Re: consulting

[http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert (robert)]

 > From: "Gail" <http://www.cox.net/~g3>
 > Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 22:41:11 -0700
 >
 > ----- Original Message -----
 > From: "robert" <http://dummy.us.eu.org/robert>
 > To: "Gail" <http://www.cox.net/~g3>
 > Sent: Monday, April 21, 2003 3:50 AM
 > Subject: consulting
 > 
 > > Is this so you can incorporate?  What exactly is the purpose of this?
 > 
 > Robert, no, the purpose of the Business Plan is not to incorporate. I would
 > be a sole proprietor if I decide on the idea of the independent contractor.
 > For me it would have a dual purpose. Since I'm a volunteer SCORE small
 > business counsellor on Wed. mornings, a lot of what we do is help clients
 > write their Business Plans. Thus, doing one for myself would make me a more
 > effective counsellor. I already did one as a project when I was at Antioch
 > as a student. For many people a Business Plan is needed in order to get
 > funding or a loan. But it also is just plain valuable planning so the
 > entrepreneur knows where he/she is heading. It's like a map. It covers all
 > aspects of the business including marketing and all the financial stuff one
 > needs such as cash projections, Balance Sheet and Income Statement
 > projections, break-even point, etc.

OK.  I don't know if my book mentions this strategy -- I've only got
half-way through so far.  (I sent my resume to a guy seeking someone for a
freelance project; he says that things haven't yet been worked out
regarding who'll be doing the hiring.  But, of course, given the current
level of competition, it's doubtful that anything will come of it.  That's
why I started reading that book on computer consulting that you gave me
for X-mas.)

 > > I think accountants are in higher demand than technical people right now.
 > > The finance person at my last company went to another company.  The very
 > > fact that she could do that indicates to me that things are different for
 > > CPAs.
 > 
 > I'm not a CPA, but it's true about the accounting field. You can always feed
 > yourself. If you can't find employment, you can always start your own
 > business pretty easily as an independent contractor. I did this 12 years ago
 > when I was laid off at an accounting firm. I just started my own at home for
 > awhile. One of my clients was my present employer, SBIG. Don's CPA
 > recommended them to me. Later SBIG hired me full-time and that same CPA is
 > SBIG's  outside CPA for the corporate income tax returns. Networking helps

Well, I do meet with a "Job Seeker Networking Group" every Thursday
morning.  I've also had my former co-workers and friends submit resumes to
their companies on my behalf and nothing has come of it.  I think even
networking doesn't help at this point in my field.  (The unemployment rate
for Programmers is now at 7.5% and for Engineers is now at 7.0%.  For Software
Engineers, it's only 6.5%, but that's still pretty high -- about 3 times
what it has been historically.)

 > and so does keeping positive, thinking creatively, and working hard to get a
 > job trying every possible avenue and spending as much time as a regular job
 > takes, in my opinion.

Well, there is still just not much out there.  I was reading an article
that said that the technology sector hasn't been this hard hit since 1959.
(I have been trying to find out what was going on in 1959 to try to
understand why this might be, but I haven't found any info so far.)

 > Good luck,
 > Gail