#27812
Recognize the many paths to success and be prepared to forge your own if needed. You may find at the end of your 'wrong way' happy clients, satisfied users, and a successful and delivered system.
Bachmann, Karen L. Usability Interface (2006). Careers>Consulting>Usability
#22575
Errors and Omissions Insurance: Assuming the Risk of Professional Liability 
Discusses the costs and benefits of errors and omissions insurance, a type of coverage normally obtained by independent technical communicators and consultants.
Juillet, Christopher. Intercom (2004). Careers>TC>Consulting
#22600
Estimating a Technical Writing Project
How do you go about estimating the number of hours that a project would take?
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2000). Careers>Consulting>Writing>Technical Writing
#18537
Describes a detailed process for estimating the time and costs of online communication projects.
Drakeley, Caroline A. Intercom (2003). Careers>Web Design>Consulting
#22031
One of the more challenging parts of being a contractor or managing a writing project is developing an estimate of the fee or costs. Sure, there are various techniques out there, some more accurate than others, but generally no hard and fast rules applicable across the spectrum of potential assignments. Therein rest at least part of the key to doing a viable estimate, i.e., what kind of document development are you doing.
#26153
Estimating the Cost of Writing and Editing
The cost depends on how long and complex the document is, and how much editing is required. Most editors have a fixed hourly rate, and will quote for a job after they have studied the document. Skilled wordsmiths usually charge more per hour, because they do the job faster. When you find a fine wordsmith, handle with care. They are not exactly thick on the ground.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Careers>Consulting>Writing
#31372
Finding Your Way: John Deveney, ABC, Discusses His Views on Consulting
Natasha Spring talks with John Deveney about the success of his consulting firm, client relationships, technology, and the challenges he has faced.
Spring, Natasha and John Deveney. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication>Case Studies
#30357
Focus on Consulting: When Home is Where You Do Your Job
The freedom to be a consultant or independent contractor (C&IC), to work on your own, to work at home, to 'tele-commute' has become one of the principal aspects that entices otherwise happy, healthy, sane people to leave their jobs and hang out their shingles. But like nearly every other aspect of being independently employed, working out of the home presents advantages and disadvantages in such areas as lifestyle, professionalism, and tax considerations.
Boston Broadside (1989). Careers>Consulting>Freelance
#30148
Forging Effective Partnerships with Clients
Numerous helpful references and courses teach us how information developers can create value for clients through good project management, but getting our partners to recognize that value remains a challenge.
Knodel, Elinor L. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Consulting>Collaboration
#22056
Freelance, Independent, Contractor, Consultant...
If getting into the technical writing business is a challenge, and it assuredly is, defining our employment status often poses a few questions too. Naturally, there’s the common full-time employee status we all know and understand fairly well, but when we find ourselves dealing with a technical services or technical consulting firm there can be some murky waters, and more than a few aberrations of the “traditional” understanding of the term. So, we need to define some “terms” of employment since the majority of technical writers will ultimately encounter variations.
#10488
Katharine Oï¿Moore-Klopf responded to the call in the last issue of The Freelancer for information on freelancers who have been successful in working outside of New York City. She lives in East Setauket in Suffolk County, Long Island, a two-hour trip from Manhattan. After eight years of commuting to work as a production editor for a Manhattan medical publisher, she decided to work from home so she could spend time with her new baby. She reports that she puts in an average of 35 hours a week. She is currently doing production of a medical journal for her most recent former employer, editing a medical journal as well as medical textbooks for a Manhattan publisher, and editing fiction and mass-market nonfiction for yet another former employer. She also proofreads a medical journal and expects to begin doing electronic editing soon.
Maas, Georgia. Editorial Freelancers Association (1996). Careers>Consulting
#21673
From Independent Consultant to Business Manager
Moving from being an independent contractor to being a business owner is a big step. It involves not only practical concerns, such as accounting, legal, and administrative ones, but also re-evaluations in goals and outlooks. Sometimes we need to work through barriers, or blocks, to achieving success as a business owner.
Fay, Brenda. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Management>Consulting
#29775
From Independent Consultant to Employer
Making the leap from independent consultant to employer is a complex process. When you become an employer you are no longer dealing with the same tasks that are familiar to you. When we decided to combine our efforts to start a training and documentation consulting company, we overcame difficulties, but made mistakes along the way. If you have been pondering the idea of starting a business, we hope that our experience can better prepare you for becoming a successful employer.
Dianetti, Angela and Jill McCauslin. STC Proceedings (2004). Careers>Management>Consulting
#21276
Getting into Government Consulting
From Washington, D.C. to Olympia, Washington, there's a rich potential for user experience consultants of all flavors to provide services to government. In this article I'll share some thoughts directed toward you, the independent consultant or small firm that would like to work with government.
McMullin, Jess. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Careers>Consulting>Government>User Experience
#20227
As businesses struggle to stay in business, many are short–changing vendors or woefully delaying payment. Zeldman laments the difficulties of getting paid.
Zeldman, Jeffrey. List Apart, A (2002). Careers>Consulting>Web Design
#10345
Getting Professional Help: Why Contractors and Independent Consultants Need Lawyers 
This article begins with the premise that there is no such thing as a standard contract and goes on to explore some of the ways that the attorney/client relationship can have unexpected benefits for technical communication consultants and contractors. The conclusion is that these communicators should seek legal counsel to protect themselves and their businesses.
Glick-Smith, Judith L. 'Judy' and Carol Stephenson. Technical Communication Online (1998). Careers>Consulting>Legal
#31044
Getting Started on Your Assignment
This is the first of a series of articles on BA consulting. This is some of my perspective on starting your consulting assignment as a BA, and understanding the organization that you're working with. This first article: Start your BA assignment with a bang and will be followed by two additional articles discussing requirements basics, followed by closing the project.
Furey, Jim. BA Collective (2007). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication
#19568
Good Communication Is More than Just Good Writing
Writers can be good at writing, but lousy at communicating verbally. These tips will help you communicate better with your clients—and instill clients with confidence in your real strengths.
Holland, Anton. Writer's Block (1996). Careers>Consulting>Communication
#26055
Good Opportunity for Technical Communication Service Providers
When I tried to look at the salary survey from the point of view of a Technical Communication Service Provider (TCSP), I noticed quite a few interesting points.
Pandit, Makarand M. Indus (2005). Careers>Consulting>Regional>India
#28823
Got Blog? Blogging for Independent Consultants, Contractors, and Small Business Owners 
Why Blog? Your personal presence, building goodwill, and enhancing your network.
Bryant, Stephanie. STC Proceedings (2007). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication>Blogging
#31371
Great Consulting Starts with Skills That Matter
Many organizations are looking to communicators for a different set of services than those traditionally delivered. “Teach our managers to communicate better,” leaders say. “Help us make smarter decisions and be more efficient,” they plead. “Help me deliver messages better in front of our audiences,” they implore. At the same time, communicators work tirelessly to get to the leadership table, stay there and have real influence. We’re all working toward the same end: strategic thinking and implementation that truly impacts the business. For some, operating more like a consultant, even while continuing to work inside the organization, makes more sense. But how do you transition to such a model?
Wilson, Stacy. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Careers>Consulting>Business Communication
#23663
Growing Your Practice by Managing Business Relationships
Independent contractors and consultants know the value of working cooperatively with other professionals to complete complex projects. 'Other professionals' includes subcontractors, other independent contractors and consultants, and business partners. The formation of these kinds of strategic relationships can help meet the demands of today’s diverse markets and clients. This paper outlines some of the basic issues that surround business relationships, including planning (estimating and bidding), formalizing project-based contractual relationships, and exploring more permanent partnership arrangements.
Barker, Thomas, Ryan Bernard, Melanie G. Flanders, Rob Moschak and Nicole Wycislo. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Freelance>Consulting>Collaboration
#21684
For many technical writing companies the issue of how to manage all the associated 'non-writing' costs can be a sensitive area. Do I charge for every email? Every phone call? Where do you draw the line? What do you charge for, besides the document you produced?
#25903
How to Create a Winning Tagline
The name of your company or consulting practice can offer prospects a clue into the work you do, which is especially necessary if it’s not readily understood, but if it bears your name, you’d better have a tagline to do the explaining.
Benun, Ilise. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Careers>Consulting>Writing
#29254
How to Deliver Bad News to Customers
In order to be effective in the usability business, you have to face the fact that you'll have to deliver bad news. You have to talk about what's not working. You might have to bruise egos and make your client uncomfortable.
Rhodes, John S. Apogee. Careers>Consulting>Usability>Collaboration
