Consulting Tips for Beginners - Part 1

So I have begun to liken consulting to something akin the Wild, Wild West. It is exciting, it is a symbol of you having skills that people desire and are willing to pay you a nice sum of money per hour for (i.e., "You've hit the 'big' time"), and it's more or less an opportunity for you to act as your own boss. In my experience, however, consulting jobs can be much different than a novice may expect when they first begin. I didn't know anyone who did health or statistical consulting when I first started, so I really didn't know what to ask for per hour or what I was entitled to. I allowed the company I was working for to set my first hourly salary - there's nothing inherently wrong with that, per se', but if you are planning to start a consulting business, it probably is best to charge a reasonable salary you can gradually increase with your returning clients from the get-go. After all, it makes more sense to go from $50/hour to $60/hour over the years or if a project is more challenging, than to go from $25/hour to $60/hour with a previous client.

I don't have a lot of time to post all of my tips here, because I'm actually in the middle of a small consulting gig as we speak, but I have some basics here to start off that are useful for anyone:

1.) Ask for detailed clarification of the client's expectations of you right off the bat before you agree to work on a project. This really is the most important aspect of a project - I had an occasion where I agreed to work on a project after getting a basic explanation of the data and the analysis required, before I realized that said analysis really couldn't be performed with that data. It ended up causing a lot of confusion between the client and I that would have been completely alleviated had I known from the get-go I could not have been of service to them.

2.) It is also important, before agreeing to work on a project, that you understand the client's budgeted hours/payment towards the project they are coming to you with. For example, a client may assume that a certain task may only take an hour or two, and may only budget accordingly. Data management to format data into a certain statistical program is often more time-consuming than one may first assume off the get-go. I would recommend that if a certain amount of hours are agreed to prior to commencing a data analysis/management project, the client should understand that the time dedicated to a project may change depending on legitimate, unexpected tasks that needed to be completed in order to finish the project. Ideally, I would say it is best to really keep the hourly commitment to the project open-ended or within a reasonable range so that neither party is feels slighted.

I have many more that I can come up with as time goes on, but overall, consulting is a really great experience, if you remember to respect the skills you are offering and operate your own individual self as a company with professional considerations. Hope someone found this helpful!

Sincerely,
Christina