In order to have a successful IT consulting career, you need to have a variety of technical skills.  But even more important than technical skills is business savvy.

Just Say “No”

As you start your IT consulting business, you will get a lot of strange service requests.  People will waste your time with proposals that make no sense and will not have the money to pay you.  Learn to say, “No!” to these people, or you will find yourself struggling.    

Banking and Merchant Accounts

Setting up a business bank account is necessary.  If you want to resell products, a merchant account will be needed so you can take credit cards as part of your IT consulting business.  

Managing Money

You need to get paid well and fast.  You will need to know how to calculate expenses, balance a checkbook, deal with credit and collections and handle a billing and invoicing system.  

Tracking Prospects and Clients

You have to pay close attention to your IT consulting clients and prospects.  Set up databases to track them with off-the-shelf products.  

Delegation is Key

Even if you are going to run your own IT consulting business for a long time, you need to do some skill delegation.  At some point, you will probably work with some business partners, contractors and you will definitely be dealing with vendors.  Know when to pass off work to other IT consulting professionals.  

Submitted By:  Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit