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Okay, so my reason for wanting to become a consultant is so it's easier for communication between my clients and future clients. Right now, I've sold myself as a 3 employee start up company, but really there is only me... so I really hate beating around the bush saying "we" when there's only me.

Currently my company is a sole proprietorship... which legal structure is suitable for consulting?

What other legal/administrative prerequisites do I need to complete to be a consultant?

I've dealt with open source technology and rarely with proprietary platforms. I am interested in building enterprise software for an low saturated niche market so what is the best way to learn Java EE?

If you offer open source consulting... should you ever offer proprietary alternatives? Or is this just stupid?

What would my current clients feel if I told them MyCompany.com is now a consulting service, and I'd like to do case studies on them?

Is it normal for consultants to develop software?

How would you approach companies, or would you need a large pocket for advertising?

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Lots of questions, gagaga. =) For best results, I'd try asking "What's the best way to learn Java EE?" with some more context at stackoverflow.com - From your question title and responses to answers below, it sounds like the main answer you're looking for is what's a good guide on becoming a consultant? – Jay Neely May 12 '10 at 17:25

4 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

gagaga, the pre-requisite for becoming a consultant is deep knowledge about a specific problem domain. In addition, you should preferably already be recognized as an expert by others -- through past jobs, writing, speaking engagements etc.

So what is required is the deep knowledge, and a legal structure to send invoices from. Any legal structure will per se suffice -- but you might want a company type that is itself a legal persona, i.e. you might want to be sure that any legal claims are against a company you own, and not against you. In addition, you might want to consider an insurance with professional liability coverage.

These are common considerations, which any business lawyer in your jurisdiction can quickly and inexpensively help you with.

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up vote 5 down vote

You need to get back to honesty.

Stop saying you're 3 when you're 1. What's the goal of saying 3? To get a job that takes three people? Oops, you can't do that job.

How about being yourself, so that when you find someone who wants you, you deliver perfectly?

Instead of deciding what you think others want and pretending, just be yourself and find those who want that.

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i like this answer but looking for a general guide on becoming consultant. – gagaga May 12 '10 at 9:53
up vote 2 down vote

Check out FreelanceSwitch. Lots of specific articles and tips about being a consultant from promotion to pricing to competition to business info, and then a blog to drip new info in your head.

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thanks for the link ! – gagaga May 13 '10 at 4:23
up vote 1 down vote

Please check out the following documents from my blog's Downloads page:

  • Top Ten Legal Tips for Independent Contractors
  • Top Ten Intellectual Property Mistakes of Startup Entrepreneurs

Disclaimer: This post does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.

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thank sfor sharing ! – gagaga May 13 '10 at 4:23

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