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After years of serving employers, you have decided the time is right to take hold of your own destiny and to put your lifestyle and future more firmly in your hands. You have grown your skills or service to the point where they appeal to a market that is broader and more lucrative than that which can be realized by a full-time job. You have decided to become a consultant. The number of people making that decision has grown in recent years. Small and single-person businesses account for an ever-increasing percentage of New Hampshire's fortunes. However, going solo does not have to mean going alone.
Starting a consulting or contracting business poses many questions to the newly-minted entrepreneur. Should I incorporate? What about office space? How much should I charge? How do I find my market? What are my responsibilities to the IRS? What is the best way to approach my prospects? What are the accounting issues involved? The answer to these questions help determine the structure and outcome of our business endeavors.
For the past two and a half years, the SwANH Consultant's Forum has served as a focal point for inexperienced, as well as seasoned, consultants where these and other questions are examined at meetings and through email. Formed as a Special Interest Group (SIG) under the SwANH umbrella, the Forum still operates under its auspices. However SwANH membership is not required for participation in the Forum. Membership is free to all consultants who deal with technology or provide services to technology-oriented businesses. Even those considering such a move in their careers are welcomed by the Forum.
In addition to providing information on questions similar to those posed above, the Forum has been a fertile arena for peer-to-peer networking, partnerships, and collaborative opportunities for its members. "I draw from the resources and skills residing in the Forum before I look elsewhere for the technical help I need in my business", notes James McKim, an active member of the Forum. The skills represented by the group cover such areas as technical documentation, Web-Masters, software engineers, management advisors, database experts, hardware designers and even accounting and law. The associations formed within the group are often useful in furthering the individual businesses of its members.
The Forum's meetings have formal topics but are conducted in an informal, relaxed atmosphere, and in a manner that promotes discussion amongst the attendees. It is here that new consultants are welcomed, business cards are passed out, and the seeds of collaboration are sown. The meeting topics typically present information about some aspect of conducting a technology-oriented consulting business. Past meeting topics have included sessions on finance and accounting, techniques for promoting a consultant business, using the Internet as a business tool, establishing a business image, and finding consulting opportunities. Occasionally, an expert speaker will talk to the group regarding some aspect of consultant affairs. The inspiration and insights gathered during these meetings have helped several members overcome minor obstacles in growing their business.
Joining the Consultant's Forum couldn't be simpler. All it takes is to attend one of its monthly meetings and/or subscribed to the Forum's email list. The email list is a standard majordomo email list server, and is used to announce meetings, post job opportunities, query the group on answers to a variety of questions, and post humor relevant to consultants and technology. In the past several months, there has been a relatively lively exchange discussing the virtues and pitfalls of a number of standard contracts, and informative opinion posts regarding incorporation. A number of businesses also use the list to announce other events pertinent to consultants.
To find out more about the Consultant's Forum, you may send email directly to the chairperson of the Forum (lmowatt@craftech.mv.com), or if you simply want to lurk around a bit, you may subscribe to the Forum's majordomo email list server by sending a message to majordomo@lists.mv.net with only the single line: