In starting an IT consulting business, you need to get the steady clients that are willing to pay premium rates for premium services. If you want to be perceived as a professional solution provider and you want to do this full time, you need to be charging what other IT consulting businesses charge.

You should charge somewhere in the same ballpark as the competition because if you’re charging way below market it’s going to be really hard to raise your rates over time.

Remember Overhead Costs

Your full-time competitors have figured out what they need to bill to be able to cover their overhead items and you may be overlooking a lot of those items. When determining your rates for your IT consulting business take into consideration taxes, training, insurance, a decent marketing and promotions budget, research, administration, and billing.

There’s good reason why your competition needs to charge more than $100 per hour. It’s not that they’re greedy, it’s not that they’re being opportunistic; their costs are that high. Even when it’s just you and you’re not paying a technical person, you need to know what your going rate is in the marketplace as an IT consultant.

Be Patient

It may take until the second year to realize your desired income.  Starting an IT consulting business is not about working 80 hours a week to draw $200 a week. If you can’t cover your basic expenses it’s going to be really difficult to make the transition to operating a full-time IT consulting business. 

Don’t Work Too Cheap

In the IT consulting business you want to ensure you don’t make the mistake of working way too cheap. Make sure you go for steady clients when you’re moonlighting. At the end of the day you need steady business from clients that have the willingness and ability to pay premium rates for your premium services.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting Business

In this article, you’ve learned about the IT consulting business. To learn more about the IT consulting business, click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.