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Start or Build Your Own Consulting and/or Coaching Practice
IT'S ALL ABOUT FOCUS
 When you begin to think about starting or building your consulting practice, you might be finding it hard to focus. . .
there is so much to consider when the targets seem so small and the field is so big! So many
professionals (consultants, and executives who have wanted to become consultants) have approached
me to ask me to help them start or build their own consulting practice that it has become a viable
part of my own practice. I learned to build consulting practices beginning in 1982 when, as President and
CEO of Consulting Resource Group International, Inc.
(CRG), I had to build my own practice while I was helping
independent consultants and trainers learn to use the assessments and programs that I had authored in their consulting and training
projects to enhance client learning, and to enhance their bottom lines. Perhaps what Bagger Vance (in the movie,
The Legend Of Bagger Vance) said about golf is true about building a consulting practice:
"You just have to find your authentic swing."
As a consult/coach I have to consistently find my "authentic swing" (I'm still trying to find it in golf!)
and I can help you find yours as a consultant or coach. Finding your "authentic swing" involves one or more
of the 15 Development Tasks that are outlined below. As a result of the relationships that I built over many
years, you can see a list of CRG's Associate Companies who have all benefited in various ways from the publications,
training and/or consulting that I provided directly, or provided indirectly through my partners. Some of these
Associates needed more help than just advice on how to enhance their consulting process or add products to their
offerings. Some of them needed to deal with personal issues that were interfering with thier leadership and managerial effectiveness.
And others became my mentors in various ways (Marilyn Hamilton, Howard Shenson, Stephen Haines, Gerard Egan, Allen Ivey, Bill
Bean, Everett Robinson, Ken Keis)! And many of them asked me to help them with a wide range of professional development
and business issues that I can help you with. Below is a partial list of tasks that many of them had to complete
to launch or accelerate their practices. Which ones do you need?
15 Development Tasks I Can Help You Accomplish:
- Understand the difference between consulting, counseling, coaching and mentoring.
- Understand your entrepreneurial style and success factors
with the Entrepreneurial Style and Success Indicator (co-authored by Howard Shenson, CMC, and myself).
- Understand your identity as a consulting professional: your sense of mission, vision, purpose and values.
- Clarify your areas of interest and passion for consulting, writing, training or speaking (for example, see
my own "Who I am" page)
- Clarify your most marketable strengths and talents.
- Develop credibility by selecting credentialing options for professional consulting or coaching (I help you
evaluate your current credentials and position them for your market…and help you develop a plan to beef up your
credentials and skills in the most economical way, if necessary or desirable).
- Position your strengths in the marketplace so that you have clear priorities and targets for your own niche markets.
- Build collateral (promo) materials to promote their practices (for example, see my own "What I Do" page.
- Assess your consulting skills using the Transforming Leadership model for leadership skill development - the
same model that you can use to teach those you coach or consult with your clients.
- Understand the contracting process and tools so that you know how to begin, secure and develop client
relationships with maximum clarity, understanding and satisfaction for you and your clients.
- Gain access to resources and associations that will keep you on the cutting edge of your field.
- Join and/or build a network of professional associates who you can count on for support and mutual business
referrals.
- Use technology and the internet to leverage your business into generating passive income.
- Leverage your writing or speaking talents, combined with internet marketing technology to catapult your business.
- Set up your own office, automate it, get the support services you need at a reasonable price, and free up your
time to do what you do best.
The Cost of Your Investment in My Consulting and Coaching Practice Development Services:
Think of your working
with me as an investment! If you aren't satisfied with my coaching…you don't pay! You can't lose. The actual
cost of my services to help you build your practice is based upon the extent of your current knowledge, experience
and needs. My goal is always to make our time we spend coaching be worth far more than it costs you so that it
really costs you more to NOT get coaching!
I Can Help You in One of Two Ways: If you want to start a new consulting or coaching practice you can hire me on a
retainer basis; or, I can act as an advisor (as needed) on an hourly fee for service coaching basis to help you
accelerate or expand your existing practice. See my Fees Page for my normal rates, but also understand that we will
jointly design how we will work together so that your reaching your goals will occur in the context of your current
financial resources.
Free One Hour Personal Meeting or Teleconference: If you are serious about launching a consulting or coaching
practice please give me a call and I will provide you with a no cost, no obligation session so that you can further
assess my capacity to assist you to reach your goals, and I can see if I am the best resource to help you along your
way. I have many other Senior Consulting Associates who could assist you as well. Just email me
at drcoach@mac.com or phone me at my home office
(360) 296-2751 and we can schedule a time.
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