1st Edition
You're the Boss Growing and Selling a Successful Consulting Firm
Lucrative Wisdom
The Core of Consulting
The Three Forms of Consulting
Your Shelf Life
The Consultant’s World
Three Tips
The Exit Strategy
Writing Your Story Backward
Know Your Exit Value Perspectives
The Challenge of an Exit Strategy
Predicting the Unpredictable
What Is Your Price?
Creating Flexibility
The Cell Model
Systems and Processes
Three Tips
Finding and Keeping Consultants
Typecasting Consultants
A Taxonomy of Must-Have Consultants
Sources of Consultants
The Starting Conundrum
The Characteristics of Good Consultants
Finding Consultants
Consultants Who Can Sell Work
Creating an Engaging Workplace
Three Tips
Building Your Firm
Your Firm’s Building Blocks
Connecting Sectors and Services
Projecting Resilience
Three Tips
Grow with Purpose
The Mechanics of Growth
Profit versus Growth
Growing without Growing Pains
Getting Your Managers to Grow
Three Tips
Debt-Free Growth
Growth Funds and Growth Rates
Growing in Fees-to-Salary Increments
Cash Is King
Shepherding Your Debtors
Smoothing Revenues
Creditor Management
Debt-Free Growth Is Not Forever
Three Tips
Partnering
To Partner or Not to Partner
The Advantages and Risks of Partnering
The Partnership Charter
What Partners?
Friends as Partners
Three Tips
Stumbling
Mistake 1: It’s All about the Big Picture
Mistake 2: Planning Is for Gumbies
Mistake 3: Leave Managing the Cash to the Accountants
Mistake 4: Compromise Your Quality
Mistake 5: Let Your Principles Dilute with Time
Mistake 6: Hire Quickly
Mistake 7: When the Going Is Good, You Don’t Need Business Development
Mistake 8: Build Your Overheads Up
Three Tips
Exit
Initiating the Exit
The Preparation
Accessing Buyers
Managing Your People During the Sale
Responding to Your People’s Needs
Dealing with Buyers
Stewardship of Your Clients
You
Index
Biography
Dr. Raj Aseervatham has more than 30 years’ experience in government, private industry, and consulting. He has worked across a broad range of sectors in the United States, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He earned four degrees, including a PhD in engineering, and an MBA majoring in international projects.
In his consulting career, he has established multinational consulting sectors for one of the world’s largest consulting firms, started and grown three successful consulting enterprises, and provided strategic direction and governance on the boards of various organizations.
