Inside the Technical Consulting Business: Launching and Building Your Independent Practice [Hardcover]

Harvey Kaye (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471183415 | ISBN-13: 978-0471183419 | Publication Date: December 4, 1997 | Edition: 3

Join the thousands of professionals who have already gotten Inside the Technical Consulting Business -- and discover how to channel your technical know-how into an exciting career as an independent consultant. This Third Edition of Harvey Kaye's bestselling guide gives you the focused, no-nonsense help you need to start and run your own consulting practice in today's ultracompetitive environment. What's inside: Setting up your consulting business. The lowdown on finances, record-keeping, office space, taxes, and choosing the form of business organization that's right for you.

Insider's guide to proposals and contracts. Gives plenty of examples to use in your own consulting practice.

Marketing secrets your boss never told you. Tips on creating demand for your services and keeping your clients coming back for repeat business.

PLUS ALL-NEW MATERIAL ON:
* Creating your personal strategic marketing plan. A step-by-step guide to developing and maintaining your competitive edge.
* Learn from the pros. "Meet the Pros" interviews show how successful consultants handled some of the very problems you're likely to encounter.
* Building successful client relationships. The inside scoop on keeping clients happy while protecting your own professional interests.
* The technical challenges of consulting. A consultant's primer on problem-solving, coping with the information explosion, and organizing for maximum productivity.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Join the thousands of professionals who have already gotten Inside the Technical Consulting Business — and discover how to channel your technical know-how into an exciting career as an independent consultant. This Third Edition of Harvey Kaye's bestselling guide gives you the focused, no-nonsense help you need to start and run your own consulting practice in today's ultracompetitive environment. What's inside: Setting up your consulting business. The lowdown on finances, record-keeping, office space, taxes, and choosing the form of business organization that's right for you.

Insider's guide to proposals and contracts. Gives plenty of examples to use in your own consulting practice.

Marketing secrets your boss never told you. Tips on creating demand for your services and keeping your clients coming back for repeat business.

PLUS ALL-NEW MATERIAL ON:

• Creating your personal strategic marketing plan. A step-by-step guide to developing and maintaining your competitive edge.
• Learn from the pros. "Meet the Pros" interviews show how successful consultants handled some of the very problems you're likely to encounter.
• Building successful client relationships. The inside scoop on keeping clients happy while protecting your own professional interests.
• The technical challenges of consulting. A consultant's primer on problem-solving, coping with the information explosion, and organizing for maximum productivity.

About the Author

HARVEY KAYE has over twenty years of experience as a consultant in mechanical engineering, specializing in heat transfer and fluid mechanics. Educated at MIT, he has had contracts with many of the country's leading companies in the aerospace, electronics, and power industries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (December 4, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471183415
• ISBN-13: 978-0471183419
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #220,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable information, filled with countless wise tips!, April 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the Technical Consulting Business: Launching and Building Your Independent Practice (Hardcover)

As an e-commerce consultant I was pleasantly surprised to see that someone had written about exactly the kinds of experiences I've had with clients over the years. This is the first consulting book I've come across that covers all the issues in a straightforward way. It's full of great tips based on real life experience. Other consulting books tend to have a lot of fluff and padding, but this one gets right to the juicy issues in a concise manner. I makes for enjoyable reading, at times it is hard to put down. This is an essential book for anyone doing consulting or contract-based work.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Superficial Text of Limited Usefulness, August 20, 2002

By 

"iain01" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside the Technical Consulting Business: Launching and Building Your Independent Practice (Hardcover)

If you are looking for one book on how to successfully consult as an engineer, this is not it. Readable in a weekend, the text is too superficial.

It breezes over the nuts and bolts of consulting. Important tax law, such as IRS 'right-of-control' criteria for independency and methods of calculating/paying estimated taxes, are barely covered. Contract writing/review - a vital aspect of the consultation process, is hardly mentioned (although proposals, non-legally binding documents, are well covered). In general, the coverage of the legal and liability aspects of consulting is cursory.

Kaye makes good points, but many would be obvious to any professional experienced enough to consult. What professional doesn't know how to dress for an interview or that bringing physical samples of work to the sales meeting is a good idea?

When detail is provided, Kaye often favors an approach without substantiation. For example, on the all important topic of billing rates, calculation of rates based upon desired annual income is covered in detail, while methods of researching the rate which the market will bear are scarcely covered. Yet in real markets, the billable rate will be influenced (if not based entirely) upon the market rate. In fact, comparison of the market rate and the desired rate may lead the individual to choose *not* to consult. Analysis appropriate in a text about launching a practice.

In conclusion, although Kaye's book has an affirming message and a fine bibliography, it holds few revelations or useful tools and will rarely be use for later reference.

For those trying to decide whether to consult or interested in the "nuts & bolts" of consulting, I recommend Nolo's excellent, "Working for Yourself, Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors . . ." by Fishman. I am unable to recommend any books on marketing for consultants.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for the technical consultant!!!, October 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the Technical Consulting Business: Launching and Building Your Independent Practice (Hardcover)

ANYONE considering technical consulting as a full or part-time profession MUST READ THIS BOOK! It cover all aspects of consulting (including a personal reality checklist) in an easy-to-read manner and will be a permanent reference in my library.