Successful Independent Consulting

AUGUST 16, 2017

"As an independent consultant, does it matter how I get paid?” Absolutely! In the U.S., being paid on a 1099 tax basis as a business instead of on a W-2 tax basis like a temp worker makes a huge difference to your profitability for two key reasons: You pay less tax. You save more for retirement. Here’s how I figured this out. Several years ago, as an independent consultant I did my taxes two ways using TurboTax® software.

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Agile Small Business Consulting Software 265

David A Fields

AUGUST 15, 2017

As the leaders of small consulting firms, we’re entrepreneurial, ambitious and highly engaged in our work. That can easily slip into 24/7/365, always-on, workaholism. How do we establish some work/life balance? 3.

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Consulting 186

Steve Shu Consulting

AUGUST 13, 2017

Consultants do work long hours. Not as bad as investment bankers though. In my opinion, it takes a conscious effort to have a healthy lifestyle in consulting. Presuming that the focus on health is mostly on physical exercise and diet (versus mental health or social relationships), here are some things I’ve used to try to strike a balance: On the job, really focus on what is strategically important; try to cut bait or minimize involvement with small stuff that you shouldn’t sweat.

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Exercises Consulting Management Efficiency 150

Management Consulted

AUGUST 13, 2017

So you’re an undergrad (maybe even a freshman, or God forbid a pre-freshman) and you have your heart set on landing a management consulting internship. What can you do now to set yourself up for success? While we didn’t have nearly as … Continued. The post 5 Tips for Undergrads Wanting to Land a Consulting Internship appeared first on Management Consulted.

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Consulting Management 167

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Clarity Consultants

AUGUST 15, 2017

The agile corporate-learning business model has been getting a lot of attention in recent times. Companies are seeing the benefits of a more agile production, design, and even leadership development programs. But an agile model isn’t for everyone. Here are some of the benefits and some of the costs to moving to an agile methodology. The post The Agile Effect: What are the Benefits and Costs Moving to an Agile Methodology?

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Methodologies Agile Leadership Productivity 71

Tom Spencer

AUGUST 12, 2017

When you run your own small business, it can be difficult to keep an objective distance from what you do. Bills come in, sales go out, you have your day-to-day goals and you watch the curvy line of profit and loss make its inexorable progress throughout the financial year. You have your big one-year and … Continue reading "What a Business Financial Statement Can Tell You About the Health of Your Business".

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Financial Small Business Sales Cash Flow 60

Women in Consulting

AUGUST 17, 2017

:: “In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.” Albert Camus. Turning away from the day-to-day “busy-ness” of running your business is critical to remembering why you started it and what you need to do to propel it forward. I am huge believer in regular and focused retreats because they have been critical in the success of my business.

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Course Company Meeting Groups 63

SkillQuo

AUGUST 16, 2017

Modern businesses follow the talent and many talented individuals are embracing their independence from companies, going off the books and onto their own as freelancers. These individuals range from executives with proven company records to interim managers, and these so called ‘supertemps’ have established their position as useful personnel.

SMB 60

SMB Enterprise Talent Efficiency 60

Actionable

AUGUST 16, 2017

Meetings don’t have to suck. Meetings, when done right, can be a great way to foster collaboration, creativity and engagement. The post How to Make Sure Your Meetings Don’t Suck appeared first on Actionable.co.

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Meeting How To Culture 52

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How To

Chad Barr

AUGUST 16, 2017

I believe it was Peter Drucker who said that the best way to predict the future is to create it. I believe that in order to create a strong future we must continually reinvent ourselves. Doing so is as close to a guarantee as possible not only to ensure our future survival but to actually enable us to thrive and impact others. Throughout my career I have gone through several reinventions both personally and with my business.

Marketing 52

Marketing Groups Productivity 52

MishTalk

AUGUST 16, 2017

In addition to its crackdown on cash, India stepped up its attack on gold. The aim is to cut down on gold imports. India does that in a roundabout way, by cracking down on exports. (more…).

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BCG

AUGUST 16, 2017

Article Wednesday, August 16, 2017 An approach that uses digital technology to better understand customers’ needs relies on e-commerce platforms to get new products into the market quickly.

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Productivity Marketing 53

Actionable

AUGUST 16, 2017

Meetings don’t have to suck. Meetings, when done right, can be a great way to foster collaboration, creativity and engagement. The post How to Make Sure Your Meetings Don’t Suck appeared first on Actionable.co.

Meeting 52

Meeting How To Culture 52

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Consulting

Steve Tobak

AUGUST 18, 2017

I was intrigued by an article in yesterday’s Harvard Business Review entitled “What 11 CEOs Have Learned About Championing Diversity.” The author is Stefanie Johnson, a biz school prof who studies the intersection of leadership and diversity and the effect of unconscious bias on evaluations. The piece starts with a[.] Read On. The post The Business Case for Diversity Is Clear … as Mud appeared first on Steve Tobak.

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Study Leadership Ethics Culture 48

MishTalk

AUGUST 13, 2017

Ian Narev, the CEO of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the nation’s largest bank is set to step down amid money laundering charges. Money laundering is big business in Australia because regulations do not cover lawyers, real estate agents, accountants, and CEOs ignoring warnings from police. Despite the obvious problem, it’s cash itself that gets the blame.

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Banking Real Estate 60

Harvard Business

AUGUST 15, 2017

Tim Evans for HBR. Many leaders see organizational learning simply as sharing existing knowledge. This isn’t surprising given that this is the primary focus of educational institutions, training programs, and leadership development courses. It’s the “sage on the stage” model, in which an expert shares what they know with those who are assumed not to know it.

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Efficiency Emotional Intelligence Operations Development 53

Actionable

AUGUST 14, 2017

When you leverage the cadence of your business, you can understand when it's quieter than usual and work on your business instead of only in it. The post Smooth Sailing: Leveraging the Cadence of Your Business appeared first on Actionable.co.

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This White Paper targets opportunities for Management to develop proficiency in the Decision Framing and Analyses element of input to Decision, & Risk Analyses for Major Project Funding Decisions.

Methodologies

Seth Godin Blog

AUGUST 18, 2017

True connection is a frightening prospect. When you are seen by someone else, really seen, it hurts even more if you're ultimately rejected. When we connect, we make promises, buy into a different future, engage with another, someone who might let us down (or we might let them down). Far easier, of course, to do something more shallow. A friend on social media is not like a friend in real life.

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Media Course 55

MishTalk

AUGUST 12, 2017

For the first time in a long time, CME Fedwatch shows the odds of a rate cut in December rose considerably above zero. Considerable means 2.6%. Yes, that’s a long shot, but cut odds were zero on Thursday, zero a week ago, and zero a month ago. Moreover, rate hike odds which a week ago were over 53.2% are now down to 35.9%. (more…).

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Strategy+Business

AUGUST 14, 2017

A small but growing number of retailers and restaurants are experimenting with selling their wares through unstaffed kiosks, often linked to apps and e-payment systems.

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Retail System 53

Actionable

AUGUST 14, 2017

When you leverage the cadence of your business, you can understand when it's quieter than usual and work on your business instead of only in it. The post Smooth Sailing: Leveraging the Cadence of Your Business appeared first on Actionable.co.

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Harvard Business

AUGUST 16, 2017

There are many creative tools a designer uses to think differently, but none is more counter-intuitive than “wrong thinking,” also called reverse thinking. Wrong thinking is when you intentionally think of the worst idea possible — the exact opposite of the accepted or logical solution, ideas that can get you laughed at or even fired — and work back from those to find new ways of solving old problems.

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Travel Research Engineering Tools 51

MishTalk

AUGUST 14, 2017

Fed Chair Janet Yellen keeps citing consumer confidence and jobs as reasons consumer spending and inflation will pick up. Curiously, the New York Fed Survey on Consumer Spending Expectations keeps trending lower and lower, despite survey-high expectations for wage growth. The report for July 2017 was released today. I downloaded the survey results and produced the following charts.

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Survey Trends Report 55

Seth Godin Blog

AUGUST 17, 2017

There's a common mistranslation that causes us trouble. We say, "I am afraid," as if the fear is us, forever. We don't say, "I am a fever" or "I am a sore foot." No, in those cases, we acknowledge that it's a temporary condition, something we have, at least for now, but won't have forever. "Right now, I have fear about launching this project," is quite different from, "I'm afraid.".

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Clarity Consultants

AUGUST 15, 2017

The agile corporate-learning business model has been getting a lot of attention in recent times. Companies are seeing the benefits of a more agile production, design, and even leadership development programs. But an agile model isn’t for everyone. Here are some of the benefits and some of the costs to moving to an agile methodology.

Methodologies 41

Methodologies Agile Leadership Productivity 41

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In times of economic uncertainty, account-based strategies are essential. According to several business analysts and practitioners, ABM is a necessity for creating more predictable revenue. Research shows that nearly three-quarters of marketers (74%) already have the resources needed to build successful ABM programs.

Strategy