I agree that is the most reliable way to get leads / business but it takes time. The way I got started on my first IT business was by moving from a FT position with my employer to a contract position, they covered my bills and it let me build up some other clients at the same time. That business eventually went public doing IT security audits and SOX/GLB stuff with E&Y.
My last company I did basically the same thing, the mortgage industry was hot, I aligned myself with a couple of them and was able to get on contract, it wasn't a ton of money but I knew at least my bills were paid. I also used my office there to conduct my own business. It was a win/win , as if there was an emergency I was already in their office , but I could do other things and conduct other business at the same time .. As that grew I eventually replaced myself with my first help desk person and that was it. Now 3 years later we have 70+ clients, and 6 employees FT. If you can get one company as a cash cow to at least cover your expenses but give you the flexibility to roam around is in my opinion the best way to build from the ground up w/o a lot of capital. From: Michael B. Smith [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 2:36 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Consulting (was: OT - ugh!) Oh yeah, absolutely. Creating and maintaining a professional network is critical. I swap-off jobs and leads with probably 8-10 other independent consultants in various expertises and locales. I scratch their back, they scratch mine. Regards, Michael B. Smith Consultant and Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com From: Andrew S. Baker [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 2:17 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Re: Consulting (was: OT - ugh!) All of the above, including tapping your professional network. Also look at sites such as Guru.com and Freelancer.com for opportunities. ASB http://XeeMe.com/AndrewBaker Harnessing the Advantages of Technology for the SMB market. On Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 2:01 PM, Don Kuhlman <[email protected]> wrote: This may be out of scope for the list, but since it's been touched on, do any of our successful entrepreneurs care to share how you got your own thing going? For example, did you start out by advertising, cold calling, website, contacting head hunters for work or (all of the above)? Just curious of some successful steps that you folks took to get going. I'm thinking that after you got the ball rolling, you signed on clients for ongoing support, and then things spread through word of mouth, or how did you keep an income stream coming in at the beginning? Don K _____ From: Michael B. Smith <[email protected]> To: NT System Admin Issues <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 6, 2012 9:47 AM Subject: RE: OT - ugh! I put off starting my own business for YEARS because I was afraid of what I already knew. :-) Whereas, in retrospect, I wish I'd done it much earlier. I can think of someone else on this mailing list (who is in Alaska this week) who waited even longer than I did. :-) Regards, Michael B. Smith Consultant and Exchange MVP http://TheEssentialExchange.com -----Original Message----- From: Maglinger, Paul [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 10:28 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: OT - ugh! I remember reading something awhile back stating that the reason that some "non-college educated" people were able to start successful businesses was the fact that they were not "educated" enough to realize the risks involved. An interesting thought, isn't it? -----Original Message----- From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, February 06, 2012 8:33 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: OT - ugh! No, you don't need a degree to start a billion dollar company, but you do need brains and a lot of hard work. Of course if it's something you love, it's not work at all it's a passion, and folks that are passionate about what they do are what you're looking for. We're better than our less passionate IT workers simply because we ENJOY the work, learning new ways to do things, learning how the mechanics of something works, and seeking out others who have the same passion. I feel I'm better at Windows administration than my fellow SE's simply because my passion for it is far higher. "Sneaking Out to Write Code: You already know how Microsoft was founded. Bill Gates and Paul Allen dropped out of college to form the company in 1975. It's that simple: Drop out of college, start a company, and become a billionaire, right? Wrong. Further study reveals that Gates and Allen had thousands of hours of programming practice prior to founding Microsoft. First, the two co-founders met at Lakeside, an elite private school in the Seattle area. The school raised three thousand dollars to purchase a computer terminal for the school's computer club in 1968. A computer terminal at a university was rare in 1968. Gates had access to a terminal in eighth grade. Gates and Allen quickly became addicted to programming. The Gates family lived near the University of Washington. As a teenager, Gates fed his programming addiction by sneaking out of his parents' home after bedtime to use the University's computer. Gates & Allen acquired their10,000 hours through this and other clever teenage schemes. When the time came to launch Microsoft in 1975, the two were ready." http://www.wisdomgroup.com/report/10000_hours_of_practice/ And another recommended read: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/a_fast_track_to_10000_hours_of.html Dave. -----Original Message----- From: Ben M. Schorr [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 6:19 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: OT - ugh! Apparently you wouldn't HAVE to get a degree to work at Microsoft or Facebook. Well...at least not to be CEO of either... Ben M. Schorr Roland Schorr & Tower www.rolandschorr.com | www.officeforlawyers.com | Twitter: @bschorr -----Original Message----- From: David Lum [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 7:30 To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: OT - ugh! "This position requires a degree. Sorry. Click." Wow. I can see the college degree being a tiebreaker, but I can only guess the person making that statement doesn't fully understand the tech industry? Or, maybe not having gone to college myself I don't understand that thinking. It could have also been their way of backing out, instead of saying "we changed our minds on our needs" or "we hired from inside". I've heard of that kind of thing before - where what the person not getting hired wasn't told what was really happening. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Webster [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 5:16 PM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: OT - ugh! Last year I was in the final interview for a Citrix Architect position for a very large company in Nashville. IIRC, it was like interview #6 or 7 in the process. I had been talking with the executive for over 45 minutes when "all of a sudden" he says "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realize you had no college degree. This position requires a degree. Sorry. Click." I then took MBS' advice and went solo. I say screw FTE! :) Carl Webster Consultant and Citrix Technology Professional http://www.CarlWebster.com > -----Original Message----- > From: MMF [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 6:43 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Re: OT - ugh! > > Assuming they're being honest, it tells me that they are not very > strong in background checking. How could they have missed the fact > that you've been with one company for more than 10 years. I've NEVER > ever heard of a company offering a job and then withdrawing the offer, > period, much less before total background check. I believe that I can > fully understand the idea of wanting IT staff that has a varied > background which would include more than one job over a decade. I > think you are fortunate that you didn't take the job because it sounds > to me that the organization isn't of the highest quality, if you catch > my drift. Sometimes things happen for the best in spite of your best > efforts. They didn't vet you, but how well did you vet them! It's also obvious that they don't recognize talent when they see it! > > Murray <Older Messages Snipped> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
