Start your own business. Business Plan.

Small Consulting Business. Benefits of becoming a consultant.
If you are a victim of recent layoff, corporate downsize or offshore outsourcing, you might consider to start your own small consulting business instead of looking for a job. 70% of consulting businesses are small businesses with 10 employees or less. 50% of these small businesses are one person operation.

Here are some benefits of becoming an independent consultant:
 You can continue to do the same job you did for the corporation
 You work at your own pace and schedule
 Consulting business requires smaller set-up cost. You can work from home. Home office for consulting business is very common. You will need phone, FAX machine, computer, office supply, furniture. Most of these things you already have at home. It is important to build a professional website, so prospective clients can review your portfolio, learn about your services and professional qualification. Since more and more people using the Internet for search, the website will become the useful business tool for you.
 You will need this:
Small Business Loans ~ Health Insurance for Self-Employed ~ Small Business Organization & Structure

If you are considering to open a small consulting business, make sure you keep all your contacts.  Your education, experience and previous corporate background now will become a selling point. Do not forget to mention your professional achievements / projects / publications / patents in your sales brochure and on your website.

Write your own business plan. Hiring someone to develop a business plan for you will reveal your trade secrets. Investigate your competition - what product and services do they offer, prices. Do you offer better services and prices to outperform your competition?

The biggest challenge at the beginning is to find clients. You have to become a salesperson for your business to survive. Great knowledge and unique experience are not enough to succeed in business - you must find someone to pay you for shearing these knowledge. Develop and polish your communication skills. Many people hate answering the phone and underestimate the importance of timely communication - you must read your e-mails and reply promptly to all inquiries. If it is a one-person operation - you will have to perform many big and small tasks in addition to your main consulting duty: answering the phone, reply to e-mails, send Faxes, prepare quotations and proposals, even small bookkeeping and office cleaning duty. You might find yourself working around the clock to keep your small consulting business running.

Operating your small consulting business from home is more economical. Do not spend more money than needed. Office space rent can range to several thousand dollars per month. It is not necessary to rent an office to run a successful consulting business. If you need a quick access to working capital (small business loan)--read this.

If you open a partnership, be sure your partners bring their own clients.