'I want to start up my own business ...

' - Its a sentiment shared and often expressed by many

Successful Professionals.

Discover why Thousands of people each year decide to become Independent Consultants AND
whether Freelance Employment is the right choice for you...

Some of the Key Reasons why people answer 'YES, I am going to start up my own business and work
independently' are set out below:

Control

•Flexibility to work where, when and with the clients you choose

•You own the relationship with the client - - ultimately you can choose to walk away if you are not
comfortable with the balance of Risk and Reward

•You set the quality standard and deliver projects to your own high standard

•You sell the work and you deliver the work – this gives you a HUGE advantage because the
assignment is not 'oversold' i.e. the sales guy promises the client the earth, secures the business
(and his commission), then walks away and is not accountable for delivery

•Because you simply do not like to be employed; the employer / employee relationship does not sit
comfortably with you

Financial

•You want to substantially increase your income and wealth to achieve financial independence for
yourself and your family
•You are no longer willing to work to make others wealthy ahead of yourself - you can no longer
ignore that voice that quietly and regulary says to you 'I want to start up my own business...start up
my own business...start up my own business...'

•You have a very clearly defined financial strategy. Taking the natural step to start your own
consulting business represents the next stage in your plan

•Skin in the game – you want to build a business in which you own 100% of the equity

•Tax benefits – significant tax benefits are available to the self employed that are not available to
employees

Quality of life

•Work life balance - many employees feel stressed, overworked and undervalued in their current
employment. The plight of the middle manager...

•Office politics – How often do you wish you could just walk away from the politics and work on your
own terms?

•Uncertainty – Are you tired of jumping through hoops throughout the year, stressed and working
long hours, just for the possibility of getting paid a bonus or winning that promotion?

•Do you have Respect for your boss?

•Are you proud to work for the organisation that employs you?

Other

•To realise your long-held ambition to ‘Start up my own business’

•Redundancy may force you to actively consider the option to start your own consulting business
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One of the aims of this site is to help you put some structure around your thinking and provide some
focus for your ideas.

I will share with you some hard data and my own insights based on my personal experience of
working as an Independent Consultant over the past 6 years.But first…

Imagine yourself and your working life two short years from now...

•You took the Decision: 'YES, I am going to start up my own business...' and You have been trading
successfully as an Independent Consultant for just 24 months

•You are feeling excited by the commercial opportunities that open up to you from week to week

•You wake in the morning with a positive attitude - no longer the grey dawning of yet another day
working to make someone else wealthy. The decision you took to 'Start up my own business' feels
right and has put a real spring in your step

•You have your own loyal, hand picked client base. You work hard. Yes, you sometimes work long
hours but it’s all on your terms. You get true satisfaction from doing a good job for your clients

•Your fees fully reflect the market rate for your skills, experience and expertise

•Your annual pre tax profits are on target to treble or even quadruple your previous annual salary as
an employee

•You could repay your mortgage in full tomorrow if you chose to do so

•You invoice your clients direct and the full value of each invoice is credited direct to your own
business bank account within 30 days
•You have no need to sell - your hard earned reputation for delivery enables you to secure contracts
through solid referrals from satisfied clients

•Your practice is flourishing; you have a growing portfolio of written testimonials from delighted
clients that you are proud to be able to show to potential new clients

•You pay yourself first – before you pay the tax man. At the end of each trading year, you decide
how much to pay yourself from your own business

•On advice from your accountant and tax adviser you structure your drawings from the business as a
mixture of salary, dividends and other benefits to optimise your tax position

•Your business pays tax many months or even years after the end of the trading period in which the
profit was generated. In the interim, that cash is on deposit, earning you interest and is fully in your
control

•You pay tax typically at a lower average rate than previously as an employee

•Your mind races as you work through the range of possibilities for developing your Consulting
Practice

•You are part of a flourishing network of like-minded Independent Consultants. Each an expert in his
/ her own field. Each willing to selflessly help, support and assist others in the network

•You have scheduled a four week holiday during August to coincide with your clients’ summer break.
You have two weeks in the sun booked and two weeks of professional development activity planned

•You are in control of your own time and master of your own destiny. You Look back at your life as it
was two years ago and feel proud at having had the courage to say 'Yes, I am going to start up my
own business...'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A note on Navigation

This tier 2 page is 1 of 4 interrelated pages that together are intended to provide a basic body of
information to assist you with starting your own consulting business. The four pages seek to answer
following questions:

1. Why (This page)

The rationale for considering starting your own consulting business including consideration of the
advantages and disadvantages.
2. What

What is a Consultant? – Basic definitions and distinctions between different ways of working.

3. When

The factors that are likely to influence the timing of your move to establish your own consulting
practice.

4. How

A summary of the key activities and steps that are inherent to starting your own consulting business
and making a smooth transition to a commercially successful independent consulting business.

Management Consultants

Who are they and What do they do?

Management consultants work with organizations in both the public and private sectors to assist
management in improving the performance of the organization.

In its simplest form of the process of management consulting involves undertaking an analysis of the
current state of an organization; definition of a desired future state and the formulation of strategies
and plans to enable the organization to change to achieve the desired future state.
External consultants are engaged by clients for a range of reasons including:

•To benefit from specialist knowledge and experience that may not be available within the
organization

•To gain an objective and independent opinion on a situation or challenge; it is sometimes the case
that the management team within an organization is too close to the problem and a fresh pair of
eyes can be of benefit

•Extra resource: external management consultant resource can provide a flexible, high calibre
solution to enable a project to be planned and executed whilst avoiding the need to recruit
permanent staff

Management consultants commonly work across a number of different sectors and client
organizations. Consequently, external consultants are able to bring a perspective on what has
worked well elsewhere including providing insights on industry best practice.

A team of consultants will typically be deployed to a client comprised of individuals with

complimentary skills to enable a challenge or project to be tackled effectively and rapidly. Core skill
sets within a consulting team will often include:

•Robust and comprehensive business analysis skills

•Portfolio, programme and project planning and management skills

•Advanced stakeholder management and communication approaches

•Risk management expertise enabling change to be effected in a controlled and safe manner

•Proven consulting methodologies that have been used successfully with other client organizations

Prior to joining a consulting practice, consultants usually will have gained significant experience in
their careers either in a particular industry or profession.

There is an active demand from clients to capitalize on this depth of experience; often the client is
willing to pay a significant fee over a short period to benefit from the wisdom, insights, experience
and sometimes contacts that an experienced management consultant will bring to the table.
Jump back from Management Consultants to ICB.com Home page