Life and Business

Whether directly or indirectly, we have all been hit by this so called “global financial meltdown”. Now that it has happened and has the potential of getting worse, what can we do? How can we survive and keep providing for our families? Difficult questions! The answer is, however, quite simple. I’ll explain.

To find the right solution, let me put you in the shoes of an entrepreneur. So, you have a business – running well – growing. You are feeling good about yourself - life is great. Suddenly you find out that you can no longer borrow short-term loans to run your business. There is no money available – too much greed of some in financial sector has started a domino of falling companies. Banks are following. Scary situation….

Things start looking ugly – business starts going down and at some point you find it hard to keep paying your employees. Even though you want to keep them, especially the trained professionals, but you can’t since you simply don’t have the money. Even though the demand for your product is there and you have the manpower to deliver it, but you can’t go on because of lack of money to run the day to day operations. How disturbing is that!

Now, suppose you are an intelligent and aggressive entrepreneur – one who does not give up. You start looking at the possibility of keeping your clients without the need to keep highly paid employees. What would you do? It’s very simple: you outsource your projects. You hire independent consultants to do the job for you. Until the economy turns around, you use this strategy to keep delivering. You will not have the luxury of having your employees working under your supervision but it you wisely choose your consultants, your job will get done at a fraction of the cost of keeping a permanent employee. It’s a great way to steer your business through difficult times.

Is this a new concept? Absolutely not. Independent consultancy has been going on for a long time. However, with the availability of fast internet and other cheaper means of communications, it has gained a lot of popularity within the last few years. Small, medium, large – companies of all sizes are benefiting from this strategy. Whether it’s about solving a specific engineering problem or writing a professional review, independent consultancy is thriving.

The good news for consultants is that this practice will continue to gain popularity even in difficult financial times. I look at independent consultancy as an industry in itself. It can be highly profitable both for providers and buyers.

So, how do you work as an independent consultant? For jobs that can be done on a computer, there are plenty of free and paid freelance consultancy portals. Just google something like “freelance” and you’ll see a host of service providers. Submit your profile to one or more of those and start bidding on projects. It’s that simple. Competition is fierce but if you know the job – you’ll get contracts.

For larger consultancy projects, you need something more than internet. That is, contacts. If you have built good personal relations with professionals and companies during your employment, this is the time to cash those in. Make a list of people you know and reach out to them one by one. Let them know that you are willing to work for them as a consultant. Remain professional - no pleading. Explain to them why it is in the best of their interest to hire you as a consultant. Even if you have never done consultancy, there is a very good chance that you will get at least one contract before exhausting your list. Do the project well, with all your expertise and experience – deliver it before the due date. You have now created a marketing tool for yourself – advertise your expertise by mentioning this success. It will attract more companies and more projects to you. Once it gets going, believe me, nothing will stop you from becoming the “guru” of your field. 9-5 job after that? Not a chance.....

For those who do not have contacts: register yourself with some body of independent consultancy. Then advertise through them. This way your profile will carry more weight.

Just don’t give up.

Dr. Naeem Ahmed is a Senior Research Scientist and Technology Consultant. He is the co-founder and director of http://www.topadvisors.net - a consultancy resource. He lives and works in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Ahmed can be contacted at: naeem@topadvisors.net His brief profile can be found at: sahmed.topadvisors.net.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Lingering Economy – Possibility of Job Loss ---- is Independent Consultancy the Answer?