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Consultancy can be a profitable and viable business option for manyt professional people.

When companies start up, or down size, they commonly out-source services and expertise that is not available from their own staff. Consultants bring their time and expertise to help fill in the gaps. They are needed because they have skills, experience, or knowledge not perceived to be available in-house.

Companies or individuals may need help to:

· Oversee or conduct special projects because an organisational overload requires a knowledgeable outside resource

· Analyse existing organisational functions, operations, and results to recommend specific areas and actions for improvement

· Be the outside resource that acts as an 'agent for change'

· Develop and conduct training courses specific to a company's needs

· Provide an objective third-party viewpoint on strategic planning, marketing, and other operational issues to help companies avoid pitfalls and wasted effort

· Troubleshoot tactical issues, such as sales performance, to help improve a company's quarterly results

· Provide technical advice in product development or manufacturing areas

· Write articles, white papers, and technical product bulletins and manuals

· Create marketing and promotional materials

· Conduct computer consultations to help resolve MIS issues, including software, networking, and client-server applications and to assist in computer system hardware and software selection

· Bring financial background and industry resources to bear to help a company resolve financial issues

· Act as the outside resource used to provide product evaluations-including competitive analysis

This list is not all-inclusive. What's important is that you can take the skills you've developed and the experiences you've gained to create a challenging and successful business.

THE GOOD NEWS

A consulting practice can be all that you dream it can be. Just some of the things that it will provide you with are:

· The opportunity to put to work the knowledge that you've accumulated in your years of study and/or industry experience

· The ability to enjoy the freedom and independence of doing your own thing

· The possibility of achieving excellent financial rewards

· The flexibility of living wherever you want

· The freedom to take on those assignments you feel are stimulating and rewarding--and the option of walking away from opportunities you don't intrinsically enjoy

· The chance to meet new people in other companies and industries

· The satisfaction of working with the best resources you can find to get the job done

· The ability to arrange your life around your work, if you want to, and live a much more flexible lifestyle.

THE BAD NEWS

There is, however, a downside to consulting that you also need to know about.

· Consulting work can be unstable and uncertain. Clients can change their minds and their circumstances can change. This can have an impact on the job you are doing, and your income

· Consulting incomes can be unstable and uncertain. Clients can cancel jobs, they take ages to pay or don’t pay at all

· You are more likely to become a victim to changes in the market even more directly than employees

· You often don’t know where you are going to be in a month – so it is hard to plan anything

· Clients can have unrealistically high expectations

· You may end up doing all the ‘dirty’ work in the business yourself

· Consulting can be lonely and isolating.

Article by Staff of ACS Distance Education

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ACS in the U.K. www.acsedu.co.uk/Courses/Business-and-Management-Courses.aspx

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