Climb In Consulting

Today’s episode of Climb In Consulting is a little different and I’m excited to see what you think about it! Instead of interviewing a leader from the Consulting industry I answer a question that I’ve had A LOT since making the move in to Independent Consulting – ‘Nick, how do I become an Independent Consultant?’ In this episode I cover some of the specific questions that I’ve been asked by friends and colleagues along with some of the key areas that you need to know about and consider. This includes the myths that often stop people becoming an independent, how to set your day rate, how to find roles and some of my top tips that I’ve learnt over the last 2 years doing it. I hope you find this episode useful and I’d really value your feedback on whether you like this format and whether it’s useful content. Happy to do more of these if it is. Happy to stick with interviews if it’s not. Drop me an email and let me know – nick@climbinconsulting.com Topics I discuss and when: 05:22 - Top myths about being an Independent Consultant/Contractor 10:43 - How to calculate your day rate 15:43 - How to find contracting/independent roles 23:54 - My top tips to help you become a successful Independent Consultant

Adrian Bettridge is the Managing Partner of Baringa Partners (www.baringa.com). Baringa Partners is an award winning, multi-national consultancy working across Energy, Financial Services, Consumer Products and Retail and Telecoms and Media. It’s also where I used to work! This episode is a special one for me as I used to work for Adrian. I worked for Baringa for 3 years from 2012 – 2015 and without them I wouldn’t be working in Consulting to day. Since I’ve left, Baringa has continued to cement its reputation for both it’s client work and it’s culture achieving Great Place to Work ‘master’ status in 2016 for being a ‘Great Place to Work’ for 10 years in a row and winning best large company to work for in the Great Place to Work awards in 2017. We cover a whole range of really interesting topics in this episode including: How Baringa has managed to grow so quickly in such a short space of time (they’ve almost doubled in size since I left!) What skills Adrian has had to develop most as Managing Partner as the firm has grown Adrian’s guiding life philosophy and what you should take from it How Adrian maintains a healthy work life balance Adrian’s view on Alcohol and whether you need to drink to make it to the top And much much more! You can find out more about Adrian on his Linked In page – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-bettridge-9aa32b14/ or drop him a message at Adrian.bettridge@baringa.com Specific things we discuss in the show: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey - http://amzn.eu/6xq8Syu As A Man Thinketh by James Allen - http://amzn.eu/4zVUkaM Tetris - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetris Headspace - https://www.headspace.com/ The 5 Minute Journal by Intelligent Change - http://amzn.eu/1bm6M8K How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen - http://amzn.eu/3BdYYS5 Drive by Daniel Pink - http://amzn.eu/7lfMJUF Elon Musk by Ashley Vance - http://amzn.eu/hMYipoZ Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal - http://amzn.eu/gPsCXH3 Audible – www.audible.co.uk

Minesh Jobanputra is co-founder of the recruitment firm Deltra Group (www.deltragroup.com). Deltra group is a specialist Programme, Project and Change recruitment firm who provide both permanent and interim consultants to Major blue chip companies and consulting house. I first met Minesh back in 2016 when I was looking for an independent role and his approach and that of Deltra really stuck with me. His honest and transparent style coupled with his knowledge of the industry was really refreshing and this is what led me to invite him on to the podcast. We cover some really interesting topics in this episode including: How Minesh founded Deltra Group How you can tell a good recruiter from a bad one How you can avoid the biggest interview mistake that Minesh and his team hear from their clients How you can break in to hot areas of the industry that you may not have previous experience in Whether PRINCE 2 matters And so much more! You can find out more about Minesh on his Linked In page – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jobanputra/ and the Deltra Group website - http://www.deltragroup.com/minesh-jobanputra Specific things we discuss in the show: EQ Questionnaire and EQ Coach – Lynn Leahy - https://www.lynnleahytalks.com/ Myers Briggs - http://www.myersbriggs.org/ Kolb’s Learning Styles - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolb%27s_experiential_learning The One Minute Manager Meets The Monkey by Kenneth Blanchard et al. - http://amzn.eu/6c2URZo The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership By James C Hunter - http://amzn.eu/ecBW7I2 Harvard Business Review - https://hbr.org/ Audible - https://www.audible.co.uk/

Dom Moorhouse is a business advisor, angel investor and serial entrepreneur. In 2004 Dom founded Moorhouse Consulting which he grew from nothing to a business that he sold for c.£20,000,000 less than 5 years later. After leaving Moorhouse Dom set up his advisory business ‘the 5 year entrepreneur’ to provide mentorship and guidance for owners of Professional Services firms on how they can achieve the same success that he did. Dom is also an advisor and board member to multiple Professional Services firms and is currently focusing on his latest venture, Method Grid (www.methodgrid.com), which we discuss further in the Podcast. We cover so many topics in this episode including: The importance of life and career planning and how it has helped Dom achieve what he has How Dom founded, grew and sold Moorhouse Consulting The importance of cultural values that your team actually buy in to Building high performance teams and some of the pitfalls to watch out for as your Consultancy grows What you can do to ensure that the next Consultancy you move to is the right place for you The importance of health and relationships in building a successful Consulting career And so much more! You can find out more about Dom on his Linked In page – www.linkedin.com/in/dom-moorhouse-2abb6a/ and his personal website www.DomMoorhouse.com Specific things we discuss in the show: The Definitive Business Plan by Sir Richard Stutely - http://amzn.eu/fpJZhpI Managing The Professional Services firm by David Maister - http://amzn.eu/b695YsR Strength In Depth - Pairs CrossFit race - https://strengthindepth.com Tim Wigham - https://timwigham.com Perpetual Insights (PI) Recruitment - http://www.perpetualinsights.com Bath CrossFit - http://crossfitbath.com Why We Sleep by Mathew Walker - http://amzn.eu/eHQbDhc A C Grayling - http://www.acgrayling.com Growth Mindset - Mindset - Updated Edition: Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential by Dr Carol Dweck - http://amzn.eu/8UBerxb Show Me The Numbers by Steven Few - http://amzn.eu/aFgbpQ2 The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte’s - http://amzn.eu/6TSIR91 Paul Collins - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pecollins/ Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity By David Allen - http://amzn.eu/aC2KDRg The Primal Blueprint: Reprogramme your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health and boundless energy by Mark Sisson - http://amzn.eu/8Tx47Sd Method Grid – www.methodgrid.com

Matt Cheung is CEO and Co-Founder of Clarasys. Since founding Clarasys in 2010 it has grown from an idea to a team of over 70 Consultants working across a range of industries including financial services, events, healthcare, utilities and information services. Matt is an expert in Agile programme delivery having spent the majority of his career delivering large, complex system programs using Agile. We cover a huge range of different topics in this conversation including: Why many Agile projects fail and what you can do to ensure yours doesn’t Why you don’t need an expenses policy and what it says about your firm’s culture How you can succeed when moving from a large Consultancy to a small one What holds people back in Consulting and what separates the best from the rest And so much more! You can find out more about Matt on his Linked In page – https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcheungclarasys/ And you can find out more about Clarasys at www.clarasys.com Specific things we discuss in the show: Trello – www.trello.com The Agile Manifesto - http://agilemanifesto.org/ Matt’s Agile Primer - https://www.scrumguides.org/docs/scrumguide/v2017/2017-Scrum-Guide-US.pdf The Lean Start Up by Eric Ries - http://amzn.eu/9qXbGK6 Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - http://amzn.eu/7cdKA8Q The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey - http://amzn.eu/6bIK4ir Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur - http://amzn.eu/9NddtpN The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack - http://amzn.eu/5M0gA6I