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I have a small consulting business - write software for other people since I have yet to find that one product to develop for myself. I generally have just one client at a time, which does not allow my business to get to the point where I can quit my day job. Most of my work comes from referrals as I have yet to find a way to market my skills.

Any suggestions on how to take this to the next level?

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4 Answers

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Your overall earning power and security is limited if you are a single consultant. I started my consulting business with a partner which has made it a TON easier, I couldn't imagine having to do it all alone. Means you need more work initially but companies are more comfortable when multiple people are there to support them.

  • Immediately start looking at it like a company, not just you consulting.
  • Consider finding a trustworthy individual who you can work with or sub contract projects to
  • Try to figure out a recurring revenue model with your prospects. $X/mo I'll allocate a certain amount of time to work on your projects from now into the future. (only works with bigger companies)
  • Start prospecting people who can help you with your work. Depending on your hourly rate you can make money as a consultant, but it's hard off of single projects here and there unless you can get a lot of those and have others help you (employees/sub-contractors). Unless you are selling 40 hour a week multi month consulting gigs.
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Off the top of my head:

  • Elance and oDesk are good places to start - a lot of people are looking for dev help on those sites
  • Craigslist isn't bad either
  • Going to business meetups and networking with people
  • Pay per click
  • SEO
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Automate the work you do, so you can do it much faster. I'm in the same situation as you. Software dev, have 9-5, have other clients, but not enough of them.

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I was on the same situation as you are a year ago. To get new clients, I focused my time and efforts on these activities:

  • Create a social media outlet (blog, facebook page and tweeter) and updated them on a regular basis.
  • I joined communities that interest me, and helped build that community.
  • I offered my services to non-profit organizations.
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