Thank you all for the comments you make here on Consultant Journal. It's great when we get a discussion going and your comments add value for other people reading the site.

However, as this site has become more popular, I've seen an increase in comments that fall somewhere between obvious spam and genuine content. I feel compelled to address this.

Comments are welcome

• Got questions? Feel free to post on the site. Chances are that someone will chime in with hep.
• Disagree with me? Comment away! Alternate viewpoints are more than appreciated.
• Agree with me? Think I should win the Pulitzer Prize for blogging? Heck, make twice as many comments!
• Like to hear yourself talk? Hey, it's no different than me running this blog. Comment at will!

Comment approval

• If you make comments that have no relevance to the post, the comments will not be approved.
• If you stuff the name box with keywords, your comments will not be approved.
• If you sign off with your product name only, your comments will not be approved.
• If you blatantly promote your wares or those of a client and do not tie them into the post in a meaningful way, your comments will not be approved.

That being said, I don't mind if you use a name that helps identify you and your business. "Andrea the Marketing Consultant", "Andrea >> Consultant Journal", "Andrea from Become a Consultant Blog" and so on work just fine for me.

Of course, I always reserve the right to delete, approve or anonymize comments. And comments are the views of those who visit the site -- they are not my words or necessarily even close to my opinions.

I'm changing the world. Really. I absolutely believe that. My consulting business is changing the world.

How so?
I focus on helping high tech companies ready their products for the marketplace. In doing so, I help my region move away from its primary resource economy and toward a knowledge economy.

My marketing plans make businesses money, so they can pay their staff. That means I help people generate incomes with which they can support their families.

My business plans help people get their businesses off the ground or back on course. I help people pursue their dreams.

I hire other consultants to work in my business, giving me the chance to mentor people and share my knowledge.

I'm changing the world. How about you?

For the past week or two, I've been posting more than usual. Up till now, I've been posting three times per week. Some people have suggested I cut back to once a week, whereas others have asked for more posts. Any thoughts? Feel free to contact me, if you prefer not to comment.

I just finished reading Wikinomics by Don Tapscott. It's about the second generation of the web -- Web 2.0, where mass collaboration emerges. Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn, even this blog, when people make comments.

When people collaborate, a static webpage comes alive. This blog wouldn't be nearly as vibrant without the contributions of readers. I cherish all the comments my readers make and encourage you to take part. You're part of what makes this blog helpful for other people.

Related

• Wikinomics at Amazon

For the past year or two, I've been giving away a free copy of Seth Godin's Bootstrapper's Bible to everyone who signs up for the Consultant Journal newsletter.

This offer expires soon.

So, if you want the Bootstrapper's Bible, sign up right now using the form at the top right.

BUT...

Stay tuned. In a short time, I'm going to be making a new offer to everyone who signs up for my newsletter. If you'd like to find out what that is, you can still sign up now. I'll send you the details as they come available.

I've been saying it for a while, but I really am getting ready to launch a new version of Consultant Journal. If you're so inclined, you can check out the work in progress at beta.consultantjournal.com. We're still working on the look and feel. And those ads are obviously fake.

But, stay tuned. There's a new look in the works. And I'm hoping it will make this blog a lot easier to read.

I'm all for celebrations. So here's to the second anniversary of Consultant Journal! I started this blog on May 19, 2006. Since then, I've written hundreds of posts on everything from sales skills to consulting fees. I've added a couple of products -- a consulting fees guide and a workbook to help you discover your potential in consulting. I've answered countless emails and responded to hundreds of comments. It's been a busy two years.

Where would you like Consultant Journal to go in the next two years?

For unknown reasons, my site crashed this past week. Ouch! I was out of town and I don't know if that had anything to do with it. It crashed the last time I was out of town, too! I'm sure most of you have little interest in my web server, but I did want to let you know that Consultant Journal is still around!

Posts you may have missed include:

• Keep a calculator handy
• Should you break an NDA to woo a client
• Top 5 ways to thank your partners

Sorry about the site outage. I'm investigating the problem.

This week's Friday 5 covers the top 5 things to do while stranded at the airport. Consultant Steve Woodruff provides several goofy ways to spend your time in the airport terminal.

I haven't travelled for business much recently, but, in 2003, I went on a big sales jag that saw me to Des Moines, Chicago, Oakland, Miami and a few other places. In my case, a laptop loaded with a few games was enough to burn time at the airport.

As a consultant, you'll need to write on a regular basis. Email messages, proposals and reports are part of just about any consultant's toolkit. Although you don't need to write with the skill of a professional writer, you can get ahead by learning to write well. Check out five tips for quality writing.

(As someone who's made a living as a professional writer, I must point out that "quality writing" is vague. Is that high quality writing or low quality writing? Okay, I'm being cheeky.)

Happy Leap Day! If you've looked at the calendar, you may have noticed that today is February 29th, a leap day. 2008 is a leap year.

The next leap day won't show up for another four years. So, if you have some sort of business dealing for which you'd prefer not to notice anniversaries, do it today. You won't have to worry about it for another four years!

Seriously, though, the leap year does have an effect on business. If you work in a salaried job, you might have noticed a small change in your pay. If you get paid every two weeks, your salary is usually divided by 26. However, this year, it will be divided by 27 to make up for the extra day. On the flip side, you may end up with another pay period for the year.

I use Microsoft Word for all my written projects. I found this list of five Microsoft Word tips that can save you time. I love the tip about getting Word to autotype words and phrases you use on a frequent basis. If you're spending 3 seconds three times a day to type a particular phrase, that's 39 minutes a year, based on a five-day work week. If you do this for nine other phrases, that's six and a half hours a year! Wow. Imagine what else you could do with that time.

Of course, I always convert time to money. I like the idea of making an extra $1,000 a year with that time.

Happy Valentine's Day! No matter whether you're in a relationship or not, try to set aside some personal time today. Many consultants get wrapped up in their work, especially when they work from home. Try to find an hour or two today that's completely work and sleep free. You're worth it.

Via TechEBlog, here's a list of the 5 worst product ideas ever. It just goes to show how important it is to vet your ideas before you launch a business. If you're thinking about starting your own consulting business, be sure to do market research and financials. Before you invest any money in your new venture, test the waters. You might want to start consulting as a second job, so that you can work out the kinks. That's how I became a consultant.

Related:

• Consulting business ideas

If you're an introvert, you may think you're at a disadvantage when it comes to building a business. After all, aren't extroverts the best people to sell services, nurture client relationships and network? Well, according to Coachville, introverts offer business qualities.

I'm not really an introvert, but I've seen many introverts succeed in consulting careers. Those introverts usually succeed by differentiating themselves.

Top 5 introvert business qualities

1. Focus on getting to the point in meetings and personal interactions
2. Interest in solitary activities, such as research, writing, reading, designing and inventing
3. Disciplined
4. Independence
5. Likely to process an idea before blurting it out

My electricity will be out for 2 hours this morning. Sorry for any inconvenience.

It's Friday 5 time. Here's my list of the top 5 sources of office clutter.

Top 5 sources of office clutter

1. incoming mail, especially junk mail
2. receipts I need to file and use for tax write-offs
3. printed materials I need to shred
4. messed up print-outs
5. items I can't seem to file away, for fear that I will forget about them

Number 5 is my nemesis. For some reason, I like to have some things right in front of me, instead of hidden away in a filing cabinet. It's like I need them to jar my memory. 

Hail the New Year, lads and lasses! Sorry, that's a bit of my Scottish grandmother sneaking in. But Happy New Year, nonetheless.

Yesterday, I mentioned resolutions. I suppose I should make a few for 2008:

• To reduce unnecessary work, such as checking my email when there's no reason to interrupt what I'm doing at the moment
• To better schedule work around my family
• To increase my earnings per hour -- that is, to become more efficient and more productive in my non-paid work

How about you? Have you made any resolutions? Share them.

I'm off today, because it's Boxing Day. In Canada and other Commonwealth countries, the day after Christmas is a holiday, known as Boxing Day. The term comes from the practice of giving your employees and those who work for you a box of goodies. Traditionally, you'd give a box to your servants, but some people, like my Grandma, have extended the favour to paper carriers, letter carriers, house cleaners and other modern day helpers.

Of course, in Canada, Boxing Day is now known for massive sales at retail stores. People line up at midnight to take advantage of deals, especially on electronics.

Anyway, I just wanted to explain why I'm not writing much of a post today. Enjoy your December 26th, whatever it means to you.

Happy Holidays! It's time for my annual vacation with my family. I'll be taking the next two weeks off. However, I know many of you would like to continue reading, so I'll provide a link round-up from around the web:

• Business.gov -- business help from the US government
• Ways to promote your business
• How to manage kids in the home office

Can you learn about marketing from pro-wrestling? Paul Nilsen lists the top five things you can learn about marketing from pro-wrestling. My favourite:

When a wrestler goes out of his way to show that his opponent’s punch rocked his skull, he is said to be “selling” his opponent’s move. When the tide turns in the match, the opponent will do the same, and “put his opponent over”. In essence, a wrestler makes great matches and becomes a success by making someone else look good.

Successful marketing isn’t always “Me Me Me!!”. Sometimes “selling” someone elses move helps people to see you in a new light.

Pro wrestlers know the value of partnerships. By working with your customers, vendors and business partners, you can achieve common goals. This might mean using co-operative advertising, joint ventures, joint press releases, shared sponsorship or another idea. Think about how you can work with your partners to grow your businesses.

 

This weekend, I took my kids to the Santa Claus Parade. While watching the parade, I exchanged a few comments with a friendly woman. She mentioned that they were there to see someone in the first float. My husband and I said we were there to see someone in the last float. We all chuckled when the woman and her male counterpart realized we meant Santa. I wasn't sure if it would be too forward to ask what float would be first. As it turned out, the first float was for parade grand marshall Ross Rebagliati, the first Olympic gold medalist for snowboarding. The people beside us shouted out Ross's name and waved frantically. I told my older boy that "he snowboards". And the woman beside us said, "This is his daddy" -- and motioned to her counterpart. Once the float had gone by, they left. They'd stood in the cold long enough to get front-row viewing -- and they left once they'd shown their support for Ross.

Wow. An Olympic gold medallist's family turned out to see him. They cheered his name, waved and made themselves known. I don't know anything else about them, but I can tell that's the kind of support that makes for an Olympic champion.

Whether you're a gold medal winner or not, you need cheerleaders. Your family, friends, business associates and entrepreneur support network members make up your cheerleading squad. Everyone needs someone with whom they can share their ups and downs. When you're out building your business network, make sure you add a few cheerleaders.

If you're a regular reader, you may have noticed that, in the last month or two, I've dropped to posting 3 days a week. I've kept the reason secret till now. A week ago, I gave birth to my second child. So, although I'll be posting on Consultant Journal, I will only be doing so about three times per week. I will also be very slow in responding to email messages from readers...at least for the next few weeks.

We're all doing fine and everyone is healthy. I look forward to my growing family...and to returning to more regular updates here in the weeks and months to come.

Business Christmas gift idea -- start thinking about business Christmas gift ideas now, before it's too late to place an order. As a business, you need to start thinking about the holiday season well in advance of the actual holidays. Consider the following tips.

Choosing a business Christmas gift idea

1. Steer away from "Christmas" and instead go with the more sensitive "holiday gift" or "winter gift". Unless you're certain all your customers celebrate Christmas, why risk offending someone to whom you only hoped to share celebration?
2. Think about whether the recipient will be available to enjoy your gift. As lovely as fruit baskets are, they may go bad while your intended recipient is away on vacation or a conference.
3. Order in bulk. Give all your contacts the same gift, so that you can take advantage of discounts and streamline the process.
4. Tier your customers. Set price points for your best, medium and lowest value customers, as well as for customers you're worried about losing. You can still buy the same gifts for customers within the same tier. At the very least, send a holiday card.
5. Include a personalized business Christmas card.

Related to business Christmas gift idea:

• Discount business Christmas cards
• Cheap Christmas cards

Happy Labour Day! Well, Happy Labour Day to those in Canada and the US (okay, Happy Labor Day to you). If you're from another country, you're probably wondering what I'm talking about, since most of the world celebrates Labour Day in May.

Canada has celebrated Labour Day on the first day of Monday since the late 1800s. Although unions often have Labour Day picnics, most Canadians see today as the end of summer. It's a great time to have a barbecue, day at the beach or last hurrah at the cottage.

Fortunately, since I live in beautiful British Columbia, today is hardly the last day of summer. The weather doesn't really change here till early October. Still, today serves a reminder that winter is just around the corner.

I'm glad I'm self-employed, though. Every weekend can be a long weekend, if I like.

Our weekly Friday 5 list comes from Fast Company's top 5 business lies. This one rings especially true:

Lie: "This is business, it isn't personal."

The last time I heard that lie, I was in the middle of suing a deadbeat client. For some reason, people seem to think they can act like jerks, as long as it's in the name of business. They try to use the "this is isn't personal" line to make you feel like you're wrong to have any feelings about right and wrong. I disagree. Everything is personal. Things aren't morality neutral just because they're in a business setting.(Fortunately, the judge agreed with me and I won.)

A reader wrote in to ask about telephone options for his consulting business.

"Should I get a land line or cell phone for my home business?"

Forgive me for sounding like an economist, but it depends. If you're frequently out of your office or perhaps working from a mobile office, such as your car or a coffee shop, a cell phone may be the best option. With a cell phone, you can be in constant contact with clients and business partners.

However, with a land line, you may see lower costs. Mobile phone plans can be expensive, whereas land lines tend to be a bit cheaper, especially for long distance calls.

I've got a land line and a cell phone. But my cell phone consists of a $50 phone that came with $50 in calling credits. I pay $10 a month for 40 minutes of access time. I use my cell for checking my home office voice mail, making quick calls to clients and, when necessary, for "emergency" business calls. Wherever possible, I call back from a land line. This saves money, ensures a great connection, and forces me to slow down and focus on the person I'm calling. I almost never make calls from my car. In fact, I try to meet with clients near my home, so that I avoid needing to use my car in the first place.

I suppose you could call me frugal. But I'm a big believer in managing the cost of doing business. I run a busy consulting business without needing to spend $100 or $200 a month on a cell phone. Instead, I can put that money into my own pocket or into revenue-generating activities.

How about you? Would you stick with just a cell phone line or do you need a land line too?

Happy Independence Day to our American readers! We already celebrated Canada Day this week, so we're on a roll with a theme of independence. And, when you're a consultant, independence is pretty darn important.

When you work for yourself, you have both the risks and rewards of being independent. When you break free from your employer (or parent country), you lose many of the systems, perks and efficiencies associated with a larger, established entity. You have to come up with your own way of building security. At the same time, you know that you're following your heart, meeting your own needs and flourishing in a way that wasn't before possible. And you can capture a larger share of revenues, since you don't have to pass anything along to the employer.

All that power without a revolution, a tea party or a war! I'm still glad I jumped into the world of self-employment. How about you?

Related to independence:

• How I became a consultant

It's Canada Day here in, well, Canada and I'm enjoying a long weekend with friends and family. For those of you who live elsewhere, I'll explain -- Canada Day is our national holiday. So, instead of working on Consultant Journal, I thought I'd highlight a past article: donating a car for start-up cash (although it can be a good idea for others looking to improve their tax situation).

One of my good friends recently saw her poetry magazine get turned down for a grant. She suggeted I write about why people should read poetry. I joked that I'd do a haiku for the blog. Here's what I came up with:

Consulting rebel musters
courage, nay groupthink.
Stagnation chortles elsewhere.

I think I was about 13 the last time I wrote haiku.

Got a consulting haiku of your own? Share it here!

If you've sent me an email and not received a reply, please contact me using the contact page. For some reason, Hotmail is blocking messages from my account. I believe this is because of email spoofing. If you have contacted me and not received a reply, please use the contact form and leave a non-Hotmail address. I'll get back to you asap.

I'm currently beta-testing categories for Consultant Journal. These should appear at the right side of your page. If you have any problems using them, please let me know. I've already indexed many articles but it will take some time before they're all classified. I hope this new feature will help readers find the hundreds on articles that were previously buried on the site.

I discovered some Google search results that smack of sexism.

1. Go to Google.

2. Search for one of the following:

• she discovered
• she created
• she built
• she voted
• she nominated
• she engineered
• she operated
• she paid
• she invented
  

Before delivering the results, Google will reply, “Did you mean he …..?”

3. Now repeat the search using “he discovered” or one of the other above phrases.

4. Note that you are not asked if you meant “she”.

What’s with that? If you search for something typically “female”, you don’t have the same problem. “she nursed”, “she wrote”, “she bought”…none of those prompts you for “he”.

I suspect the "sexism" stems from the still popular use of "he" as a supposedly gender neutral pronoun. Google is probably just trying to widen your search results. But it does seem a little weird. Given that it's easy to type "he" when you actually meant to search for "she", you'd think Google would also prompt for "she" when you search for "he". But, nope.

 

(This story is cross-posted to my marketing blog. However, I believe it's a good lesson in customer service for consultants.)

Almost two months ago, a neighbour showed me her Soapopular foaming hand sanitizer, which is alcohol-free. She told me she had bought the Soapopular soap at Shoppers Drug Mart. I trekked to three or four Shoppers stores, as well as a few other department stores, but couldn't find the product. The Soapopular website's front page clearly notes that the product is available at Shoppers.

So I emailed Soapopular. After about a month (!), I received a very brief email telling me I could buy the product at Zellers. Since the nearest Zellers is a long way from my home (and not on my usual list of stores to visit), I emailed back and asked if it was available at any other stores.

I've heard nothing and it's been a week or two.

This kind of response to a customer inquiry is appalling. I took the time to go to several stores, visit their expensive website, and send an email. At this point, Soapopular should be so keen to get my business that they send a free sample! I mean, how many leads are this hot?

But, nope, Soapopular gets it all wrong. They ignore me. They don't value my business and obviously don't understand the value of a lead or word-of-mouth referrals. And, unfortunately for Soapopular, I'm now expressing my dissatisfaction in a public forum.

If you're going to spend the money to develop and market a consumer product, take the time to treat customer inquiries seriously. Otherwise, don't even try.

Update:
I sent the above to Soapopular's media relations person. She said they'd be sending me some free samples. I thanked her and emailed back to ask where I could buy the product. No answer.

Update #2:
See my April 17, 2007 entry -- Soapopular DOES want me to buy Soapopular.

Music legend Neil Diamond gained fame for songs like "Solitary Man", "Cherry Cherry", "Kentucky Man" and "Sweet Caroline". But did you know he originally attended New York University's pre-med program on a fencing scholarship?

Fencing made me feel for the first time like a winner.

Fencing took Neil Diamond from Brooklyn to NYU. Although he dropped out after running into organic chemistry, Neil Diamond obviously had several influences on the way to his music career. That's why, in my Discover Your Inner Consultant guide, I encourage readers to examine all their life experience, not just work. Sometimes, getting in touch with parts of your life that served as inspiration can give you the courage to pursue something different, like consulting.

If you read my blog and say, "Gee, that sounds cool, but could I be a consultant? I don't know anything special!", then you might want to think about Neil Diamond. Would you have thought an 18-year-old fencing star with an interest in medicine would eventually become one of the most influential musicians of the past 40 years?

Incidentally, apparently actor Jerry O'Connell and Neil Diamond are NYU's most famous fencing alumni. Jerry didn't let Stand By Me pigeon-hole his career, either. Perhaps there's something to this en garde stuff.

• Why become a consultant?
• Doing what you love for profit
• Consulting business ideas

Dan Akroyd works as a consultant...a UFO consultant. As a lifetime member of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, Akroyd combines his passion for UFOs with his movie industry experience.

I'd like to do a ghost hunting thing. I'm the Hollywood consultant for mufon.com, which is the mutual UFO network.

Wow, should I add "UFO consultant" to my list of ideas for becoming a consultant? I wonder whether Akroyd consults for the UFOs or for Hollywood....

"Dan Akroyd is a UFO consultant" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

Does it seem like consulting's a new concept? The latest and greatest trend in the world of work? I beg to differ.

Consider this quote from Charles Francis Richter, the seismologist who invented the Richter scale in 1935:

A good deal of my consulting work consists of site analysis for proposed developments. The problem of assessing seismic risk starts at the geological-geophysical end and winds up at the engineering end.

I'd never thought of seismologists as consultants, but it just goes to show that anyone can consult.

"Think consulting's a new concept?" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

I've been running this blog for nine months or so. (So does that mean this is the end of the gestation period?) I've written a couple hundred articles in that time, on everything from consulting fees to bad credit card management for small businesses. And I've got lots of articles waiting in the pipe. But what would you like to read?

Comment or email me with your suggestions. I can't promise I'll write about everything you suggest, but I'll certainly consider your ideas as part of my future posts.

A courier just dropped off my Litebook Elite, a light therapy box that the Litebook Company asked me to try out. Although light therapy is often promoted for people with SAD (seasonal affective disorder), I'm trying out the Litebook as a way of resetting my internal clock. As a consultant and the parent of a toddler, I often find myself working and waking at irregular hours. So, when I was asked to do a one-month trial of the Litebook, I figured it would be a great way to reset my routine. I also live in a north-facing home near the water in Vancouver, and, when the fog rolls in during the winter, there's less light. So I'll see how my trial goes. I'm not being paid for my trial and I have to return the product at the end of the trial, so I'm free to speak my mind about the product.

Related Posts

• Light therapy boxes can help consultants
• Staying motivated; fighting depression
• Feeling confident about your consulting fee rate

Happy 2007! I'm back from a much-needed vacation. I had a super New Year's. My husband and I went to a party held by some friends. It was a great opportunity to get together with everyone and catch up as the holidays draw to a close. Afterwards, we zipped home to watch fireworks from the window of our new home. We look out over Burrard Inlet and the North Shore mountains and I was pleasantly surprised to see not one, but several, fireworks displays around midnight. People seemed to be using different clocks, so the fireworks started at various times over a 10-minute period. But, whether you were five minutes early, five minutes late, or right on time, I think the point was celebration of the New Year.

Speaking of New Year's, I'm looking forward to a happy, fortuitous 2007. I hope to keep busy with consulting projects. I'm also going to be picking up a new teaching contract at the university level -- more on that in a future post. And I'm planning to launch a few more documents, along the lines of the Consulting Fees Guide I released last month. My next document will be aimed more at starting your own consulting business. However, rather than focusing on how to become a consultant, I'm planning to talk more about discovering what kind of consulting you should do.

Feel free to share your plans for the New Year. I'd love to hear what your goals are.

"Happy New Year - 2007 rolls in" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

Do you think of yourself as shy? Too shy to be a consultant? Don't be so hard on yourself! As I mentioned in networking for introverts, there are ways to deal with social anxiety. Although you might think you have to be a really outgoing person to be a consultant, I assure you that there are many reserved and introverted people working as consultants.

Just think of accountants and computer programmers! Many of them are not what you'd call people persons. But they still sell their expertise to companies.

Plenty of people make their way as consultants without ever cold calling (see my post on no cold calling), attending a networking event or making a presentation. They rely on direct mail, direct email, word of mouth, directory listings, trade journal articles, social media and other techniques. There are hundreds of options for people who are introverted.

So, if you consider yourself shy, don't let that stand in your way.

"Too shy to try?" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

Have you done it? Have you decided whether you should become a consultant? Are you still thinking about consulting but not sure where to go?

Let me know whether you've taken the leap -- or not. If you're still thinking about consulting, let me know what would help you take the next step.

I tried Coca-Cola Blak tonight. As I was walking past the commuter train station, a promoter handed me a bottle of Coca-Cola Blak. It wasn't as bad as I expected. It tastes like Coke mixed with a coffee candy or coffee ice cream. I'm not sure I would buy it, but it was okay. It tastes more like a dessert. Have you tried it?

Telephone poles for sale? Someone emailed today to ask where they could buy a used telephone pole. I'm not sure what would make them think this site has a phone pole on sale. However, I thought the idea was curious enough that I actually looked around and discovered that a telephone pole can be yours for the low, low price of $291. It may even be new -- I didn't ask.

Now, I'm not sure what you could do with a used telephone pole.
 Maybe the wood is worth more than the pole, so it's something you can salvage and process. I imagine you could start a little business reclaiming, repurposing and reselling utility poles and other salvage that are worth more when processed than when in original form. Anyone else got an idea? I'm used to seeing "work from home scam" ads on telephone poles, but perhaps you could turn a telephone pole into work from home!

"Telephone pole for sale - new & used" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

Explain New Year's, asks Ivar, who recently read my post on personalized business Christmas cards. New Year's is celebrated in many cultures as the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new year. And many people like to send New Year's cards, instead of Christmas cards or December holiday cards, because New Year's seems a little more secular. Of course, that depends on the circumstances.

• January 1st is the most popular date for New Year's. It's the first day of the Georgian calendar.
• Rosh Hashanah, Chinese New Year, and many other new years are celebrated by cultures from around the world.

For business purposes, you should take into account the backgrounds of your clients. In North America and many Commonwealth countries, a New Year's card would not be out of place in January.

Update: Kyla emailed to ask why I am talking about New Year's at this time of year. Note that you need to get those personalized holiday cards and mailing lists in order long before the holidays arrive!     

Related Posts

• Personalized business Christmas cards
• Discount business Christmas cards

"Explain New Year's" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

 

Cash prizes abound over at Problogger.net. Darren Rowse will be launching a new group project soon, and some of his sponsors are offering cash prizes and other goodies to entrants. If you want to take part, go check out his site. He'll be announcing the competition in a few days.

My submissions to past competitions

• Become a consultant -- the big list of reasons
• Why Become a Consultant Blog?

"Cash prizes up for grabs" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

Discount business Christmas cards are popular among small business owners, such as consultants. Many business owners feel obligated to send Christmas holiday greeting cards to their clients, vendors and partners, as a gesture of goodwill. However, choosing what, when, how, why and whether to send out Christmas cards (or, preferably, discount business holiday greeting cards) can be tricky. You should be thinking about holiday cards well in advance of the holidays, so you don't run into a time crunch.

Tips for discount business Christmas cards:

1. Don't cheap out. If your cards look and feel cheap, your clients won't feel like you care about them and they may even question how well you're doing.
2. Consider personalized business Christmas cards, so that you can reinforce your corporate greetings.
3. Avoid Christmas, religious and other sensitive themes.
4. Shop around. With plenty of discount Christmas card vendors in the market, you'll want to look at a few vendors before choosing.
5. Sign the cards personally, wherever possible.
6. Handwrite a personal greeting, so people know you've personally reviewed the card.
7. If your budget is really tight, consider working with a graphic designer who creates online cards in Flash, HTML or email formats.
8. Think about using postcards to save on envelopes, postage and handling.

Related Posts

• Personalized business Christmas cards
• Christmas jobs
• Setting up a home office
• Home office supplies

"Discount business Christmas cards" from Become a Consultant at ConsultantJournal.com.

The Register has a humour piece about someone who decided to invoice Bill Gates and Microsoft for consulting and tech support. I'm sure it's all a joke, but I love the idea of sending an invoice to Bill Gates and anyone else responsible for products that have ever resulted in frustration. If you're thinking of something similar, try our sample consulting invoice and check out our finance for consultants series.

"Invoice Bill Gates for consulting" from Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com.

Work is a common theme in movies and TV shows. Journalists and doctors tend to show up a lot. But where are all the consultant movies and TV shows? I tried to think of movies and TV shows with consultants, but I was stumped. Fortunately, the IMDB helped me out:

The Consultant (1983 TV series)
Office Space  (1999 movie)
Wag the Dog  (1997 movie)
The Kid  (2000 movie)
The Consultants  (2000 TV)

Know any other movies, books or TV shows about consultants? Let me know.

Related Posts

• Brady Bunch Wal-Mart ad song "Time to Change"

Over at Problogger.net, Darren Rowse has launched another group writing project. Darren's last project had a "7 Habits" theme and I posted on habits of effective consultant bloggers. Darren's latest topic covers developing goals. My readers probably aren’t very interested in blogging, but they may be interested in why I started Become a Consultant .

I write Become a Consultant because I want to:

Provide an in-depth resource for people who want to become consultants

By this time next year, I’d like to see 200 posts. That means I need to write something about “becoming a consultant” at least four times a week. Most sites that discuss becoming a consultant just have one long article or perhaps a handful. I think there’s more to say. And that’s why I’m challenging myself to write 200 posts in one year.

Connect with people who want to become consultants

There seem to be few resources for people who want to become consultants, as opposed to entrepreneurs, home-based business owners, freelance writers and the like. When I became a consultant, I went through a entrepreneurship program, but I often felt my needs (and experiences) were in stark contrast to those in the program. I wasn’t selling widgets, renovating shop space, or looking for a cash register. But I did need to know how to set consulting fees, bill travel time, invoice, and find space for a home office in my (then) 400-square-foot apartment. Traditional advice for product-oriented businesses was little help for me and my service business. And, unlike “traditional” consultants, I wasn’t a grey-haired retiree looking to dabble. I felt a little lost in the world of entrepreneurship. Now that I’ve found my way, I’d like to help other consultants by providing a community resource where they can share their stories and read those of others.

Tell my story about becoming a consultant

I’ve already posted on how I became a consultant.  But, really, there’s a lot more to it. I started freelance writing in the early 90s and was making my living from consulting by the time of the Roaring 90s Tech Boom. And I’m still here, plugging away at it. I’ve got lots of stories to tell. Even though I’ve been writing for the careers and education market since publishing my very first “big city” newspaper article, I’ve never really touched on my experience -- not even on my consulting business site. So Become a Consultant Blog will eventually cover the things I’ve never been able to say.

Provide a marketing vehicle for consultants

Forgive me for being vague here. I do envision this site becoming more than my consulting articles. I’d like to see it as an interactive community, as well as a marketing vehicle for consultants. I’d like to help other consultants grow their businesses. In a year’s time, I expect this goal to be a reality – and for it to mean more than it does now. But I still need a little time for this one.

Grow

My other goals probably sound a bit businessy. And that’s okay. After all, I did become a business consultant, not a yoga guru or a camp counsellor. But, underneath all the layers of the “business” me, there’s a real person. And that person is a parent, partner, relative, friend and community member. The real me is more than a consultant, consumer, or  taxpayer, despite what my various database profiles might have you believe. So I expect to see personal growth from my this endeavour – but I won’t be measuring it by revenues, links, traffic or the other stats over which I usually obsess. Instead, I want to look back and see what I’ve learned.

Belong

I know I said I want to make this site an in-depth resource, a community, and a marketing vehicle. But I can’t exist in isolation. The very purpose of the World Wide Web (does anyone ever say that anymore?) is to weave a web of links. So, by this time next year, I hope to have made this blog part of the fabric of the web. To do that, I won’t always stick to the story of becoming a consultant and I won’t always write things that people like. But I will try to belong and help others find a place to belong.

So those are my goals for Become a Consultant. Some of them may seem a little simple, but simple is good. Sometimes we focus on the Great Big Problems™ in life and forget that small successes lead to greater ones. Here’s hoping that Become a Consultant – and your own projects – lead to many small successes.

"Why Become a Consultant?" from Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com.

 

Check out this newspaper headline: Consultant Called In. It amuses me because a consultant being called in is hardly newsworthy. Of course, the details of the article are probably relevant to readers of the small community newspaper. But the headline doesn't do much to generate excitement. It reminds me of one of the first newspaper headlines I ever wrote. I believe it was "Government releases report". My editor saw the headline on the light table where I'd been cutting and pasting stories. (This was almost 15 years ago, when we had publishing software but our printer spit out 8x10 pages and so we had to use an old-fashioned light table. Times have changed!) My editor asked me if the headline was a joke. I realized how silly it was and quickly said something about her sharing my sense of humour. Ever since then, I've strived to package my work under more newsworthy headlines. Still, I couldn't resist naming this blog entry "Consultant called in".

Consultant called in.

The zeer pot, invented by Nigerian teacher Mohammed Bah Abba, has revolutionized farmers’ markets in Darfur, Sudan. Before the zeer pot invention was introduced to Darfur, some farmers lost up to half their crops at daily markets. Without refrigeration, their foods were subject to the heat.

But this nifty invention (see zeer pot photo) has changed all that. The zeer pot is a large pot that has a smaller pot inside. The space between is filled with sand, creating insulation. By keeping the sand damp, the inner pot’s temperature stays cool. The zeer pot costs less than $2 to make, but holds 26 pounds (12 kg) of food. The zeer pot stays cool because, as the water evaporates, it chills the inner container.

The principles behind the zeer pot are very similar to those of a South African wedding basket I received from my friend Sue. (In fact, Sue’s the one who forwarded the article on the zeer pot.) When filled with a beverage, the basket sweats, cooling the container.

 Darfur farmers, families and refugees have started using the zeer pot, meaning Sudanese food security has improved a little. This is a great example of how the diffusion of innovations like the zeer pot can shape the prospects of real people. The theory of diffusion of innovation is widely used by high tech industry consultants, but academics have long used it in farming, health care and global development. In the case of the zeer pot, the innovators – women at farmers’ markets – are in a great position to influence early adopters – women who shop at the markets.

I wanted to bring up the zeer pot because people often say marketing is a useless endeavour. But studies of marketing successes and failure are indeed relevant to “more important” issues like helping Africa. If we can get people to use PDAs, then we should be able to use the same ideas to solve larger problems worldwide.

 

Zeer Pot – Nigerian teacher’s Darfur miracle

 

Just a quick note to say that we've added an RSS feed to this blog. We'll be posting a proper RSS subscription button shortly, but, in the meantime, you can subscribe using the link below. If you don't know what an RSS feed is, check out this Wikipedia article.

http://www.consultantjournal.com/blog/rssfeed

Comments coming soon! This site is being coded from scratch, so please bear with us during "renovations".

From Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com.

Consultant Blogs - Seven (Count 'em -- 7!) Habits of Highly Effective Consultant Bloggers

Darren Rowse at Problogger.net has launched a group writing project, inviting bloggers to announce the “Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers”.

Although my ConsultantJournal.com blog is new, I’ve actually been blogging for a couple of years now, albeit on another site. As a result, I have my own thoughts of the Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers. But, because my background is in consultant blogs, I've customized my list for consultants who blog.

1. Author, know thyself – and thy audience.  Know who you are, what you’ve got to say and to whom you’re saying it. Writing a blog is much akin to marketing your company and product.
   
2. Write from the heart. If you’re going to bother with writing a blog, you’ve got to be speaking your mind and connecting with your subject. If your readers wanted a droning academic, they’d hit the library’s dusty stacks.
3. Tell the truth. Your blog is like a long trail of bread crumbs. If somebody bothers to follow even a few of those crumbs, they’re going to notice inconsistencies. If you build a fake persona and (as noted above) fail to write from the heart, it will become obvious. It’s much easier to remember the truth than a lie – and you won’t be stuck covering up lies with new lies.
4. Post early, post often. Nothing frustrates a regular reader more than to visit your blog and see silence for weeks on end. If you’re a consultant who’s up on your field, you should always have something to say. If you really can’t find something to say, you should at Sure, things happen – you have a car accident, you get the flu, you give birth to a baby, you go on vacation. And people can understand random one-time occurrences like that. But they aren’t likely to forgive it twice. If you can’t put content up on a regular basis, ask yourself if you should trade blogging for a regular website. Heck, even the Never Updated Blog updates regularly!
   
5. Don’t post about your cat on a business site. If you run a cat business blog, go for it. But, otherwise, keep the cat pictures and stories on your personal blog. It’s not that I have anything against cats – it’s just that you want your posts to resonate with your audience.
6. Link. People like the web because it’s non-linear.   I still remember the joy I felt when I visited my first web page in 1994. It was a hypertext version of Hamlet. I was thrilled to be able to click to other parts of the play – and to related articles, notes and dictionaries. Keep that feeling alive. Link.
7. Be bold. If you’re going to be an expert consultant, you need to stand on your own. That means sometimes breaking from the pack and saying things that may be unpopular, controversial or unconventional. To make it as a consultant, you have to be willing to stand on your own two feet. So prove it by taking the same approach with your blog.

 7 Habits of Highly Effective Consultant Bloggers.

Brady Bunch - Wal-Mart "Time to Change" song. Have you seen Wal-Mart's new TV ad series, which features a cover of the Brady Bunch's Time to Change" song? Get ready for TV sitcom lyrics....

Some lyrics to Time to Change by the Brady Bunch's Brady Six are:

    When it's time to change (when it's time to change),
    Don't fight the tide, go along for the ride,
    Don't ya see.
    When it's time to change, you've got to rearrange,
    Who you are and what you're gonna be.
    Sha na na na na na na na na
    Sha na na na na.
    Sha na na na na na na na na na
    Sha na na na na

List to a Brady Bunch midi of the song.

Wondering why Wal-Mart would use a Brady Bunch TV show song, when we've passed the 35th anniversary of the sitcom? The old TV show is a favourite of 30-somethings, so the Wal-Mart Brady Bunch "Time to Change" ad may stir fond memories of childhood. And many of those 30-somethings now have their own kids, so they'll hopefully have fonder thoughts about Wal-Mart. At the very least, they'll pay attention to the ad and remember it was from Wal-Mart.

Even for younger viewers, the Brady Bunch may hold meaning. Nick at Night plays endless re-runs of the Brady Bunch. Kids can sing along to "sha na na na na na" with their folks and laugh about the episode where Peter's voice broke during the Time to Change song. And they can bug their parents to buy the Brady Bunch soundtrack on CD. That is, if they haven't already downloaded the TV show and ripped a few MP3s.

Wondering if the ad will work? Well, you're reading this, aren't you?

Related Posts

• TV shows, movies and more

From Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com.

Consulting Magazines

Magazines for consultants include several consulting-industry publications. Finding consulting magazines and trade journals is a bit tricky, but I've racked my brain to come up with as many as I can recall. This list of consulting magazines is far from exhaustive and I welcome your submissions. Let me know if you see relevant magazines at the bookstore, whether online at Amazon or at your local "shop around the corner".

List of Consulting Magazines for Consultants

Consulting Magazine
Consultant News
McKinsey Quarterly
Journal of Management Consulting
Consulting Industry Research Guide from Harvard Business School
California Management Review
Management Consultancy Magazine
Mercer Management Journal

In addition to consulting magazines, I've also listed some other online news about consulting.

Consulting News

• Latest Google news for consulting, consultants, and consulting industry.
• Latest Yahoo news for consulting, consultants, and consulting industry.

Again, if you know any resources I should add to this list, send some news to me.

From Become a Consultant Blog at ConsultantJournal.com.