WAYS YOU

www.cahl ia .com

CAN BE A MORE SUCCESSFUL

THIS WEEK!CONSULTANT

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WAYS YOU CAN BE A MORE SUCCESSFUL

CONSULTANT THIS WEEK!Unfortunately, there is no easy or clearly laid out path to

success when you are a consultant, but there are absolutely things you can THIS WEEK to take you towards consulting success!

When you are working flexibly as a consultant, there is a real chance you are working at all times of the day and night, as you work around other commitments and life requirements. This makes it tricky to know exactly how much time you are spending on jobs, whether you have maxed out your hours for a particular project or whether you should outsource certain tasks because they are too time consuming.

ACTION: find an online tool that can track your hours! This will help you know how many hours you are spending on a project, and you can make sure you are charging correctly. There is no point in working more hours than you are charging for, and only earning $2.50 an hour, if you can be more efficient or reassessing the fees for the project!

HOW: There are lots of simple apps that can be downloaded onto your phone such as Toggl.com, Trackingtime.co, Harvest.com, Timelyapp.com or Everhour.com.

We have used Harvest for our consulting work which we just love - it even integrates invoices directly with Xero so no manual entry!

INVEST IN AN APP TO TRACK YOUR TIME

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Every week you should be increasing your professional network. We get that it can be daunting to put yourself out there, but as you are probably already aware - most of your work probably comes from your network - so meeting new people increases your chances of getting access to projects and consulting gigs. By the way, this can be done both virtually and face to face, so you aren’t limited by time zones, location, or access.

ACTION: Remember people do business with people you know, like and trust. Set yourself a KPI to connect with 5 new people a week, and you will be amazed at how your business will grow.

HOW: There are some really great places you can connect with like-minded people - try LinkedIn, closed Facebook Groups (like Flextribe), MeetUp Groups, Business networking sites and events (we like League of Extraordinary Women and Business Chicks), Industry Associations or become a member of Cahlia – our network of like-minded professional female Consultants!

Just because you are an expert in your field of consulting, doesn’t mean you need to know everything. It is okay to ask for help, and you will be a better consultant for it. There will always be someone willing to help you with a solution, it’s just better if you work out exactly what your problem is so that you can find your perfect match.

ACTION: Ask someone for help this week! Before you do this - make sure you really consider what it is you need help with. It is in your field of expertise, is it to do with running your business, or is it how to source new consulting work?

HOW: Once you’ve worked out what you need help with - source your expert! You could do this with a Google search, a LinkedIn search, by going to a yoga class, by asking friends, family or another consultant, or talk to a member of our Cahlia community!

MAKE 5 NEW BUSINESS CONTACTS THIS WEEK

ASK FOR HELP!3

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The most incredible karma producing thing you can do to grow your business is to help other people grow their business. If you get into the habit of asking people how you can help them, they invariably ask you the same, and everyone benefits.

ACTION: This week, contact two fellow consultants by phone and ask what you can do to help them. HOW: Connect in with your network and ask them how you can help. Perhaps you could let someone know about a project coming up, connect them in with one of your clients, proofread a proposal for them, whatever it is, it will come back to you in the most unexpected and wonderful ways.

Do you remember that time that you undercharged and felt resentful for the work? Yeah, that wasn’t fun and it wasn’t conducive to being a great consultant, because you basically hated the work and it probably showed in the outcome you delivered.

ACTION: Be bold and charge what you are worth, starting from TODAY. Win the work based on your skills and your experience and your knowledge. Then, you will have the confidence to deliver an amazing outcome because you feel valued, and you enjoy it.

HOW: Research what others are charging in the market and assess what you have been paid on previous projects. Think about a time when you felt you charged appropriately, and a time when you felt like you significantly undercut your rates. Ask around your network to see what they charge. If you are doing more hours or more complicated work than agreed - make sure you renegotiate your rate! Now go be an outrageously successful consultant and help everyone around you to be one too!

SHARE THE LOVE AND HELP OTHER CONSULTANTS

CHARGE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH

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Cahlia is an online marketplace that connects brilliant female consultants and independent contractor with project work.

By this, we mean work that can be done using your specialised skills, flexibly, and that gives you control over

outcomes – which mean you are paid what you are worth in the market.

WHAT IS

w w w . c a h l i a . c o m

hq@cahlia.com www.cahlia.comwww.facebook.com/cahlia

To find out more please visit: www.cahlia.com/consultants