Starting a Consulting Business
Lessons from a successful startup
Starting a consulting business can seem pretty scary. If you've ever thought about doing it, you know the hardest part about getting started in consulting is getting clients.
Steve Hartono is one of the founders of eSolutech. Based in Columbus, Ohio, his company provides Information Technology consulting services and web/mobile products. His company has been in business more than 5 years - the crucial time period when most startups fail. I've asked Steve to tell us a bit about his company, and what advice he has for anyone starting a consulting business.
Tell me a little about your company. How long have you been in business? How many clients do you have? What sort of services do you offer?
eSolutech was founded in June 2002.
Our business philosophy has always been, "We are IT professionals doing what we do best. We solve the IT problems for businesses, so they can focus on what they do best."
We offer variety of information technology services including computer network consulting, information security consulting, business process automation, and project management. We also help companies with their web and mobile presence.
People choose us for our expertise, integrity, and focus on great customer service. We have about 15 active clients right now, ranging from small to large enterprises.
How did you get your first client?
My first client was a previous acquaintance - a larger consulting company that I had helped in the past with their efforts. When they heard I was starting a consulting business they were excited to work with me on my project, because they knew I was a good, reliable person.
This is a good lesson to learn. It is always unexpected when it happens, but your good deeds and efforts to help people will come back as a blessing at an unexpected time. I find that to be true both in personal and business life.
How would you describe the early years? I imagine it was pretty scary, not knowing if your first client would stick around or how to get new clients.
I was pretty much going solo for a few years, focusing on revenues from one or two larger clients only at a time. But during the time my focus was to ensure a stable increase in revenue for the company and myself.
Later on, I started making efforts to expand and gained business partners in the process, and it has been an interesting journey. The local SBDC (Small Business Development Center), SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), and local industry organizations have been crucial to the progress.
Having business partners that you can trust, is very, very important in start-up business mode. You can work with your partners to brainstorm ideas, and find ways to work together for mutual benefit.
When did you realize that you were in the marketing business as well as in the consulting business?
Oh, right from the beginning. Sales and marketing is very important for anyone starting a consulting business, and yet the hardest job to tackle. Most small business entrepreneurs are the people that have the skills to create or do something that they are good at (such as my case), and sales/marketing is not necessarily a forte. I think you just have to be very creative on your sales/marketing efforts and strategy to make it work.
What strategies did you use to get additional clients?
We encourage everyone in the company to listen to client needs, and reward everyone that refers new clients. If everyone in the company is proud to be part of a winning team, then automatically they can help you with sales and marketing efforts as well.
Another method to get new clients works well for us is to participate in local events related to our industry, and to do educational or informational sessions without trying to sell anything. When people know that you are good at what you do, there is no need to "sell" any more.
What advice would you give to someone starting a consulting business?
Some planning is required before you quit that 9-5 job. Make sure you learn your market, do business planning, research, and talk to your local SBDC before you jump in to the consulting business. Even better, if you can, have a couple of gigs lined up before you jump.
From the financial standpoint, anyone starting a consulting business needs to have plenty of cash. You don't want to go broke while you are trying to build your business.
If you could start over, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?
I like this question, because I always like to learn from other people's mistakes instead of my own if possible. In this case, I should return the favor and have other people learn from my mistakes.
I think the biggest thing is to have business partner(s), but also to make sure that you select your partners very, very carefully. You can't do it alone, and it is always a good idea to partner with people that complement what you do, and you are comfortable working with day and night that you can trust.
If you are not sure whether someone will be a good business partner or not, then don't do it. Trust your business instinct. Having irresolvable conflicts with your business partner might be just as bad as or worse than not having a partner, but don't give up on that idea.
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