10 Steps to Become a Solo Technology Consultant

Thriving Technologist

Want to quit working for companies as an employee, make more money, and choose the clients you work with? It might be time to go solo - as a technology consultant. To be successful, you need to be smart about how you start.

In this episode, I share the exact steps I took to become a solo technology consultant offering software architecture and a variety of other professional services. Whether you're a programmer, in QA, DevOps, do Product Management, Data Science, or any other software development technology role - a technology consultant is not a contractor. You are actually starting a business, and so you need to think like one!

I hope this episode helps you avoid some of the pitfalls that software engineers and other tech professionals can fall into when they try to work for themselves.

Learn about SoloDev, a coaching package to bootstrap your solo consulting business https://thrivingtechnologist.com/services/software-development-coaching/solodev-coaching-package/

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TechRolepedia, a wiki about the top 25 roles in tech: https://thrivingtechnologist.com/techroles

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You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

Chapter markers / timelinks:

(0:00) Introduction (2:55) 10 Steps to Become a Solo Technology Consultant (3:00) 1. Design Your Services (6:38) 2. Discover The Client (8:51) 3. Price Your Services (11:16) 4. Build Client Awareness (13:37) 5. Incorporate (16:33) 6. Acquire Clients (19:01) 7. Negotiate Contracts (23:34) 8. Manage the Engagement (26:16) 9. Keep Financial Records (30:27) 10. Finish Strong and Get a Reference (34:15) Episode Groove

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