Rating: 
Summary: The Business of Consulting - It delivers!
Review: The Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond by Elaine BiechDo you have the talent, knowledge and connections necessary to launch your own consulting business? Maybe so, but you will still want to check out this book. Elaine Biech's The Business of Consulting: the Basics and Beyond is a reference about running the business side of a consulting business. Biech covers topics such as recognizing if you have what it takes to be an effective consultant, finding start up funds, business overheads, setting prices, finding an accountant, writing a marketing plan and carrying it out, cash flow, expense tracking, and expanding your business. She also covers ethics and professionalism.
If that sounds like a lot, you're right. Biech covers many topics in the book, and she does it in a warm and friendly writing style. Her advice is grounded in practical experience, which she relates throughout the book to help back up her ideas and pointers. The topics are covered in some instances adequately, as in the writing about building the Client-Consultant relationship, and in other instances, very thoroughly, as in the basics of setting up a workable business plan.
The book includes many checklists and forms - and as an added feature, the book includes a disk with these checklists and forms from which you can customize your own forms and print them out or save them to your computer. The Start-up expenses check lists appears to be practical and useful, including such items as furniture, equipment, office supplies, seminar supplies and marketing supplies.
The book is attractively presented, on quality paper with an easy on the eye font. One design feature I found distracting were the quotes taken from the text body and displayed mid-page on almost every page. It was overdone, and if a technique like that is used, I'd like it to offer additional facts or information, not simply reiterate what I am already reading.
All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone going into business as a consultant. Consultants who are already running a business may also benefit from this book if they feel a bit weak or rusty on the `business' side of making their consulting business run smoothly.
Rating: 
Summary: The Business of Biech
Review: The Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond, by Elaine Biech truly deals with what the title suggests, the business end of consulting. Throughout her book, Ms. Biech reiterates that "Staying in business is less dependent on how good a consultant you are than on how well you run your business" (p. 201). Biech backs up her emphasis on running a business successfully by offering a number of exhibits in the form of worksheets, questionnaires, self-evaluations and developing a business plan. Her exhibits contain information from tracking expenses, to tracking time. In every topic covering the business end of consulting Biech is very thorough. For example, in the marketing section of her book, she tells readers what to put in mailings in order to get attention. Her idea is to make all mailings aimed at getting business "lumpy envelopes" by enclosing objects such as holiday symbols. This has created a trademark for ebb associates, Biech's consulting business. She is also very in-depth in her discussion on how to figure out your rates as a consultant. Although the majority of the book is aimed toward the business aspect of consulting, the author does discuss how to decide if consulting is a good profession for you or not. She is very up front in informing the reader what it takes to get into the business. In this section she offers self-evaluation exhibits for those considering consulting as a career. Biech is quick to dispel myths about consulting and tell the reader what he or she can actually expect. She believes that, although the best reason to become a consultant is because you want to, it is important to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in regard to the profession. For this purpose she provides the reader with a variety of worksheets. Biech repeats her emphasis on self-evaluation at the end of her book by describing, in detail, a week in the life of a consultant. In this chapter she is very honest about the time her business takes and the need to juggle her schedule. Saturday phone calls, canceling social engagements and putting off personal projects are all possibilities in a consultant's life, according to Biech. Not only does Biech offer questionnaires and worksheets; she also gives multiple examples of introductory letters, proposals and contracts. Introductory letters are a marketing strategy of ebb associates that show research has been done on the company before it was contacted. It is important, in Biech's eyes, to focus on the recipient of the letter in the first paragraph by telling him or her what is known about the business, such as its recent expansions, growth records or business reputation. This is a way of building the client up before suggesting a service the consultant might provide. Perhaps the thing that differentiates Biech's book from other consulting books is the variety and number of exhibits offered. Every form imaginable is available not only in the book, but on a disk enclosed with the purchase of The Business of Consulting. Session planners, billing, start-up expenses, budget format, cash-flow projection, financial statements, marketing plans and subcontractor agreements are just a few of the exhibits offered. In total, there are fifty exhibits on the disk, which can be printed for use by anyone starting their own consulting business. Because of all the personality evaluations and commitment questionnaires provided in Biech's book, I believe it would make an excellent read for anyone considering becoming a consultant. Its format would also make it an excellent textbook for classes on consulting. The emphasis on running a business might be a salvation to those caught in the mire of an unorganized firm, as well as a complete guide to those venturing into self-employment for the first time. As Peter Block, the author of Flawless Consulting states, The Business of Consulting is "practical, compassionate, and a good alternative to an MBA."
Rating:
Summary: How can you not buy this book?
Review: This book is extremely user friendly and packed with practical information that every consulting practitioner needs. Organization of the book is excellent, with lots of subheadings to lead the reader right where he/she wants to go. Another good feature is that most of the advice is labor intensive, rather than capital intensive. In other words, Elaine's ideas can be implemented with smart work and little capital. Anyone starting out in business, or even thinking about it, needs to put this book in their library and the book's information into their heads.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for any consultant, especially small practices.
Review: This book is extremely user friendly and packed with practical information that every consulting practitioner needs. Organization of the book is excellent, with lots of subheadings to lead the reader right where he/she wants to go. Another good feature is that most of the advice is labor intensive, rather than capital intensive. In other words, Elaine's ideas can be implemented with smart work and little capital. Anyone starting out in business, or even thinking about it, needs to put this book in their library and the book's information into their heads.
Rating: 
Summary: Very light on content
Review: This disappointing book skirts the issue of consulting and instead uses generic advice about building any business. It consists of laundry lists, not usable advice. Bottom line: This will not help anyone build a consulting business.
Rating:
Summary: A "Must-Read" for Consultants
Review: This is an excellent book for established consultants or those setting up a consulting practice. As the book's name implies, it starts with business basics and proceeds in a clear, easy-to-read fashion. The author shares her personal philosophy and business practice on some issues, which I found very helpful and used in my own business start-up. This book is a valuable source of information for consultants, regardless of their professional practice area.
Rating:
Summary: Practical and comprehensive. A must-read for consultants.
Review: This is an invaluable resource for understanding the business dimension of consulting. It is not enough to be good at the "content" of consulting; you've got to know how to establish a reputation, price services, market and build your practice into a financially successful venture. This book provides a practical look at the strategies and techniques that enable consultants to turn their work into viable businesses. I've been a consultant for 15 years and have seen nothing like this for such helpful business-building information.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat dissappointed
Review: Wanting to obtain more quality information about how to become a consultant, I browsed through the amazon.com list of consulting books. There I found Elaine's book. What distinguished her book from others was the average 5 star rating and the kind of praise that sounded as if her book touched and changed many professional lives. I became convinced that this book must be a hands-on, real insider guide and receipe book to get it started, a well of knowledge that was read, enjoyed and tested by hundreds of intelligent people. Well, I have to admit my expectations were not fulfilled. Although the book gives a good overview of the profession and points out several rather creative and helpfull insights and ideas, for the most part I found it to be only light "food", common knowledge and at times even repetitive. For somebody who would like to break in the consulting profession, this book might be a starting point to get an overview and to gain more substantial knowledge from elsewhere, but in my opinion it certainly is not enough to provide the understanding that will inspire the necessary knowledge and confidence of how to become a consultant. Then again, there are not many books that achieve that standard...
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