained?  You want to work with clients who know the importance of regular maintenance.  If they don’t, you will get a lot of aggravation for your trouble.

Who provides the current support? If this potential client receives volunteer support, or support in-trade, then the likelihood they will pay $500 per month to you, is slim.

What are they currently paying?  You don’t need an exact number but you do need to know if they are getting regular, paid support.

    
The Bottom Line on Potential Client Evaluation
Potential clients need to have potential to become long-term, steady clients.  To determine this you need to ask specific questions about their current needs and support.  You can ask these questions without being aggressive as part of your initial meeting.  By qualifying potential clients you will slowly build a client base that can support your business in its initial stages.  
    
In this article, you’ve been introduced to evaluation criteria for potential clients. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about potential clients evaluation criteria, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.