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- IT consultant strategies for weathering economic downturns
- Check out these tips for keeping your consulting business afloat when the economy is tanking. Chip Camden discusses five marketing tips from Steve McKee and provides six do's and don'ts of his own. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Information Technology, Business, Client, Consulting, Chip Camden, Outsourcing, Strategy, Operational Accounting, Marketing Research, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Management, Finance, Marketing
- Blog posts 2008-07-28
- Harassed for attempting to transition from employee to consultant
- When a TechRepublic member told his employer that he planned to resign and work for a small consulting firm which had been a vendor, his boss threatened to sue the new firm. Find out what lessons you can learn from this sweet consulting opportunity that turned sour. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Consulting Company, Consultant, Employer, Consulting, Mac_IT_Guy, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-07-21
- Insurance for independent IT consultants: Policies to consider
- Insurance is one of the last things that independent consultants usually deem necessary when they're starting out. Find out which types of insurance policies independents should consider, and hear which types Chip Camden is considering himself. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Consultant, Information Technology, Insurance, Financial Planning, Business Operations, Corporate Insurance, Finance, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-07-14
- Four strategies for dealing with vendors that don't talk to consultants
- Are you dealing with a vendor that won't talk to you? If so, Chip Camden explains that understanding why a vendor may be keeping mum can be the key to figuring out how to handle the situation. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Vendor, Leadership, Strategy, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-07-08
- Six questions to ask yourself before expanding your IT consultancy
- Don't expand your IT consultancy without asking yourself these six important questions. If you still decide to take the plunge, find out what Chip Camden advises to ease into the transition. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Hiring, Information Technology, Consulting, Recruitment & Selection, Outsourcing, Human Resources, Workforce Management, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-28
- 10 personality traits of a highly effective independent consultant
- Many IT consultants daydream about branching out on their own without giving much thought to what skills are necessary to succeed as a freelancer. Before you commit to being an independent consultant, read Chip Camden's list of 10 personality traits that he says you should possess in order to be...
- Tags: Consultant, Problem, Consulting, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-24
- Should IT consultants pay for their stupid mistakes?
- Chip Camden is kicking himself because a client's test files were wiped out from a shared storage space, and there was no backup. Now he's grappling with whether he should literally pay his client for the mistake. To let him know what you would do, take this poll. by Chip...
- Tags: Information Technology, File, Backups, Storage, Hardware, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-16
- How to respond if a client asks you to lie
- If an IT consulting client asked you lie for them, would you? Chip Camden provides tips on what to say if your client puts you on the spot. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Client, Taxes, Free Trade, Outsourcing, Financial Planning, Finance, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-11
- An Adventure in IT consulting
- Chip Camden presents a fictitious scenario in which a project goes off the rails, and an IT consultant is called in to offer wisdom. Find out what IT consultants can learn from this example. by Chip Camden
- Tags: Consultant, Information Technology, Consulting, Sales Strategy, Sales Force Management, Team Management, Sales, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-06-05
- Offshore developers: Focus on comprehension rather than speed
- In the discussion about whether you charge by the hour or per day for onsite IT consulting, TechRepublic member Marty R. Milette took me to task for being a "whiny, spoiled, American consultant." The idea that I name my own terms and charge more for onsite work did not resonate...
- Tags: Developer, Offshore Developer, Development Tools, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-05-27
- IT consulting: The importance of naive creativity
- Tao Te Ching: "The more you know, the less you understand." There are many times that the more I learn something, the more I'm constrained by my knowledge and assumptions, resulting in my being less creative. This contradicts the conventional wisdom concerning expertise. People...
- Tags: Consultant, Knowledge, Information Technology, Consulting, E-mail, Strategy, Online Communications, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-05-21
- Onsite IT consulting: Do you charge by the hour or per day?
- As I've mentioned before, I don't go onsite very often; I do almost all my IT consulting work from my home office via the Internet. Some of my clients I have never even meet in person -- one of whom is right across Puget Sound in Seattle! ...
- Tags: Information Technology, Client, Consulting, Food & Beverage, Keyboards, Corporate Governance, Strategy, Financial Accounting, Manufacturing, Hardware, Peripherals, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Management, Finance, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-05-12
- Big trouble for little white IT consulting lies
- A prospective client describes the problem domain. It seems easy enough for your abilities, and your consulting fees aren't an obstacle. You're already counting the money you're going to make from this IT consulting project, when the client says: "Oh, and we use <technology X>. How well do you know...
- Tags: Consultant, Information Technology, Consulting, Technology, X, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-05-03
- Billing IT consulting clients for travel time
- Since I perform most of my IT consulting work from home, I don't have to travel much for business anymore -- twice a year is a lot for me. My clients can connect to my brain over the wonderful World Wide Web and suck everything they need out of it...
- Tags: Billing, Client, Consulting, Outsourcing, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-04-30
- Do IT consultants have a right to reuse code?
- Do you have the right to reuse code that you create for one IT consulting client in an engagement for another client? Naturally, you learn new techniques as you work on a problem that you can't help but apply to similar projects in the future. But how different does the...
- Tags: Software, Information Technology, Client, Consulting, Outsourcing, Tools & Techniques, Open Source, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-04-23
- Four issues to consider before becoming a remote IT consultant
- I perform most of my IT consulting work from home. This arrangement is quite convenient and allows me to work when inspiration strikes. For example, I recently handed off a problem to a colleague, and then the solution occurred to me in a dream. As soon as...
- Tags: Consultant, Information Technology, Strategy, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-04-15
- Why long-term IT consulting engagements may be preferable
- One week from today will be the 17 year anniversary of when I became an independent IT consultant. During that time, I've had 50 clients, seven of whom are still active (I'm arbitrarily defining active clients as ones I billed in the last six months). Including the...
- Tags: Information Technology, Client, Consulting, Chances, Outsourcing, Strategy, It Operations, Business Operations, Outsourcing & Subcontracting, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-04-07
- Can you identify your shortcomings as an IT consultant?
- Have you ever wondered what clients might say if they had to write a critique about you? It didn't really enter my mind until I read TechRepublic member meryl_logue's comment in the discussion thread about how to become an IT consultant: I NEVER hire a consultant without at least...
- Tags: Consultant, Information Technology, Referral, Software Development, Strategy, Development Tools, Software/Web Development, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-03-28
- What's more important to become an IT consultant: education or experience?
- A TechRepublic member recently e-mailed me this question: "Is there a special course you have to take to become an IT consultant, or does it depend on what computer skills you have?" The topic of education vs. experience comes up a lot in the TechRepublic Forums. I...
- Tags: Education, Consultant, Knowledge, Information Technology, Computer, Strategy, Productivity, Management, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-03-17
- Are you only working for the money?
- If you didn't need the money, would you do the same work that you're doing today without pay? I would scale back to only the work that I do for free already, like posting code on Chip's Tips or being a member of the RSS Advisory Board. I would...
- Tags: Consultant, Money, Leadership, Development Tools, Management, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Chip Camden
- Blog posts 2008-03-07
