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

Getting Paid

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Guerilla WriteFare: When Clients Don't Listen

What do you do with a perfectly good client who, despite your recommendations, embarks on a course of action you believe to be wrong or even disastrous? I know of only one answer to that question: let it go. After you've given it the old college try, of course. I never did let go easily. There are few things more disturbing than watching a client jump off a cliff. You just know they're going to crash onto the rocks below, because you've seen it happen so many times before. Is there anything you can do? Yes, and here's my list of things to do when clients don't listen.

Knowles, Michael. Write Thinking (2002). Articles>Writing>Consulting

How to Manage Clients

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?

Klariti. Careers>Consulting>Writing>Technical Writing

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

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

How to Write Your Own Contract  

This workshop is designed to help independent contractors write their own contracts.

Costanzo, Louis C., Terry S. Dick and Richard H. Weiss. STC Proceedings (1995). Careers>Consulting>Contracts

Human Factors: Consultant Search

HFES is pleased to provide this searchable directory of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) consultants and expert witnesses as a free service to potential clients.

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Careers>Human Computer Interaction>Consulting

In Defense of Difficult Clients

Challenging clients: avoidable pain or necessary stepping stone to enlightenment? Rob Swan considers the benefits of un-perfect clients.

Swan, Rob. List Apart, A (2006). Articles>Web Design>Consulting

Independent Consulting in Technical Communication

The number of technical communicators working as independent consultants has increased remarkably over the past decade - may you call this a trend?

TC-FORUM (1998). Careers>Consulting>TC

Independent Contracting Opportunities and Issues in Asia/Pacific  

As a U.S.-trained writer based in Singapore in recent years, my experiences and observations revealed significant opportunities that technical communicators working in the Asia/Pacific region can take advantage of as well as issues they are likely to need to come to grips with. My emphasis will be on Southeast Asia.

Kurtz, Jerry. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Consulting>Regional>Asia

The Independent Perspective

The Independent Perspective is published (online only) four times a year and is the official newsletter for the International Consulting and Independent Contractor Special Interest Group (CIC SIG) within the Society for Technical Communication.

STC Consulting SIG. Journals>TC>Consulting

Independents' Success Depends on Business Skills  

I went independent in 1990 as a technical writer/instructional designer, and I now teach technical writing in corporations. My business has grown steadily, albeit slowly, in these thirteen years. I learned quickly that independents are businesses first and technical communicators second. Our work may feed our souls and pay the bills today, but if we ignore business matters, our practices will ultimately fail. It is not enough to be 'technically' smart— independents must be savvy in business to succeed in any economy.

Frick, Elizabeth G. 'Bette'. Intercom (2003). Careers>Consulting>TC

Is There Intelligent Life Outside the City? A Personal View on Some of the Dos, Don'ts and Elephant Traps in Freelance Consultancy    

Offers comprehensive advice to information professionals considering taking up self-employed freelance information consultancy. Draws attention to the risks associated with leaving the protection offered by corporate employment, alongside the benefits of empowerment through being self-employed. Emphasizes the need for prior business planning and offers advice on business name, web presence, logos, business cards, professional subscriptions, the need to have an accountant and register for value added tax, and dealings with banks and with the local Business Link. Advises against acquiring company status, joining trade groups, untargeted advertising, brochures and mailshots, and professional indemnity cover. Suggests ways of seeking work through networking with contacts, advises on the risks associated with imprecise agreements with clients, and emphasizes that the most important aspect of successful self-employment is self promotion.

Newgass, Oriole. Business Information Review (2007). Careers>Consulting>Freelance

The Last Ditch Sales Pitch

I recently encountered a young web entrepreneur who understands that in business, 'no' doesn't necessarily mean 'never,' and that a last ditch sales pitch can pay off - maybe not today or tomorrow, but some day. It's a wise investment because one sales letter can be adapted and personalized for many different uses over time. And it can help you retrieve prospects you thought you had lost!

Reimer, Heather. Write Thinking (2002). Careers>Consulting>Marketing>Business Communication

Lessons Learned the Hard Way in an Architectural Document Disaster  

Delivering project reports in radically different formats gave the client a bad impression of this consulting firm. Here's how the staff remedied the situation and learned from their mistake.

Kalvar, Shannon T. TechRepublic (2003). Careers>Consulting>Project Management>Reports

Managing Client Relationships  

When meeting someone for the first time, you get about 10 seconds to make a good impression; make it a good one!

Steele, Karen A. STC Proceedings (1997). Careers>Consulting>Communication

Managing the Client: A Fairy Tale

Remember that a successful project has a measurable and positive impact on the client's business objectives. Set a time period to measure the progress toward achieving those objectives, and plan to measure progress on a regular basis. If you find that there are adjustments that should be made, or additions that can improve the project's functionality, do them.

Cliver, Sara. Digital Web Magazine (2002). Careers>Consulting>Collaboration