Reddit mentions: The best business consulting books

/u/StoneCotton - first of all, congratulations on your new freelance business!

On taxes, you need to fill out an [IRS Form W-9] (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf) and give it to your client.

It will have your SSAN on it, but fewer people will see it than if you put it on an invoice.

Also, now that you are in business, there are lots of deductions you should be taking you might not be aware of.

For new freelance creatives, I recommend a book called [The Confident Indie: A Simple Guide to Deductions, Income and Taxes for The Creatively Self-employed] (https://www.amazon.com/Confident-Indie-Deductions-Creatively-Self-employed/dp/1939470013//ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=battleforthew-20) by June Walker, an accountant who works with the self-employed.

[Here] (https://junewalkeronline.com/) is her website. Highly recommended for freelance videographers.

Hope this is helpful and good luck!

I was a solo consultant from 2005-2007 and supported my family of four during that time.

I suggest working to become recognized for your expertise before you go solo.

I prepared by blogging, writing many articles and two books, presenting at conferences, and teaching classes. Additionally I was a consultant for a security company for several years, which meant I had a lot of contacts who might hire me for work as an independent. When I was considering going solo, I emailed many of them to let them know I was considering an independent path.

I decided to make the leap when a prospect said they had months of work for me to do. I left my job, but that prospect was all talk! Fortunately I found plenty of other work to compensate.

I paid my bills by scheduling and teaching independent classes. Above that I consulted, which was "bonus" at that point.

I read this book back then. It's from 2000 but the overall message is still relevant:

https://www.amazon.com/Serf-Surfer-Becoming-Network-Consultant/dp/0782126618

Be sure you take care of the "infrastructure" issues early -- taxes, business bank accounts and credit cards, insurance if you need it, etc.

Finally, it's best to decide right away if you intend to be a solo consultant, or if you are starting a business that would employ others. The latter is more complicated, obviously.

It's extremely hard work and the pressure is enormous. Two years was plenty for me but I'm glad I did it. Good luck!

Terrible at texturing = not good at drawing the texture maps, or terrible at texturing = not able to set up UV Maps someone else could draw textures for? And any experience with animating the low-poly models?

Contract work is the first thing that comes to mind, but finding an opportunity that fits your particular skills is inevitably a challenge. The better your skills are, and the more comprehensive they are, the easier that gets to be, but it's still a crapshoot. If you want to go that route though network like a fiend, put together a solid online portfolio, seek and reach out to developers doing 3D games on a budget (especially mobile or web, given your low-poly strength), pick up a Nolo book or two to learn at least the very basics of dealing with contracts (example 1, example 2), and good luck!

> sforming from break-fix to monthly contracts. How do you price the monthly contracts, what do clients get? 2) I'd like to scale employee-wise. Meaning, I'd like to have a number of techs working along-side me. How do they get paid, as a salary?

I'm currently reading it, almost finished, like 30 pages only left but when I started reading it, I quickly bought also the The E-Myth (revisited edition) from Micheal Gerber. You should definitively read it too. I'm a tech on the break/fix model since the last 9 years and in the next months I will switch to a MSP model. Other quick recommandation if you need help/inspiration to create your service agreement, buy also the Service Agreements for SMB Consultants, from the same author of Managed Service in a month. Definitively worth the money and time to read it.

Great! I would recommend starting with The EMyth Revisited and Fanatical Prospecting. Both books are great to give you some good tools to start out with and put you in the right mindset to succeed. I like Managed Services in a Month as well, but realistically if you've worked in the industry at established MSPs, there's not a lot groundbreaking there. It's a good re-affirmation, though.

Instead of making money on royalties / equity, you might want to look into the idea of value based fees. Here is THE book on the subject.

You are correct in your assumption; Aligning your financial incentives with the client's financial incentives is a win for all parties involved.

Peter Block's Flawless Consulting is the Bible of consulting and offers really intuitive step-by-step analysis of best practices in consulting. If you pick this book up, you can use it to guide you through your first gigs without too much trouble.

Good luck!

Flawless Consulting is pretty well known and respected.

These books are good:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0470419806/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0932633013/

But really, the best way is to network with consultants and pick their brains. A book isn't going to throw clients your way.

This book is a good place to start. I did the program, it had a good amount of value for me.

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Principles-Professional-Services-successfully/dp/0986210706

Funny you asked, I actually released my first book centered on an Introduction to Consulting last week. I'm still working on getting my website set up and was going to do a free kindle promotion the first week of December, but in case your interested now, here is the link.

https://www.amazon.com/Jack-All-Trades-Master-Some-ebook/dp/B07JX5CXTS/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1540912904&sr=8-30&keywords=introduction+to+consulting+book

Usually, it just means knowing how to use excel effectively (to crunch large data sets, create models etc.)

Basic guide to lingo:
http://www.consultingcafe.com/consulting-lingo-dictionary

Books (might not be relevant to you, but tempted to share given the title of your post):
http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Idiots-Guide-Consulting/dp/0028642716
http://www.amazon.com/Consulting-For-Dummies-Bob-Nelson/dp/0470178094

The ABCs of Consulting is actually a pretty good start.

I've been consulting on and off for 20 years.

I read this about 10 years in and learned a lot. It certainly jibed with a lot of my experiences in terms of client relationships...

http://www.amazon.ca/Million-Dollar-Consulting-Alan-Weiss/dp/0071622101

Give to your community. Give talks at your local association. Always be polite and positive. NEVER diss someone else to try to get an advantage. Always clearly state what you can do, what outcomes will be, what side effects might be, ...

One thing I found once I had several contracts was I suddenly had 'friends' who wanted me to find them jobs. As in, 'can I use your connections and reputation and...' and it was often awkward to deal with because some of them were colleagues. In all my years I hired other people to help probably 20 times and... guess how much reciprocity there was... Anyway, not to get all cynical, but...

Finally, look into contract law and talk to a lawyer. It is very very easy to screw yourself with a contract. If you are incorporated, you won't lose everything. Well, you may lose your entire business and declare bankruptcy but you won't lose your house, your...

Value-Based Fees is the one I swear by. Really shows how the relationship should be set up (for example using "we" instead of "you"). Definitely a good read.

Read value based fees before you start charging by the hour

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/0470275847

You can download a sample on iBooks. Anything by Alan Weiss will help you on your new consultation business

Mill

I'd think the first thing to do at this point is to talk with your client about their expectations. Be honest in telling them what you can do in the time you have, and give them the options of changing schedule, scope, and budget. Usually you can have any two of those. If all three are locked in, then describe the outcome you expect. You'll get the go-ahead or you won't, but your conscience should be clear either way.

My theory is that people hate after-the-fact surprises more than hearing bad news at the beginning. If you don't, you risk your reputation with the client's network - you'll never have the opportunity to explain the situation to those people.

Finally, check out Peter Block's book Flawless Consulting. The first third is indispensable, the second third is good, and the last part is just OK (IMHO).

I would recommend reading "From Serf to Surfer: Becoming a Network Consultant" for answers to your questions and more:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0782126618/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ZNpZDbB33D5SM

The book is pretty old but the business concepts are still highly applicable.

Oh right, here is an Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Become-Idea-Machine-Because-Currency-ebook/dp/B00S1PRTL4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

That is not affiliate link.

If you are charging hourly then you are missing out on a boatload of revenue. I highly recommend that you read Alan Weiss's book, Value Based Fees.

Llevo 15 años como Consultor Independiente, con bastante éxito.

TODO mundo quiere hacerse independiente, pero pocos tienen la disciplina y valor para hacerlo. A mí me sirvió mucho leer estos libros:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Business-Consulting-CD-ROM-Included/dp/0787994642

http://www.amazon.com/Flawless-Consulting-Guide-Getting-Expertise/dp/0470620749/

Suerte

Needs a kiddie laptop with JIRA Jr, and a copy of ABCs for Consulting.

For unique approaches to recruiting emails and subject lines check this out: https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Email-Idea-Machine-jumpstart-ebook/dp/B06Y2R7XG8

From Serf to Surfer

Jack of all trades master of some

I believe the author is a redditor too.

> Are there any ELI5-type guides for starting your own consultantcy company?

Start with this then come back with more specific questions

Is this the book you're referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/Consulting-Bible-Everything-Seven-Figure-Practice/dp/0470928085

I have a book called The Consulting Bible (Alan Weiss) and he says you need E&O, Liability, and Disability insurances.

Typing this part out:
>You need the following insurance. Once again, if someone tells you otherwise, put your hands over your ears, shut your eyes, and scream as loud as you can. (Do not attempt this if driving.)