I am tentatively giving a webinar for the Consulting Section of the American Statistical Association on May 2. Here is the title and abstract.
Finding customers for your consulting business
Abstract: You are starting a new career as an independent statistical consultant. Congratulations! One of your early concerns will be how to find paying customers. Here are some strategies. 1. Use word of mouth, one person telling another person about who you are and what you do. You can do this with friends, family, and professional colleagues. You can use a current customer to help you find new customers. I will explain how to do this carefully, so you don’t get labeled a pest (or worse, a spammer). 2. Give away free samples of your work. Write about things that illustrate your knowledge and experience. In addition to traditional writing avenues, consider a blog post or an email newsletter. I will provide guidance on how to do this effectively without spending an inordinate amount of your time. 3. Consider volunteering. There are many opportunities where you can help out in a way gets you known by others, both direct customers and people who can refer customers to you. I will discuss some of the more helpful volunteer choices that maximize your visibility and credibility. 4. Recognize that not everyone will find you by email. I will discuss some of the alternative channels of communications that your customers might use. 5. Most importantly, turn all of these efforts into regular work habits. Pacing is important. Don’t do a flurry of work and then burn out.