business it consulting Archives

7 Steps to Owning Your Own Consulting Business – BYB012

I’ve talked a lot in recent episodes about clients, billing, profits, RFP, and other consulting topics. But what about the most fundamental question: what do you really need to start a consulting business?

The list of things you actually need to start consulting, is quite small——7, in fact.

What’s even more important is what the list doesn’t include. If you’ve found yourself spinning your wheels, or unable to get big firms to work with you, check out today’s episode.

In the Bangin’ Your Health segment, we’ll talk about where over 80% of all sickness and disease is generated, and what to do about it.

Plus, morning routines and “rituals” are all the productivity craze these days. (Just like they were in Ben Franklin’s day——even before that!) I’ll cover the keys of all highly productive morning routines, with concrete examples.

Let’s dive in:

Resources Mentioned in Today’s Show

Land your dream gig with the ultimate contractor CV – via Crunch.co.uk
Bangin’ Your Business on iTunes
Bangin’ Your Business on Stitcher (NOTE: Stitcher’s hosting systems have been up and down the past few days. If you receive an error from the Stitcher link, *it’s NOT related to our hosting or networking services.)
Key #0 – How to calibrate your current health before starting any program
Key #1 of the 7 Keys – Episode 6
Key #2 of the 7 Keys – Episode 7
Key #3 of the 7 Keys – Episode 8
Key #4 of the 7 Keys – Episode 9
Key #5 of the 7 Keys – Episode 11 (Yep – we skipped this in Episode 10 due to a big-time interview. Resuming today with Key #6.)
After today’s show, go back and listen to Episode 6 and see what to do next.
Vegan Performance Cafe

What Technology Should I Learn? Which Contract Should I Accept?

By Corbin Links

At some point (or at many points) in the life of a busy business IT consultant, the inevitable question arises:

“What technology / technology stack / vendor product suite” should I learn?”

Or a variation:

“I’m looking at two projects. Project ‘A’ uses [insert older technology stack here] and project ‘B’ is using [insert newer/different technology stack here]. Project ‘A’ just finished and learned a lot, but ‘B’ uses a technology that isn’t as common. Project ‘A’ is offering to keep me on with the common but older technology, and ‘B’ offers an newer, but less common technology.

So…Should I stick with ‘A’, go with ‘B’, or train myself to do ‘C’ and get a project doing that?” (Yes, I do actually get this type of question a lot.)

Sound complicated? It can be, especially as your career builds and more opportunities open up to you. If the scenario is a bit vexing, my apologies. But, I needed to find some way to share this with you today; I get variations of this question sooooo…. often. In fact, I’ve faced it myself numerous times.

So let’s break it down. Do you stay with a contract and a known quantity, change to a different contract with an unknown (or lesser known) quantity, or do something different altogether? Oh the dilemma of it all!

Before sharing a few hard-earned insights, I want to suggest not locking yourself into any particular technology stack. If you’re talking about big programming languages such as oh…Java … or…oh….NET for example, bets are pretty safe that both will be around for some time to come. (No flame wars here guys and gals. We’re not picking sides…)

But we’re not talking about big programming frameworks here. The questions we’re answering revolve around more boutique and often highly specialized technologies and big enterprise vendor products such as Oracle Identity Manager, or Microsoft’s Forefront Identity Manager, or Sales Force, or SAP ERP, or PeopleSoft, etc. Stuff like that.

Approaching the “Which Project Should I Take/Look For Next?” Question

Here’s how I approach this whole issue:

I consider the project itself, and the type of client relationship it will be. The actual project tasks, the client, terms, how it fits with my business and my schedule working with other clients and projects are all way more important than the actual technology or vendor(s) being used. As IT consultants and entrepreneurs, we need to think of our current and upcoming projects in a “business first” mindset. Business and marketing first, technology and geekery later.
I consider where the market is going, or, where there are particular niche needs — OR, where the market has BEEN. I’ve said this a thousand times if I’ve said it once: many big careers are built in business and IT services by supporting non-glamorous or “old” / “legacy” technologies. I’d go as far as to say that if a project comes along and offers you a chance to work with some legacy stuff like mainframe integration or crusty versions of accounting and finance packages, it’s worth a strong consideration. There are a lot of old and unsupported versions of servers, operating systems, application software packages, you name it out there. And do their owners have a need not easily filled in today’s market? You’d better believe it!
Is there an opportunity to work with new technologies (as in new to me or my skillset)? Hands down, if faced with two projects of more or less equal weighting in the client/earning/satisfaction areas, I’m going for the “new-to-me” technologies each and every time. Skill portfolios only become broad and strong by working lots of different projects, with lots of different clients, in lots of different markets, and with lots of different people, processes, and technologies.
Is it a technology or toolset I cannot download or otherwise get a license for? This is huge, and a game-changing decision factor. If project ‘A’ uses off-the-shelf technologies that you can download and learn on your own, and project ‘B’ uses technology that costs thousand of dollars for a single license and a D&B number just talk to the software vendor, then … guess which I’m gonna get my hands on?

Something to keep in mind is that just because you don’t hear a particular vendor talked about much anymore, does not mean that their stuff isn’t deployed in companies or governments having huge contracts with that vendor. I can think of several software companies you no longer hear about, because they’re no longer “cool” or “sexy”. But guess what? their stuff is deployed at companies with hundreds of thousands or even millions of seats! That my friends is credibility.

If I can impart one other thought before my virtual ink runs out on this article: don’t look to job boards and contract services as your main source of project information. Remember way back in the day, when jobs were advertised in papers? And remember when the old adage was “the best jobs aren’t advertised?” That’s as true today — if not truer — than it was then. Look beyond the social networks and job boards when seeking good business technology contracts.

And one other little secret before I toddle off for the evening: most of the really big important players are not out there telling $5.00/hour recruiters what their actual project needs are. No sir (or ma’am). Companies like that find their talent discretely and indirectly, and don’t make their products and architectures publicly known.

When shopping for lucrative, portfolio-building projects, know that that whole “transparency” thing being bandied about today is hooey. (Yes, I actually said “hooey”.) If Mr. or Mrs. “Big” from the XYZ corporation offers up an interesting project using a technology that you haven’t heard your friends talk about? It’s time to get interested. Really interested.

Conversely, if they’re using stuff that triggers a “that stuff is so old I didn’t know ANYONE was still using it” reaction, — well yep — time to be really interested in that too!

Now it’s your turn. What is your take on all of this? What system or processes do you use to decide between projects and/or technologies to support? Sound off in the comments below.

Good night for now…

How to Grow Your Consulting Business with Information Products

By Corbin Links

Today’s focus is on using information products to expand your coaching or consulting business (without adding new clients).

Before getting into the content, I highly recommend that you read through Part I of the “How to Grow Your Business” series. This information-packed series was inspired by my own business and figuring out creative ways to expand, especially through the last economic downturn. If you find the article useful, please do me a favor and add a comment at the bottom of the post, or consider giving it a “Like” on Facebook.

HINT: At the end of conclusion of this six-part series, I’ll share my personal favorite non-client growth methods.

Here is a quick recap of the “Six Major Strategies to Expand Your Consulting Business Without Adding Clients”:

Expand your existing client relationships.
Expand your current services and add new ones.
Create mobile apps, web apps, or traditional software tools.
Create information products. (eBooks, physical books, online courseware, webinars, etc.) <– You are here
Create membership sites.
Use traditional business strategies such as acquisition, partnerships, buying equity stakes in other companies.

Information Products from a Business IT Consulting Perspective

What is an information product? Basically, it’s any form of packaged information that can be sold, shipped/downloaded/delivered as a distinct unit. Examples include:

eBooks
Audio programs
Video programs
Webinars / Teleseminars
Printed books
Online courses

There are other types of course, but this list is a good place to start and includes the major information product types. From here on out, we’re going to focus on the process of finding and using the information for your information product(s). The actual creation, production, marketing and distribution of information products are huge topics in and of themselves and best covered by other experts and in later articles at CorbinLinks.com. At the end of this post, I’ll include a few suggested resources to get you started.

Why Information Products?

I’m not even sure I can count all the benefits of using information products in your business! Even if I could, the list would be as long or longer than this entire post! So let’s start with a few of the “biggies”:

Information products are inexpensive to create.
Information products can be created quickly.
Information products are easy to distribute.
Information products extend your brand, your audience, your reach.
Information products get more people interested in your other products and service offerings.
Information products sales have a large margin — especially the digital products.
Information products can expand your database of prospects, buyers, and clients.
Information products leverage — and this is key — information you already have in your business.
Information products build credibility.
Information products give you something to partner or “joint venture” with other product creators and companies.
Information products can be partially or fully outsourced, including the creation, distribution, and marketing.
Information products can be endlessly repurposed or expanded. Audio files and blog entries can become books, books can become courses and new books, books and courses can become speaking engagements, speaking engagements can bring clients… you get the idea.

Convinced that information products have a place in your consulting business portfolio? Maybe you want a few “downsides” to balance out all the positive benefits? It’s really hard to come up with a list of downsides, but I’ll give it a shot:

Information products can distract focus and effort from other business growth methods. For me personally, this is the only legitimate downside. It is true that putting in any time on one or more information products detracts from other projects you could be doing. That’s where outsourcing and management skills come into the mix. The bigger question is: can you afford NOT to at least have one quality information product?
Information products can take you down the road of the “perfectionist syndrome” to the point you never release your first product. I admit it, it’s VERY easy to get caught up in perfecting your information products. However, most will argue (as will I), that you don’t want to let perfect get in the way of “good enough.” Yes, you should commit to making a solid, quality product. But keep in mind; the main thing is content quality, relevance, and “actionability.” Looks and style are important, but good CONTENT rules every time.
Information products require some form of distribution, download, and potentially — sales and shopping carts. If you have a “brochure-style” website that doesn’t currently sell anything, or exists to get potential clients to call you, information products will require a few updates to your website. (If you get really stuck with this step, email me at “info — at — corbinlinks.com” and I’ll point you to some suggested resources.)
Information products provide so many benefits and options; it’s hard to know where to get started. You can easily get bogged down in the “how” of doing an information product instead of taking action and just doing it. If you can type or record your voice and have valuable information in your head, you can create an information product.
“But Corbin, there are SO many information products out there already!” Everyone has one. Why add one more to the mix? Who would even be interested?” — Answer? PLENTY of people. There are billions of people with direct access to the internet, many of whom need what you have to offer. No one can provide the same information, in the same way and with the same personality that you can.
You don’t know how to create an information product. Yes you do. If you have the skills to find this article, you can create an information product. Ok, maybe you haven’t created audio and video files before, but you figure it out quickly. For eBooks, all you need is a decent word processor and a way to generate PDF files. Second: get some help. There are lots and lots of services out there that can take your word or PDF source documents and create stylish and easy-to-read eBooks and even transcribed audio. Email me or use the contact form over at https://corbinlinks.com/contact-me and I’ll put you in touch with the right resources for your product.

Help me out here… are there other downsides? If so, please comment below or send me an email at “info — at — corbinlinks.com.” I’ll be happy to amend the article with some more downsides.

I’m hoping my point is made about the “why”. If not, then add a comment below or mail me at “info — at — corbinlinks.com” and let’s chat further.

Now, let’s talk a bit about the “what” of information products.

What Source Information Should You Use in Your Information Product?

Notice that I completely skipped over the questions of “what format should I use to create my product,” what “file type” should it be, or “how will I create the product.” I didn’t forget. As technically savvy folks, it’s easy for us to focus on those things. (I know I have — and WAY too much when doing my first few products.) As you read through this article, I’m confident you will see that information products are NOT about the fonts, document type, format, etc. At least when you start out.

The main point I want to share is that you HAVE to make a decision, get started and create something. If you already have one or more information products created, then I want you to create even more, or make your current products even better.

The Product Brief

First, you’ll create a “product brief.” The “brief” is a high-level summary and outline describing:
* The goal of the product. Examples include:
* Marketing your business
* Make money
* Test a new product concept or service offering
* To have something to joint venture with (joint ventures will be the subject of a future post)
* Source documents to include in the product.
* Audio MP3 files
* Video flv/mov/mp4 files
* Word documents
* Spreadsheets
* Slide presentations
* Company branding images
* Release schedules
* Who will do the work?
* How long will it take?
* How much will it cost?
* Marketing plan

Product briefs can (and should) be as brief as practically possible. Again, the goal here is to create marketable information products. If this is your first information product, I recommend that you:

Select your best information
Start with a short, but well-edited eBook

–>Action step: _Create your first product brief. If you have done information products before, then create a new one!_

Source Information / Source Documents

From here on out, we’ll use the terms “source information” or “source document” interchangeably to mean whatever set of information we’ll use to create the product. A source document can be something you already have (audio file / document / video / PDF / slide deck, etc.) or something you will create from scratch.

What information should be in your source document? Here is simple 5-step process for deciding what information you will compile into a product:

Create the product brief. Start by asking the question “what is the goal of your information product?” (Refer to the Product Brief mentioned above.) Here are some clarifying questions to help get you started:
- Do you want to have people subscribe to your mailing list and build your database?
- Do you want to create something that is free but will be distributed “virally” to spread the message about you / your company / your service?
- Do you want to test out a new service idea and measure the responses you get before investing time, money and resources?
- Do you want to drive more traffic to your site?
- Do you want to gain credibility?
- Do you want to have something to entice other consultants or companies to partner / joint venture with you?
- What is the end result that you want from the product? This is the most important question. Start from the “what do I want the product to do”, BEFORE you think about the “how” details of product format, distribution channels and the like. Failure to answer this question at the outset (and trust me – I’ve been there myself), is the #1 reason many information products fail to achieve the desired results.
What is the low-hanging fruit? What source information do you already have that can be easily and quickly converted to an information product? Examples might include:
- Seminar recordings
- Project templates
- Project budget calculation templates
- “How to do…” something in your niche that you created for another client or project
- Podcasts
- Informational videos
- NOTE: For a first-time information product, you want to keep the initial creation costs low and reuse / repackage as much as possible. Notice the pattern in the preceding list? The suggested “low-hanging fruit” included things that you may already have, and which probably address issues, questions, solutions that there is an audience for. Which leads us to….
What do clients and colleagues ask you about the most? Every consulting niche, whether it is Business IT Consulting, Life Coaching, Language Tutoring or anything you think of has its list of “frequently asked questions.” In my primary fields of Identity Access Management (IAM) and Business IT Consulting, I have lists of common questions that clients and colleagues are always asking about. I keep the lists handy and add to them constantly. This practice led me to create my first podcast and information product in 2006.
What topical keywords apply to your product? Keyword research is a HUGE topic. One of the best resources I can think of is the “Keyword Research” blog post and video over at http://SmartPassiveIncome.com/keyword.
Compile the results from #1 – 4 above and update your product brief. Again — and I can’t emphasize this enough — do NOT focus on the “how” or the “formatting details” in the product brief or source documents. Later, when your source content is fully baked and achieves your original goals, THEN you can worry about the fine-tuning issues such as layout, audio/video quality and the like.

Create or Update Your Source Information

Collect all of your source documents. ALL information products start with one or more source documents. Even if you decide to use something like a seminar recording you already have, you will need to create a product brief to outline the product, what its purpose is, what its background is, how it is structured, etc. For each information product you create — even video — you will create a summary overview document at the least.
Create the content. Remember to create (or modify existing content to be) content that is:
- Useful
- Relevant
- Actionable

I could expand this article even further and dive in to the concepts of “Epic Content,” “Content Is King” and all the other stuff you hear out on the net. I’ll save you a ton of reading and boil it down to this: answer real-world questions / solve real-world business or life problems, and give people action steps to do something useful. If you can do that, your content will always find an audience. Let me repeat that: if you can do that, your content will always find an audience.

Have the raw source content edited and processed. I highly recommend you contract out for this. A third-party firm skilled at editing, formatting source content is well worth the investment, and it keeps you focusing on what you know and do best — creating content relevant to your market.
Review and finalize the product.
Distribute samples of the product to your inside database or mailing list. There are two main reasons for this. First, you want to get some initial reaction first, before putting the product on your website, distributing to partners, or submitting to a publisher. If response is good, keep on going. If not, find out why and adjust accordingly. Second, you want to collect product testimonials. I could (and will eventually) write a whole article just on collecting testimonials. But for now, the main phrases to remember when sending to your list are “please send me your honest feedback,” and “can I quote you.” It can be difficult to motivate people on your list to give feedback, so make it REALLY EASY, in fact PAINFULLY EASY to send testimonials and feedback.
Put your marketing and distribution plans into effect. Also a topic for future discussion. Your marketing and distribution plans will vary greatly, depending on the type of product you’re doing, your goals for the product and what channels you market to. I recommend you start with:
- Your website
- Amazon.com (if publishing a book or audio files)
- Mailing lists
- Facebook business page
- Twitter
- LinkedIn

Summary

For all the ground covered in this article, I barely scratched the surface of information products. If I’ve inspired you to go out and create a new information product or improve an existing one, my goal as been accomplished. I’ll leave you with these takeaways:

Information products are one of the best, easiest AND fastest ways to expand your business without adding new clients.
Information products are excellent marketing vehicles for your business. Approach information product creation from the standpoint of marketing and credibility building, rather than building a “cash cow,” Doing so will help keep you focused on delivering maximum value in your product while building leverage to use for even bigger paid projects or partnership / joint venture opportunities down the road.
Avoid getting bogged down in the “how” details of creating your product. If you are creating an eBook, start with a source document. The source format doesn’t matter – Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Apple’s Pages, a text file — whatever. If you want to do audio, then record it, and the same applies to video as well. To learn more about creating compelling information products of each major type, I’ve included some highly recommended free resources below.
Don’t be deceived by the low barrier to entry. Create something valuable. There are a lot of garbage information products out there on the net. By all means take immediate action to create your product(s), but DO commit to creating something of useful, actionable value to your audience. Create your product and then tell me about it! Mail to “info — at — corbinlinks.com” or add a comment to this article.

Recommended Resources

The following resources will help you get started down the road of creating useful and actionable products. I’ve touched on each of the major types:

eBooks
Podcasts
Videos
Tele-seminars (and by extension — webinars.)

All of these resources are free, personally tested and used by me, and HIGHLY recommended:

eBooks the Smart Way, by Pat Flynn – This article is chock-full of useful structure, design, formatting, and distribution tips. Some of it doesn’t apply directly to consulting, but most is relevant to any eBook project.
Monetize Your Passion, by Rich German – This is a good-sized book and covers a LOT of ground. I cannot recommend the book highly enough on all levels (life, business, products, etc.) Particularly relevant to product creation are the sections in Part Two, Chapters 10 – 12. The book itself is free, but Rich does ask for a donation to his “Gen Why” project. http://www.richgerman.com/mypfreebook/ http://www.richgermantv.com/2010/08/24/myp-ebook/. I should also mention that Rich is the master of the tele-seminar. He has several tele-seminar MP3 files that are freely downloadable from his site at http://richgermantv.com. Download one of them to your favorite MP3 player and listen to how he does it.
The IAMSuccessTips.com Store – Ok, full disclosure: there are items for sale at the store. But that is not why I’m sending you to the link. The point of the visit is to view a few actual information products that were created using information contained in this article. There you will see examples of monetized eBooks and audio programs.
Google’s Keyword Tool – We barely touched on the subject of keyword research. But if you’re already a bit familiar with keywords and how to research them, Google’s free tool is pretty darn good. Google provides the tool for free, will ask you to sign in with an AdWords account to use some tool options.
Podcast Answer Man – The name says it all. If you’re looking to create a podcast, Cliff Ravenscraft’s site is the best place to start. Podcasts are one of my favorite types of information products. In a future article, I’ll publish my own podcasting tips targeted toward consultants. In the meantime, definitely go and check out Cliff’s site.
Interview with the iPhone Video Hero – Online marketer extraordinaire Tyrone Shum interviews Jules Watkins, the “iPhone Video Hero.” – I learned a TON from this video interview and am preparing to use many of these tips on my next [link]speaking engagement. The tips Jules (a producer of hit shows for the BBC and MTV) shares on this video blew me away. I’m sharing this resource to point out that there are no barriers to creating and distributing studio quality videos. Check out the interview over at http://www.outsourcinglive.com/podcast-036.

–>Action step: Now go out there and create a product! <–

Have questions about your information products? Do you have or are you in the process of creating products and interested in joint ventures? We are always on the lookout for good joint venture opportunities. Of particular interest:

Courses
Membership sites

If you’re looking for a venture or just some help with your information products, please visit https://corbinlinks.com/contact-me, complete the form and be sure to include the words “Joint Venture” in your subject line. Alternatively, you can send an email to “info — at — corbinlinks dot com” and include the words “Joint Venture” in the subject line. Be as detailed as you can when submitting your proposal for the fastest consideration.

All the best,
-Corbin

How to Expand Your Consulting Business Without Adding Clients – Part 3

By Corbin Links

Today we’ll be discussing the third major strategy for expanding your Business IT consulting business without getting new clients. (Though the strategy when implemented correctly WILL help you get new clients.) This is Part 3 of six-part series on “business growth and expansion” we’ll explore adding apps and software to your existing line of products and services.

New to the series? If you haven’t yet read Part 1, definitely go back and check that out. FYI, any of the six major expansion strategies can be done in any order. At the end of the six-part series, I’ll share my personal favorites.

Here is a quick recap of our six major strategies to expand our consulting businesses without adding new clients:

Expanding existing client relationships (covered in Part 1)
Expanding existing service offerings and adding new ones (covered in Part 2)
Creating mobile apps, web apps or traditional software (today’s topic)
Creating information products (eBooks, physical books, online courseware, webinars, etc.)
Creating membership sites
Other “traditional” business strategies, such as acquisition, partnerships, buying stakes in other companies and the like

Apps / software / web — from a Business IT consulting perspective

“Apps” are everywhere today. Mobile apps, web apps, traditional desktop apps, hybrid cloud apps, multi-platform apps — you name it. It seems like everyone has an app for something. If you have a software company or other type of e-commerce product company, this makes perfect sense. But what about service companies such as Business IT consultancies? How does the service model translate into lucrative apps? Is it enough to just have your virtual calling out there on LinkedIn or on your website? Do you also need a mobile app? HTML 5-compliant mobile site? Website with “app-like” features?

Before exploring some answers to these questions, let’s standardize our “apps” definition. From the Business IT perspective, all of the following are apps:

iPhone / iPad / Windows Phone / Android / RIM, etc. (Mobile)
Websites – both static, and interactive
Desktop applications – client/server, “cloud”, standalone, etc.
Widgets – Apple, Yahoo, or other
Console / terminal-based applications
Interactive scripts that function like programs
Enterprise software
Web browsers

Today’s focus will be primarily on mobile apps, but it’s important to note that “APPS” does not only apply to mobile. For the purposes of discussion, we’ll concentrate primarily on #’s 1 and 2 above.

Why apps?

Great question. Like writing a book, doing a seminar or any creating other type of content (more on this later…) you need to first figure out your end game. (Starting with the end in mind – see IAM Success Tips Books: Volume I.) What do you want to accomplish and why? As Business IT consultants selling services, we want to build tools that will compliment, extend, or otherwise market our services.

A useful and targeted app can do one or more of the following:

Generate consulting leads
Build thought leadership
Sell advertising
Operate as a standalone paid application
Automate a feature of your business, such as project management and client interactions
Save time and money
All of the above…

Lots of options! Since we are focused on business expansion, we want an app that:

Will generate qualified consulting leads (directly or indirectly) – and/or…
Make us money from advertising, download or membership fees, or a combination

But before building an app, be sure that you have the following in place:

A business web presence of some kind
A social media presence of some kind (generally, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter)

What kind of app can you do?

A common question from my consulting clients is “should I do an app?” If so, what kind can I do?

To the first question – yes. With web and mobile app costs down into the free range or low hundreds, there is little reason not to do some kind of app, even if it’s a basic keyword-rich “presence” app.
To the second question – many apps.

Service providers have many options for bringing valuable apps to market. Here are a few suggestions:

Turn your blog or website into a mobile app (if you develop any mobile apps, you’ll also need a specific targeted web presence for your app)
Turn your podcast into a mobile app
Provide an online portfolio as part of a mobile app
Do a Q&A or “FAQ” app in your area of consulting expertise
Create a project or work estimation app
Create a training app
Create an interactive puzzle or quiz app for topics in your industry
Create a project tracking app for your clients
Complimentary “free” analysis app
Create a project signoff/approval app for your clients
And many other options!

You could also expand your business with full paid mobile applications and list them in the various app stores, such as Amazon, iTunes and Android Marketplace.

How much should you spend developing apps?

It all depends. But first, I’ll dispel the idea that useful apps have to take a lot of time and money to build. There are dozens (maybe more) of web applications out there now to build mobile apps and mobile web sites.

For example, if your goal is to create a mobile version of your company website or blog, you can do that for literally 0$ and whatever time you put in. Of course, your time is money, so calculate carefully. Here are some general estimates to start with (times are end-to-end, including concepting, designing, developing, deploying, testing, debugging, releasing…):

Create mobile app version of your website or blog – 1 to 3 days, depending on site complexity.
Create a mobile app version of your podcast or video feed – 1 to 2 days
Basic training app – multiple content types – 1 – 2 weeks
Basic project/client/service portfolio app – 2 – 3 days

So far, the apps above can developed 100% on free or low-cost application services. If you have business requirements and budget to pursue a larger-scale application, then you can branch into games and productivity applications.

Basic games can be designed and delivered within four to six weeks, for $600 – $2000
Basic productivity apps designed and delivered within two to four weeks for $1500 – $5000

DISCLAIMER – Estimates vary tremendously and are constantly changing as the global app markets evolve. Your estimates may not be anywhere close to those listed above. Estimates and figures are provided for informational purposes only. Also be aware that many of the new types of “web-based mobile application development tools” have setup fees, monthly fees, and ongoing revenue sharing fees. Do your research carefully before investing in free or paid app-development services.

Funding your new app

I’m a big believer in service providers designing –and wherever possible– developing their own apps. At least, your first app can be developed in-house to get your feet wet. Something to keep in mind is that most companies making any “real” money from apps do so by having lots of apps. That’s not to say that you can’t release the next “Angry Birds” and make bajillions of dollars. I hope you do! Rather, my point is that you want to have reasonable expectations. Start with a marketing focus, “appify” something you already have (blog/website/podcast/YouTube channel/whitepapers, etc.) get the experience and move up the ladder from there.

That said, I recommend following in the footsteps of other Business IT consulting firms and use consulting revenue to fund apps development.

Making money from your app – which model?

Monetizing your app is a whole article in and of itself. (Hmmmm…that gives me an idea…) For now, there are several primary ways to make money from your app:

Carry advertising such as Google ads, Apple ads, or other third-party advertisements
Charge a download fee
Charge a download fee and “in-app” option fees (for example, a game that you sell for $1.99, and then inside the game unlock bonus levels for $.99)
All of the above

For service providers advertising their own services and expertise, I generally do not recommend showing third party advertisements in portfolio or marketing apps. Best not to distract visitors or downloaders from the main purpose which is to sell them on doing business with your company. However, if you’re selling standalone apps in the games or productivity categories that are not specifically about your company or its information, then consider offering free advertising-supported versions and full paid versions of your apps. “Free” apps with advertising can and do make money if they are good enough and capture enough download traffic.

Hire or build yourself?

As discussed above, for most basic “presence/mindshare” apps, you want to do those yourself. But what about more elaborate productivity apps or games?

Apps can become very complex, very quickly. No surprises there. If you have plans to do a serious professional app with lots of features and a price point, you’ll want an experienced developer or team working with you. Even if engaging third party developers, always design the app yourself. App designers and graphic artists can help explore new design concepts for an assigned task, but don’t have them do the whole thing for you. It’s your app and you’ll be responsible for it long after your third-party contract designers and developers have moved on to other projects. Design it right, iterate as much as necessary, and tightly manage third-party resources.

How to get started

Here is a quick checklist:

Be sure your primary business website presence is up and running.
Establish social media presence(s) as needed.
Decide what app you want to do.
Decide how or if you want to monetize your app.
Design your app (for mobile apps, think in terms of “screens.” Each function of the application will have one or more screens, tied to a main or parent screen). Very basic apps will generally have 12 – 15 screens, more complex apps may have dozens or even hundreds of screens. (We’ll cover app design more in-depth in future posts.)
Design the artwork for your app. Icons, graphics, banners, etc. If using a third party designer, sketch out the basic concepts for them to work with. In most cases, you will need to tell your developers and designers what you need and how much, not the other way around.
Create a specific website or section of your website for your application. NOTE: Each application you develop should have its own website or minisite, even if it’s just a page or two. In general, I recommend a separate website for each app, with links to and from your main site. You want to do this before your app is formally developed.
Develop your app.
Test, debug, fix your app, complete the “gold code” version of your app.
Create your release strategy and communications.
Pre-market your app.
Release your app (how you do this depends on what type of app and which marketplace you are releasing to. Each marketplace or distribution channel has its own requirements.)
“TMAA” – see below

Getting the word out

Use all channels at your disposal to get the word out. Here are some of the most important:

Friends
Other team members inside your company
Your clients
Your email list
Press releases (be sure to make your announcement on your official website first, then link back to it from your press release)
Apps marketplaces (iTunes, Android Market, Windows Phone App Market, etc.)
YouTube video(s)
Twitter
FB Fan Pages
LinkedIn status updates and contacts
Podcast (if applicable)
Mentions from your partner blogs and websites

Much more on this topic to come. Stay tuned!

Tracking your progress

Launching a new app into the “apposphere” is just part of the battle. Be sure to set up analytics and financial measurements. I use a model called “TMAA”:

Track – Tag your new app with the appropriate keywords, titles, phrases and tracking codes. Ideally, your app and its target URL’s will have different tags to allow it be tracked and measured across different channels. Tag options include geo-tagging, channel tagging, search tagging, or even word-of-mouth tagging via custom codes.
Measure – Collect numbers of visitors and performance metrics from web, social media, and apps marketplaces.
Analyze – Trend your measurements over time. Are there certain days your app gets more downloads? (Hint: Tuesday through Thursday often perform best for business apps.) Certain countries or regions downloading your app more than others? Time of day/month/year? Incoming trend up, down, or flat?
Adjust – Put resources in the channels and international regions that perform the best. If your app isn’t delivering on your goals for it, find out why. If necessary, tweak your tagging and measurements. It’s critical to have current and accurate data about how your app is performing over time and geolocation.

Recommended resources

buzztouch – I used this application to help with the “IAM Success Tips” app. You’ll still have some Apple XCode (TM) hacking to do, but buzztouch can take care of many details for you.
quirco – Online iPhone icon maker. Easy to use and surprisingly handy.
appmakr – Similar to buzztouch, but a bit easier to use plus it’s multiplatform. It will also scour your site for artwork and prepare samples based on URL’s.
WPTouch – free and pro This is a WordPress plugin that transforms a WordPress blog into a fast, fully mobile website. Lots of adjustment options in both. If you have a larger site, need more graphics/icon sets, or device segmentation, invest in the PRO version. I’ve used this on many different sites and love the way it can make a website “mobile device compliant” without having to rewrite anything. Supports multiple mobile device types.
kishkee – Mobile website builder. Quick and easy, create a small one or several-page mobile app site in hours. Build and track your site, offer QR codes, coupons and more. Priced very low.
APP.NET – Another mobile website presence builder with excellent tracking and third party integration options. Multiplatform.

NOTE: I’ll cover these and other resources in upcoming posts. We’ll also walk through the creation of actual apps. There are lots of options out there, but these I know firsthand work well and can get you started quickly.

Summary and next steps

In this article, we’ve discussed the third major Business IT expansion strategy – adding mobile and apps to your portfolio. Key takeways:

Any Business IT consulting firm can create and distribute an app. There is always an app to create, even if it’s just a mobile version of your company website.
Take inventory of your assets and prioritize which might make good apps.
Apps are important, but they are only a portion of your overall strategy. Be careful not to allocate too many limited resources away from your primary consulting business.
If possible, design, develop and release your first app 100% in-house. Get the experience and understand how the process works before involving third parties.
Be sure that your web and social media presences are firmly in place BEFORE you develop any apps.
Follow the checklists and guidelines in this post to get started.
Track and measure everything.
If your first app doesn’t set the world on fire (figuratively…), try again! Like web sites or other software products, it can sometimes take a few tries before hitting on just the right app. Remember that companies making substantial income from apps usually (with some exceptions) have multiple apps.
Have fun! Creating and releasing apps is a challenging (and sometimes frustrating) but rewarding experience. Enjoy the journey, apply the lessons learned to your next app and other areas of your business.

Your next steps are:

Sign up for the “BIG Results List” using the form below.
Inventory your current information assets and client requests. Determine what would make a good app that you can bring to market quickly and for a low-cost.
Using the “service addition evaluation checklist” above, evaluate one or more new service offerings.
Take action!

Expand Your Coaching Business Without Adding Clients – Part 2

By Corbin Links

Want to expand your coaching or consulting practice—but don’t have a stream of anxiously waiting clients? There are options!

Today we’ll be discussing the second major strategy for expanding your coaching or consulting business without getting new clients. (Though the strategy when implemented correctly WILL help you get new clients.) In this Part 2 of our “Business IT Expansion Series” we’ll explore “adding services” to your existing line of products and services.

But first—if you haven’t yet read Part 1, check that out first.

Done with Part 1? Let’s roll!

First, a quick recap of our six major strategies to expand without adding new clients:

Expanding existing client relationships (covered in Part 1)
Expanding existing service offerings and adding new ones (today’s topic)
Creating mobile apps, web apps or traditional software
Creating information products eBooks, physical books, online courseware, webinars, etc.)
Creating membership sites, online courses, writing books, or other high-value collateral that “attract” client opportunities.
Other “traditional” business strategies, such as acquisition, partnerships, buying stakes in other companies and the like

What does it mean to “add services”?

Before “adding” anything, you have to first know what you have. “Current services” are those things you deliver to clients today. In general, these are the services you advertise for sale and contract to clients for delivery.

“Adding” then, is offering new business services that you do not currently offer or have never offered before.

There are two major types of service addition:

Service enhancements. These are services closely related to what you currently offer, or that could be grouped or packed with other existing services. For example, a web design firm that adds web hosting services, or an Identity Access Management consulting firm that adds a reporting service to its provisioning service. A retail example could be something like offering a selection of bands to go with loose gem stones. You get the idea. Service enhancements are generally the easiest and fastest ways to expand your service portfolio.
New services or service divisions. For instance, an email integration company that adds collaboration portal services. Services in the same industry to be sure, but services that require substantially different skill sets.

Why add new services?

To increase your market share.
To deepen your relationship with existing clients.
To improve your skill set, or those of your employees, contractors and partners.
To win particular clients or specific projects you could not otherwise bid on.
To reduce eventually eliminate current services that you want to phase out.
To make your business more attractive as a takeover target.
To enhance market diversification and increase economic protection.
To do a particular type of project just because you want to.

Potential downsides of adding new services

As your business solidifies and grows, adding services is often a good thing. But there are a few potential downsides to keep in mind:

You may not have the internal expertise to offer your new service. These days, you can add 1099/corp-to-corp contractors from just about any field of expertise. Bring someone on for a spot project, or partner up with a trusted firm in your industry. Subcontract them in under your company banner, provide the service and manage the project internally. This is a tried and true strategy used by all the successful consulting firms in and outside of IT.
You may not have the “street cred” (yet) to offer the new service. Even existing clients that know, like and trust you may hesitate awarding a new project outside your area of expertise. Is your portfolio in the area of the new service a bit thin or non-existent? Consider offering part or all of the service to a well-known and trusted client for free, or at a substantially reduced price. Use the “introductory special” pitch, but really mean it and really deliver. Make the scope small and focused and ask for a referenceable testimonial if the client is happy. Then, make the client happy with your new service! DELIVER! Instant “street cred.”
You may not have the time to research, manage, document, or launch a new service. Is the value calculation positive? (See the next section…) If so, hire one or more virtual assistants and task them with creating checklists and templated documentation.
You may not be budgeted to manage the work or administrative tasks required for the new service. If budget is a challenge but the demand is there, this is the perfect opportunity to partner up.
You may not really want to offer a new service. This is a judgment call. Often, this situation arises when one of your existing happy clients asks if you can also do “xyz” task/project for them. In fact, if you are delivering BIG Results to your clients, you should be hearing this question all the time. But just because they ask, doesn’t mean it is something you can, should, or want to do. Weigh your options carefully. If your answer is “no”, you could let them down gently with a reference they can call to fill the need. However, the BIG Results model is to have fewer, happier clients with multiple streams of business expansion income. In general, if there is any possible way to provide the service, either in-house, or by teaming up with a trusted partner and taking just a small slice of the business for administrative purposes, then do so. The more your clients can rely on you to be the “go to person” and deliver BIG Results, the better the relationship will be for you and the client.

Be sure to give some thought to the downsides before finalizing your service strategy.

When to add new services

Before adding services, I recommend following a basic “service addition evaluation” checklist. Now that we have touched on some of the advantages and disadvantages of adding services, we can make informed decisions. The following checklist is what we use at Links Business Group LLC:

Do we have the capacity and bandwidth to deliver on our current projects?
Do we have existing clients asking us for a particular new service, or variation of a service we already offer?
Do we have a valued partner that offers a service that would compliment ours and benefit both of our client bases?
Is there a particular product or service we want to offer?
Is the market trending away from any of our current services?
Is current service demand slowing or expected to slow in the near term?
If we were to consider adding a service, could we support it? If not, what would it take to support it? Do we have the necessary partnership(s) in place to support it? Can we ramp up to support it? Do we need additional vendor certifications?
Is the potential new service something we can test on a small scale and abandon quickly, or modify quickly if it doesn’t work out?
Is there a new service opportunity in our industry that is so powerfully compelling (technically / economically / demand-wise) that we just HAVE to take a look at it?

I encourage you to add your own questions to the preceding list. The list is just there to help get you started and provide important points to consider. My main point is that any major changes in your service portfolio — adding OR removing — can have a major impact on your future and bottom line (up or down.) As consultants and entrepreneurs, it’s easy to want to offer every service and product we possibly can. But focused specialization, with structured steady growth and constant measurement is the way to go.

Service evaluation scoring scale (based on questions 1 – 9 above)

This is a sample scale I use and advise my consulting-company clients to use when evaluating new services:

1 Has to be “yes”
7 Has to be “yes”
One or more of the other items have to be yes
9 is a wildcard and happens rarely, but it does happen. The point of including #9 on the list is to keep options open for new, lucrative and unique opportunities.

Practical ways to add new services

Excited to add some new services or enhance existing ones? Great! Here are a few tried-and-true tips:

Partner up! Find a complimentary service or product firm, strike up a relationship and do a small pilot project together. Partnering is the fastest, least-risk way to quickly bring a new service to market. In this age of meshed social networks and “coopetition”, it has never been easier to engage with other service providers and companies. In fact, with the right partnership you can literally offer new services right away.
Add a service that fits your existing base skills and requires minimal learning or new certifications. For instance, if you are a project management firm, add business systems analysis to your service list or vice versa. If you are a systems integrator, consider adding a contract systems administration division.
Ask existing clients to pay in advance for new or experimental services. If a client is asking you for something that you don’t traditionally provide, be honest with them. Many will surprise you. If you are consistently delivery top-notch value to your clients (you are, aren’t you?) then they will WANT to expand your expertise and give you new project opportunities. Once you’ve successfully delivered on your new service, it becomes another bona fide project for your portfolio.
Review past projects at least twice per year. What in your past projects can be extended, re-branded, packaged together or enhanced to become a new service?
Buy other service and product firms. It works for the “big guys” and is not as hard as you might think. Granted you will usually need an established track record and some capital / credit or backing, but it’s always an option.
Combine existing services into packages. One of my favorite tips. Build packages, add/remove options and where possible, add free or low-cost software scripts and tools to enhance new or existing service packages. Many clients believe they are 100% unique, but the reality is that most industries share many points of commonality and have similar needs. For example, consider pairing a strategic roadmap with enterprise architecture, implementation and maintenance and a free dashboard tool for stats and tracking.

Summary and next steps

In this article, I’ve presented some action steps you can take immediately to review and potentially expand your services. The next step is up to you!

Your next steps are:

Review Part 1 about how to expand existing client relationships.
Sign up for the VIP List using the form below or at the top of the page. Seriously—you cannot afford to miss the weekly Monday Kickoff Letter where I share some of my best stuff. Often, stuff I cannot or will not share publicly.Once you have done that…

Review your existing service portfolio and pros/cons of your current offerings.

Using the “service addition evaluation checklist” above, evaluate one or more new service offerings.

Take action!

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