Software Consultant General /SCG/

I'm in dire need of some help. I want to start a sole proprietorship business as a software consultant. It seems lucrative and I'm naive to what the actual duties of a consultant are. I need a better understanding of what I would be getting myself into so that I can make a mind map of the business and develop a business plan. I suppose that this thread could be used as a general for software consultants to discuss what they do and how they implement their custom solutions for businesses. Any help is appreciated.

Being a consultant is basically contract work, either short or long term. >It seems lucrative It can be, find a niche, a tech stack, a 3rd party software (.Net, Java, SQL, SAP, Cloud, Cisco networks), learn it well and get certified if you can. >I'm naive to what the actual duties of a consultant are. Anything you sell or your clients need doing. I'm also interested in this, I've only ever dealt with application consultants. They basically just take a week long course and take a test, at least for that particular app. They came in, and basically guide us while doing a deployment, while solving doubts but they're too by-the-book. I took the same course but couldn't pass the test since the laptop I was using died. In the end I ended up coming up with solutions those fuarrrkers all said were impossible, while they charged the equivalent of 3 months of my salary. Basically you're supposed to be an expert they can call to come in and help with something. On the business side, save 6 months to a year of expenses, so start budgeting and reducing expenses. Learn about taxes, deducting business expenses, LLCs, business bank accounts, etc.

>>21414 >3 months of my salary For 3 days of work, I forgot to add.

>>21413 You probably want to register a LLC instead of sole propriorship, but it depends on jurisdiction and tax codes ect... Beware in California! Talk with a lawyer and business planner. Ideally have three customers lined up before even registering a corp (easier said than done). Some/many professionals work in small offices (in general, think small-time lawyers or dentist offices) but sofeware development consultants may work for a consulting shop. Depending where you live there may be tricky legal details... You might do work on-site for a corporation or government office. There might be bureaucratic rules in place at specific offices. For example the normal-employees might be forbidden to bring pizza to share at work as an anti-bribery rule but perhaps the consultants aren't. Just as a possible example, the actual rules in place could be anything! Will often sound stupid and sometimes ARE stupid. The stupid rules may or may not have a story behind them... It is generally understood that much of the business consultants get is so the manager having someone to blame if things don't go well. Enjoy being a professional scapegoat. Don't forget to do your own payroll taxes. Even if the FED were dismantled you would still pay business taxes. Two things in life are death and taxes. I'm convinced nowadays that the Chamber of Comerce is bad company. They will also be members of the Rotory Club or Lion's Club or Kiwanas and similar organizations... ALL OF THEM. Software consultants usually go to more technical professional meetings anyways. Those can be long and boring if you even get to go. :/ Consider getting a job at a consulting busines instead of striking out on your own. They likely already have customers who are used to dealing with and are already used to making name badges and stuff... There might be a dress code or quasi-uniform to wear (could be a company polo-shirt) with the name tag, but expect a name tag/key card. You may need to submit to new regulations for entering government facilities... Try not to work for the government if possible. They don't pay as well and the regular employees will be more incompetent. Of course there are reasons government use consultants so much.

>>21418 Depending on the country, government contracts might be where the big money is at, but even then they're the most troublesome clients.