Here's the Table of Contents of Janet Ruhl's new consulting book, THE COMPUTER CONSULTANT'S WORKBOOK. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 1 ARE YOU READY FOR CONSULTING? 5 What Do Consultants Do? Why Clients Use Consultants. Consulting Myths and Realities. Do You Have the Credentials It Takes to Succeed? Where Will You Find Your Clients? Do You Have a Consulting Personality? When Consulting May Be a Mistake. 2 TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS 47 Facts About Sole Proprietorship. Facts About Partnership. Facts About Incorporation. Facts About Consulting as an Employee. Common Questions About the Impact of Section 1706. Give Your Business a Name. Business Licenses. Setting Up an Accounting System. Keeping Out of Trouble With the IRS. Business Property Taxes. Sales Taxes. Deductible Business Expenses. Accounting for Software Purchases. The Home Office Deduction. How Much Tax Will You Really Pay? Office and Business Equipment Questions. Insuring Your Business. Types of Business Insurance. How to Establish Credit With Vendors. 3 HOW TO SET YOUR RATE 81 Fixed Bids. Hourly Rates. Retainers. What are Today's Consultants Charging? Set Your Own Rate. Billing Extras. Payment Schedules. Taking Credit Cards. Cut Rates and Discounts. When and How to Raise Your Rate. 4 HOW TO FIND CLIENTS 115 Develop a Marketing Plan. Marketing Principles for Consultants. Sharpen Your Marketing Message. The Power of Word of Mouth. Which Marketing Technique is for You? How to Network Without Being a Jerk. Newspaper Advertising. How to Cultivate Your Existing Contacts. Giving Talks. Classes and Seminars. How to Run an Inexpensive Public Relations Campaign. Promote Yourself to "Expert" Writing Articles. Newsletters. What are Effective Marketing Materials? Cold Calling. What do You Send When the Prospect Says, "Send Me Some Literature?" 5 BROKERED COMPUTER CONSULTING 163 What is Brokered Consulting? Can You Work Through a Broker? What Can Go Wrong? How to Ensure A Consulting Firm is Reputable. How to Get the Most Out of Being A W-2 Contractor. What to Expect When Dealing with Brokers. Contract Consulting Questions. Broker Contract Clauses and What They Mean. The Broker's Eye View. 6 HOW TO WIN CONTRACTS 185 How to Improve Your Listening Skills. Becoming Aware of Incompatible Techie Communication Protocols. How to Follow-Up After First Contact. The First Meeting With a Prospect. Determining the Problem to be Solved. Selling Yourself at the Interview. Starting the Clock. Identifying and Responding to the Prospect's Reservations. Do You Really Need This Client? Do You Need a Formal Proposal? When the Client Insists on a Specification. After the First Meeting. Closing the Sale. 7 NEGOTIATE YOUR INDEPENDENT CONSULTING CONTRACT 221 Who Supplies the Contract? Don't Be Afraid to Negotiate. Principles of Negotiation. What Does a Contract Define? Contract Clauses and What They Mean. 8 BE A SUCCESS ON THE JOB 237 How to Satisfy Your Client. Helping the Client Prepare. Developing the Consulting Mentality. Ethical Considerations. Real Consultants Ask Lots of Questions. How to Handle Mistakes. Should You Charge for Fixing Your Own Mistakes? The Perils of Long-Term Contracts. Don't Mix Business with Pleasure. How to Make Sure You Get Paid. The Mechanics of Billing Your Clients. Common Payment Problems and What to Do About Them. Maintaining the Client Relationship After the Job is Over. APPENDIX A: BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS BASICS 265 APPENDIX B: ICCA STANDARD FORM CONTRACT 269 INDEX 272 WORKSHEETS What's My Niche? 10 Evaluate Your Credentials 22 Who Is Your Client? 30 Do You Have a Consultant's Personality? 35 Are You an Employee or an Independent Contractor? 54 How Good is your Business Name? 58 Tax Checklist 65 Taking Care of Business Checklist 80 Fixed Bid or Hourly? 88 Determine the Going Rate 96 Double Check Your Rate Against the Rule of Thumb 97 Calculate Your Expenses 99 Determine Your Net Income 101 Sharpen Your Marketing Message 117 Jump-Start Your Marketing Efforts 152 Can You Work Through a Broker? 167 Check Your Brokered Consulting Contract 183 Rate Your Listening Skills 190 What You Have to Find Out at the First Meeting 196 Clarify Vague Symptoms 199 Contract Checklist 236 Should You Charge for Correcting the Error? 248 Are You Getting Sucked In? 250 FACT SHEETS Why Clients Use Consultants 7 Facts About Sole Proprietorship 48 Facts About Partnership 49 Facts About Incorporation 49 Section 1706 Of The Tax Reform Act Of 1986 53 How To Maintain Your Independence 57 How To Protect Yourself When Making Fixed Bids 85 How To Schedule Payments 105 How To Improve Your Word Of Mouth 129 How To Network Without Being A Jerk 130 How To Get An Article Written About Your Business 135 How To Format A Press Release 136 How To Improve Your Visibility With Public Speaking 141 How To Get An Article Published In The Trade Press 145 Newsletter Tips 147 What Literature to Send to Prospects 162 The Consultant From Hell, Broker Version 182 The Client From Hell 205 Principles Of Negotiation 224 What Does A Contract Define? 225 Code Ownership Options 227 How To Provide Fair Guarantees 230 Safeguards Against Nonpayment 232 Handling Bugs 233 How To Satisfy Your Client 238 Guidelines For Ethical Behavior 244 Legitimate Questions You Can And Must Ask 245 How To Handle Nonpayment 261 EXAMPLES A Letter Announcing a Rate Increase 111 Keep-in-Touch Letter 133 Press Release 138 Why You do Better with an Hourly Rate 174 A Sample Resume for Brokered Consulting 177 "Nice to Meet You" Letter 195 Sample Proposal 211 A Portion of a Specification 214 First Meeting Follow-Up Letter 217 Letter of Agreement 219 First Day Checklist 240 Sample Invoice 256 TABLES Niches and Lifestyle 16 Money Needed to Begin Consulting 42 Real Consulting Rates 92 Credit Card Processing Fees 107 Marketing Strategies by Niche 122 Marketing Techniques and the Personalities that Go With Them 126 Hourly Rate Consulting vs. Regular Salaried Employee Consulting 170 Proposal vs. Specification 208 Employee vs. Consultant Attitudes 241 About the Author: Janet Ruhl is the author of two previous computer career books, THE PROGRAMMER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE (Prentice Hall) and THE COMPUTER CONSULTANT'S GUIDE (John Wiley). She has been a staff member of CompuServe's Computer CONSULTants Forum since 1990 and currently is a sysop there. She invites you to visit her home page at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JanetRuhl. You'll find consulting tips, tax information for computer consultants, and a list of real consulting rates excerpted from the WORKBOOK. If you already have the GUIDE, you'll want to know that the workbook is designed as a companion volume to the GUIDE, rather than a replacement. It provides many examples, exercises, and topics that could not be included in the GUIDE. In addition, it is designed so that you can quickly retrieve the information you need when you need it. To order the book directly from TECHNION Books and receive a 10% Compuserve Users discount off of the retail price of $39.95, send a check for $38.50 ($36 for the book, $2.50 for shipping and handling), made out to "Janet Ruhl" to: TECHNION Books Ruhl Computer Services P.O. Box 171 Leverett, MA 01054 If you want the book mailed Priority Mail, please add $4.00 for shipping and handling instead of $2.50. Massachusetts residents must also include 5% sales tax ($1.80). Canadian buyers, please add $3.50 for shipping and handling. NEW===> You can also order the WORKBOOK using a credit card by calling BookCrafters Orderline at 1-800-879-4214. As of January 15, 1996, if you mention that you found out about the WORKBOOK here on Compuserve or on the Internet, you'll get the 10% discount from the 800 line too. Please note that the Orderline only sells the WORKBOOK, and does not carry Ruhl's other books. <=== NEW The WORKBOOK is also available at selected technical bookstores and online bookstores, including CompuBooks Online here on Compuserve (GO CBK). CompuBooks stocks ALL of Ruhl's computer career books.