How to be a successful software technology consultant

Some of the things that I’ve found over the last 5 years of business are:

1.  Work on marketing systems that cause leads to come to you, not you going to them.  There are several reasons for this.  The first one is that you might be starting your business “moonlighting”, so you won’t have time during the day to be making lots of phone calls and emails.  Also, if you can get people to call you, then that reduces the costs of acquiring a customer.  I’ve found Perry Marshall’s marketing system to be great for learning these skills.  It does cost lots of money, but I consider myself to have made my money back many times over with his strategies.

2.  Subscribe to Microsoft’s Registered Partner program.  For $300/year, you can get licenses for many of their products, including Visual Studio 2008 Standard and Windows 2003/2008 server.  This alone would be worth the price, but they also include Microsoft Office.  This package will allow you to hone your skills to serve small businesses.  I’d recommend running Windows Small Business Server for your consulting business (unless you are strictly Linux).

3.  Learn Linux and/or FreeBSD.  I prefer FreeBSD, but I’ve also done hours of work on Linux systems too as part of a day job I had.  Knowing the Free Software and Open Source Software operating systems and applications will allow you to recommend low-cost alternatives to your customers.  Remember that free software does require maintenance, so there could be money in selling service contracts for servers that you deploy with these technologies.

4.  Don’t go crazy with telephones.  I’ve made my biggest mistake here.  I’ve spent too much money on yellow page advertising.  Unless you know it works for what you do, don’t spend the money.  You will be very disappointed with the results, and advertising is pricey.  Use search engine optimization instead.  Also, don’t think you need a business line.  I’ve spent way too much money on traditional landlines for the business.  Try to have at least one for your fax machine, so you can reliably send faxes.  For voice, use Skype, get a subscription and an online number.  It is much less expensive, and I’ve had very good call quality with them.

5.  Post your resume to job boards.  This will get recruiters calling.  Use social networking such as LinkedIN.  These techniques have allowed me to develop friendships with recruiters and other professionals.  I know that I can “work the phones” if I really need a job, and have many contacts that I could call on if necessary.

6.  Last but not least, if you find yourself going through a slump, call on old customers. I’ve picked up some new jobs and opportunities this way.   It is far easier to get work from an existing customer, than trying to acquire new clients.  

These are just my rambling thoughts this evening…. Questions? Comments?  Many of these suggestions can be applied to ANY business, especially home-based ones.   Email me your thoughts….