Andrea Coutu

Client behavior management can be one of the toughest aspects of consulting. After all, management of client expectations and behavior can affect your entire consulting business, yet most consultants have little training in it. Client behavior affects your business through: scope creep spending more hours than budgeted because of questions, challenges, unexpected meetings and calls […]

Figuring out how to start a consulting business is part of becoming a consultant. Unless you’ve opted for a corporate job, you’ll need to learn how to start a consulting business. Your consultancy itself is a business and starting up isn’t as hard as you might think.  Check out our business plan template and workbook.

Many stay at home moms transition to new careers by moving into the consulting space.

Becoming a consultant is a dream for many people. Yet some never take the plunge. For me, becoming a consultant is the best decision I’ve ever made. Consulting has afforded me a flexible work schedule, time with family, challenging projects and financial reward. But I’m just one story. Tell me your reasons for becoming a

Work is a common theme in movies and TV shows. Journalists and doctors tend to show up a lot. But where are all the consultant movies and TV shows? I tried to think of movies and TV shows with consultants, but I was stumped. Fortunately, the IMDB helped me out: The Consultant (1983 TV series)Office

Why do businesses fail? With all the effort people put into starting up businesses, you’d think more would succeed. But thousands of small businesses fail each year.  A quick drive around the web reveals a lot of reasons why businesses fail: MSN has a list of the top 10 reasons businesses fail The US Small

Despite the trend in more and more people working from home, the office furniture industry has been slow to catch up. You’d think there would be dozens of ways for people working from home to hide their home offices in armoires. Yet armoire home office options are few and far between. The furniture industry doesn’t

"How do you set consulting fees?" writes Chad, a Consultant Journal visitor. "I read your article on setting consulting fee rates, but you’ve given a few ways to calculate consulting fees and you didn’t mention how you figure out your own rates. What methodology do you use?" Great questions, Chad. Thanks for writing. I’ve used

Consultants often work from home and operate as sole proprietors. And, while working at home has its perks, running a home business can sometimes be challenging. Many consultants report feeling isolated and depressed.   Take the case of Marthe, a translation consultant who has a disability related to her mood (expired Government of Canada link). Marthe

Consulting business startups face many challenges in the early days. As a startup, your consulting business may not have any clients, brand equity, contacts, cash flow or even business cards! Weaving your way through the startup obstacle course can be trying — to say the least. When I started my consulting business, I was full