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IT Consultant
Must-Read Post
Telling clients 'I don't know' is acceptable
Consultants should market themselves to clients as providing the right answers rather than having all the answers. This is why it's beneficial to know how to conduct reasoned research.
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Apply positive agile development roadmap practices in your organization
The view of agile development as a simple methodology shift is a predictor of failure, according to Rick Freedman. Read his four tips on applying positive agile roadmap practices.
Posted by Rick Freedman | June 20, 2012, 9:14 AM PDT
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How IT consultants should prepare for downtime
Here are four key things to consider when you need to take three or more days off from your consulting work.
Posted by Chip Camden | June 19, 2012, 10:41 AM PDT | Latest comment by StartMyConsultingBusiness
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What my father taught me about consulting
Don't sacrifice long-term goals for short-term gain is one of the many lessons about running a business that independent consultant Chip Camden learned from his Dad.
Posted by Chip Camden | June 12, 2012, 9:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by Gabby22
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Manage 'on spec' requests before signing a contract
Find out how to placate a potential client who is asking off-proposal questions without being taken to the cleaners.
Posted by Ken Hardin | June 11, 2012, 4:24 PM PDT
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Laying out a client relationship in just enough detail
Don't give out your secret recipe when creating proposals for a service relationship. Read three tips on drafting meaningful yet flexible proposals.
Posted by Ken Hardin | June 7, 2012, 4:14 PM PDT
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What to tell your clients about Windows 8
When your clients should adopt Windows 8 depends on the kind of clients you serve. Chip Camden recommends testing the Release Preview and forming a rollout plan now.
Posted by Chip Camden | June 5, 2012, 7:24 AM PDT | Latest comment by abbos@...
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Applying agile concepts at HomeAway
HomeAway's VP of Engineering Jack Yang comments on how the company embraced agile and made it a core value, the real business advantage of agile thinking, and more.
Posted by Rick Freedman | May 30, 2012, 8:32 AM PDT
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Obtaining referrals from your clients
Chip Camden shares advice on asking clients for referrals, giving clients a referral incentive, and collecting electronic referrals via email or social network post.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 28, 2012, 9:16 PM PDT | Latest comment by StartMyConsultingBusiness
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Researching your first date with a potential services client
Follow these five tips on how to make a great best first impression when you go into an initial meeting with a prospect.
Posted by Ken Hardin | May 25, 2012, 1:56 PM PDT
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Deliverables: Reality and perception in client invoices
Trust, honesty, and openness with your client are especially important when invoicing for a project that require days or weeks of attention before reaching a milestone.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 23, 2012, 8:29 AM PDT | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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Agile grows up and new challenges emerge
The conversation shift from "why should we adopt agile?" to "how can we adapt to agile across the enterprise?" presents a new set of cultural and tactical challenges.
Posted by Rick Freedman | May 22, 2012, 1:16 PM PDT | Latest comment by StevenDDeacon
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Use VBA to highlight missing baseline finish dates in Microsoft Project 2010
In part two of his series on using VBA in Microsoft Project 2010, Andrew Makar describes how to build a custom task field highlighting feature.
Posted by Andrew Makar | May 16, 2012, 12:55 PM PDT | Latest comment by Tommy Lovelace
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Get started with Microsoft Project and Visual Basic programming
Andrew Makar goes back to basics and offers simple VBA examples that you can apply to Microsoft Project schedules.
Posted by Andrew Makar | May 14, 2012, 1:42 PM PDT | Latest comment by Tony Hopkinson
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The worst client of all
Consultants, how do you deal with your IT needs? Do you schedule time for yourself, as if you were a client? Let us know in the discussion.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 11, 2012, 7:44 AM PDT | Latest comment by JohnMcGrew@...
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Download TechRepublic's Server Update and Patch Management Policy
Consultants can better prepare clients for required server patch and upgrade maintenance operations by using this TechRepublic policy.
Posted by Erik Eckel | May 11, 2012, 6:40 AM PDT
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Open letter to tech vendors: Stop circumventing IT consultants
Tech vendors should focus on making quality products and offering good service rather than circumventing IT consultants in an attempt to increase the vendor's revenue stream.
Posted by Erik Eckel | May 4, 2012, 1:32 PM PDT | Latest comment by ananthap@...
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Fortinet firewalls, a potent UTM option for consultants
Fortinet ranked at the top of Gartner's leaders/visionaries quadrant in a recent Magic Quadrant report. Learn more reasons why Fortinet firewalls are worth a look.
Posted by Erik Eckel | May 3, 2012, 8:45 AM PDT
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Don't let your niche become an empty buzzword
When a reader asks for advice about whether to be a cloud migration specialist, Chip Camden suggests how to expand the substance of his niche offering.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 1, 2012, 7:38 AM PDT | Latest comment by apotheon
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Reduce injury risks and gain efficiencies with ServerLIFT devices
If your large consultancy can justify the cost, an IT equipment lift such as ones from ServerLIFT offers a number of benefits.
Posted by Erik Eckel | April 27, 2012, 4:15 PM PDT
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Post-close requests from clients: When is enough too much?
Read advice on how many hours you should eat on clients' post-final invoice tasks, and how to avoid these requests in the first place.
Posted by Ken Hardin | April 25, 2012, 7:37 AM PDT | Latest comment by michaelsullivan@...
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Agile grows up and new challenges emerge
The conversation shift from "why should we adopt agile?" to "how can we adapt to agile across the enterprise?" presents a new set of cultural and tactical challenges.
Posted by Rick Freedman | May 22, 2012, 1:16 PM PDT | Latest comment by StevenDDeacon
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What my father taught me about consulting
Don't sacrifice long-term goals for short-term gain is one of the many lessons about running a business that independent consultant Chip Camden learned from his Dad.
Posted by Chip Camden | June 12, 2012, 9:30 AM PDT | Latest comment by Gabby22
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What to tell your clients about Windows 8
When your clients should adopt Windows 8 depends on the kind of clients you serve. Chip Camden recommends testing the Release Preview and forming a rollout plan now.
Posted by Chip Camden | June 5, 2012, 7:24 AM PDT | Latest comment by abbos@...
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Applying agile concepts at HomeAway
HomeAway's VP of Engineering Jack Yang comments on how the company embraced agile and made it a core value, the real business advantage of agile thinking, and more.
Posted by Rick Freedman | May 30, 2012, 8:32 AM PDT
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Define project scope to include deliverables, boundaries, and requirements
There are two places that scope is defined on your project. High-level scope is defined in your project charter. Low-level scope is defined in your business requirements document. High-level...
Posted by Tom Mochal | September 18, 2007, 1:01 AM PDT | Latest comment by user_786@...
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Customizable IT consultant sample contract
Chip Camden presents his standard consulting contract, along with explanations about each section. See if you can modify his contract to fit your needs.
Posted by Chip Camden | November 3, 2008, 6:31 AM PST | Latest comment by myedomicile@...
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How to determine your consulting fees
In my previous post I mentioned that I'm raising rates for most of my clients this year -- which brings up the question of how we consultants should determine our rates to begin with. Most...
Posted by Chip Camden | January 4, 2008, 1:55 PM PST | Latest comment by DonnaMitchell
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Obtaining referrals from your clients
Chip Camden shares advice on asking clients for referrals, giving clients a referral incentive, and collecting electronic referrals via email or social network post.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 28, 2012, 9:16 PM PDT | Latest comment by StartMyConsultingBusiness
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Deliverables: Reality and perception in client invoices
Trust, honesty, and openness with your client are especially important when invoicing for a project that require days or weeks of attention before reaching a milestone.
Posted by Chip Camden | May 23, 2012, 8:29 AM PDT | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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Tips for choosing your professional email address
Your professional email address is like a handshake to clients. Chip Camden advises what to do and what not to do when creating that email address.
Posted by Chip Camden | September 13, 2011, 7:14 AM PDT | Latest comment by Sterling "chip" Camden
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Nudge stakeholders into addressing project issues now
Ken Hardin shares tricks on how to get stakeholders to answer your questions about a project's business requirements. If you don't get answers now, it will cost more to figure out later.
Posted by Ken Hardin | February 3, 2012, 9:49 AM PST
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Researching your first date with a potential services client
Follow these five tips on how to make a great best first impression when you go into an initial meeting with a prospect.
Posted by Ken Hardin | May 25, 2012, 1:56 PM PDT
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Seven rules for flying with a laptop: Share these tips with clients
A client is planning on flying for an upcoming trip, and you know he may not have time to check the TSA's guidelines on traveling with a laptop. Be a good little elf and prepare your client for...
Posted by Susan Harkins | October 22, 2008, 5:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by Marty R. Milette
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Use PERT technique for more accurate estimates
Regardless of the technique you use, the tendency in project estimation is to provide one number for each estimate. In other words, if you have 100 activities on your schedule, each activity would...
Posted by Tom Mochal | June 25, 2007, 8:16 AM PDT | Latest comment by joebailey77
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Get started with Microsoft Project and Visual Basic programming
Andrew Makar goes back to basics and offers simple VBA examples that you can apply to Microsoft Project schedules.
Posted by Andrew Makar | May 14, 2012, 1:42 PM PDT | Latest comment by Tony Hopkinson
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Free project collaboration tools that rock
Andrew Makar explains why these three project collaboration tools are worth a look: Cohuman, Asana, and Trello.
Posted by Andrew Makar | December 3, 2011, 1:45 PM PST | Latest comment by robinsdr
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Configure automated backups using SyncToy and Windows 7's Scheduled Task
Learn how to create a new SyncToy task that automatically schedules backups of the directories clients need regularly backed up to a network share or external hard disk.
Posted by Erik Eckel | March 9, 2012, 2:34 PM PST | Latest comment by Erik Eckel
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Three strengths of a technical project manager
A technical project manager straddles the line between technical savvy and organizational skill. As I mentioned in my earlier blog, this combination makes him prone to the same kinds of...
Posted by Shannon Kalvar | April 14, 2007, 5:25 AM PDT | Latest comment by Todder
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10 personality traits of a highly effective independent consultant
Many IT consultants daydream about branching out on their own without giving much thought to what skills are necessary to succeed as a freelancer. Before you commit to being an independent...
Posted by Chip Camden | June 24, 2008, 1:31 PM PDT | Latest comment by pwoodctfl@...
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Laying out a client relationship in just enough detail
Don't give out your secret recipe when creating proposals for a service relationship. Read three tips on drafting meaningful yet flexible proposals.
Posted by Ken Hardin | June 7, 2012, 4:14 PM PDT
