How do you market yourself as a consultant?
I am a year removed from receiving my Masters degree in planning and have extensive GIS skills.
I have found a few consulting positions posted on various sites and through contacts, but this is not a steady stream of opportunities.
So I am wondering, how do you market your self as a consultant?
Are there any sites that have an ecosystems that allows you to market yourself to companies looking for consultants?
Any thoughts, recommendations?
Thanks.
I would just type in 'GIS' into one of the many job search engines (indeed.com is my favorite) and start applying. The more the merrier
**edit I thought you were talking about working for a consulting company. Working as an independent contractor will be much more difficult to get started. Cardinal might be able to help.
Last edited by OfficialPlanner; 15 Aug 2013 at 12:19 PM. Reason: oops
The content contrarian
Yah sorry if that wasn't clear. I mean a consultant working as an independent contractor.
The majority of consultants I have dealt with usually are the 'older folks' with 10-25 yrs of planning experience under their belt. Although, it seems there is a trend in private planning/design firms who have been misusing the 'consultant' title as a way to give their staff more prestige.
I don't think companies would be looking for a fresh out of graduation member for a consultant, unless you are highly skilled in a particular subject/software and know how to utilize it in a work setting.
You have to put in your time somewhere before striking out. One of the smartest people I know had to, after grad school, get involved with a group headed by a professor. He knew he couldn't do it alone, and if he knew he couldn't do it in better economic times, well...you'd best cut your teeth in a firm for a few years just like everyone else.Originally posted by Silverdude2167
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Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
I've done some independent here-and-there part-time consulting contracts, but they were all earned because of people in the community who knew me and needed something done. Going "full-time" as a specialized consultant is more difficult to do. Sadly, the path there is to first start by getting employment with a consulting firm to learn the ropes. Build up your experience and resume. You probably will not be able to bid for major projects (plans, environmental analyses, etc.) since those require the manpower of a firm, and usually planning agencies are looking for seasoned veterans in their RFPs. So you'll have the start by looking for small contracts yourself and developing connections/contacts.
I made the decision to go independent in 2005. At that point I had 19 years of government experience in three states (12 as ED director), a masters degree, AICP and CEcD certifications, and had served as a board member or president of a handful of organizations. In my first two years I did not make what I had as an employee. I simply could not compete with the larger firms. I teamed with another company for three years before going solo again and this time I have slowly built up to about twice my old salary. Once you yake out the additional taxes, social security, and expenses that works out to about a third more. From this experience I would make a few observations:
- Do not plan to make a living wage your first year, and plan three years to get to your target. Remember that you need to make about 1.5 times what you set as your deisred wage.
- Have the experience. This is going to be difficult for you. In your case, especially, I would focus on a niche. This is most likely a technical skill (ex., GIS) that smaller planning and related firms may not be able to provide internally. As an example, there are probably two or three projects each year where it would be convenient for me to have GIS to perform some analysis. The ESRI license costs $1500, and that is without any of the extensions I would ideally like to have. I can't justify that cost so I make my maps some other way or do without. Find about 20 or so of us small guys and let us feed you our projects. You might end up getting mostly $500 to $1000 jobs with occassionally something bigger thrown in. Use this to build a portfolio and then work these clients to get them to give you more planning-related work. There are always times when we are swamped and can use a little back-up.
- Network. set up appointments to talk to everybody - small consultants, small cities, etc. If you can develop web GIS applications talk to the people who have solo or small web deisgn businesses. Explore every angle.
- Know your competition. Mid-sized to larger planning firms have GIS capabilities. Engineering firms market their GIS capabilities to everybody.
- Be tenacious. Most people quit in their first few years because they can't build a steady stream of business or reach the kind of income they desire. You need to stick it out, but don't forget to constantly re-assess and make adjustments to your business and approach. I thought I would be doing a lot more planning, but found my niche with market and economic research, followed by economic development, with planning a distant third.
- Good luck.
Anyone want to adopt a dog?
Thanks for all the reply's.
All the responses have been very informative and helpful.
Cheers/
I know that my case isn't normal, but I landed a job a semester before graduating based solely on solid presentation skills, an extensive portfolio (written work, graphics, and cartography), and a skill-set that my firm was lacking. Create a brand for yourself and believe in it. I remember looking through this forum a year ago feeling completely hopeless. An internship and MURP (in 9 credits anyway) later and I'm gainfully employed at the only firm I wanted to work at.
Good luck!
The proper way to pluralize reply is replies, not "reply's". The ability to proofread will help you immensely when trying to market yourself as a consultant.
I found you a new motto from a sign hanging on their wall…"Drink coffee: do stupid things faster and with more energy"
The proper way to pluralize reply is replies, not "reply's". The ability to proofread will help you immensely when trying to market yourself as a consultant.
Game over man, Game over...
Thanks for the note, I will use the correct pluralization in the future.
^^Yep.The proper way to pluralize reply is replies, not "reply's". The ability to proofread will help you immensely when trying to market yourself as a consultant.
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