In the tech world, DevOps is a word frequently tossed around to describe the blending of development and operations teams. It’s a melting pot where engineers work in tandem across the application lifecycle, revamping the typical "silo" framework. Adopting this model requires a necessary change of antiquated company culture to dismantle and reorganize the traditional structure, ultimately reducing operational inefficiencies. Once optimized, these DevOps teams produce benefits like increased speed and reliability, rapid delivery and scaling ability, and improved collaboration and security.
Typically, this philosophy is hailed as a superior organizational approach; however, Uri Zaidenwerg voices a different opinion in his article "Why DevOps Will Cease to Exist." In his article, Uri, a DevOps engineer himself, begins by briefly summarizing what the path to becoming a DevOps engineer looks like. Following this career outline, he identifies what he sees as "signs of the end" for DevOps engineers before forecasting his prophecy.
For once, I'm wondering a bit if this post can be helpful to somebody else. I believe my context is pretty specific. Anyway, just in case it might be the case, here it is.
My Jet Train project makes use of GTFS. GTFS stands for General Transit Feed Specification. It models public transportation schedules and their associated geographic information.
One of the key elements of working with agile frameworks is the ability to create transparency by visualizing the work taken on by the team. In well-known settings, the team refines work to a state where it is ready to be worked on. This is typically done by taking a reasonable-sized improvement request to the product and demystifying the scope while figuring out what work needs to be done in the team to deliver value to the customer. Being able to deliver an increment of value iteratively and incremental is essential. If we lose the transparency in the team, it will be impossible to collaborate when progress stagnates and impossible to identify and resolve impediments.
Not all teams are in a situation where requests can be quantified and broken down into specific tasks that eventually leads to closing the request. Examples of such requests could be bug fixing, experiments with new technology, and migration. This type of work is labeled as spikes. The concept of spikes originates from Extreme Programming (XP) by Kent Beck back in 1996. In XP, a spike is a very simple program to explore potential solutions and reduce the risk of a technical problem. A spike is often defined by a hypothesis, e.g., “Using augmented reality glasses to visualize 3D models will reduce time spent on maintenance” or “Migrating our codebase to python will enable automated testing.”
When we think of giving feedback, we promptly think about correcting others. But giving feedback is as much about telling others what they are doing right as it is about telling them what they are doing wrong. It’s as much about reinforcing good behaviors as it is about eliminating bad ones. It’s as much about singing praise that comes off easily as it’s about giving constructive criticism that makes you uncomfortable.
If you are a manager or a leader, telling people what they ought to hear is not your job, it’s your responsibility. You are the person standing in the way of hundreds and thousands of employees who count on you every day to grow. Not making an effort to tell your people how they are doing and what they can do better, only because it makes you uncomfortable is an act of irresponsibility.
E-commerce businesses are using microservices to build a set of reusable components for their stores. These services make it easier to deliver your content to multiple channels at scale by operating independently from the front end.
In this post, I’ll talk about several design patterns you can implement and explain what they offer. I’ll also mention common use cases.
As Brexit trade negotiations were dragging on at the start of the year, a lot of the discourse focused on perceived inequities in fishing rights. I felt there was a story in the data that could add depth and detail to the narrative. Despite having the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of all EU countries, and some of the richest fishing grounds, UK fleets are restricted to relatively modest catches.
The Common Fisheries Policy provides EU states with mutual access to each other's fishing grounds but sets quotas based largely on catch figures from 40 years ago, which today seem arbitrary. Earlier this year, the UK government was pushing to reverse this by proposing a "zonal attachment" model, where quotas would be carved up relative to the abundance of fish in each country's waters.
If you’re ready to invest and start your own landscaping business, you’re in luck.
The landscaping industry is a lucrative venture for those with an entrepreneurial spirit and a green thumb. Plus, there will always be thousands of lawns in your city waiting to be cared for, regardless of where you live, so you’re assured of abundant work opportunities.
Moreover, entering the industry isn’t very difficult—even if you have no experience.
In this guide, I’ll give you a step-by-step outline to eliminate any hurdles in your path to landscaping success.
The Easy Parts of Starting a Landscaping Business
Starting a landscaping business allows you to be your own boss. You have complete control over which jobs and clients you take on, set your own hours, choose what services to offer, and set your prices.
No one gives you any commands to follow. No one forces you to work against your wishes.
You also don’t have to spend a single penny on getting formally trained or educated. While a degree or certification could help attract more customers, not having academic credentials isn’t a deal-breaker.
Limitless potential is another benefit. Most landscapers set their schedules in a way that allows them to take on as many clients as they can, which ends in them making more money. That said, you should only accept work to the point you can handle it. If you allow yourself to get overworked or double-booked, you may end up with disappointed clients and negative reviews.
You’re also assured of repeat business. Managing to impress clients with your services nearly always leads to them hiring you again for future work. So, in addition to more clients, you’re also creating a loyal customer base—provided you deliver quality work every time.
To ensure you are staying on schedule and streamlining your process, we recommend using scheduling software to coordinate appointments and bookings. Booking Koala is our top pick for any service-based business, such as landscaping.
The online booking forms are mobile-responsive and contain an intelligent schedule to only show available appointment times in real-time. Booking Koala also has payment processing built in, so you can take care of invoicing and payments through the same system.
In addition, Booking Koala has in-app live chat and SMS and email notifications to respond to customer queries quickly. For additional fees, you can also access marketing tools, track field employees, and access a referral system you can use to encourage clients to recommend your services.
Booking Koala starts at $27 per month. Try it for free with a 14-day free trial now.
The Difficult Parts of Starting a Landscaping Business
The manual labor involved in running a landscaping business can get incredibly challenging.
It’s no secret landscaping requires hard work and physical labor. This means a tiring day for you every day you work, especially if you plan on running a business as a one-person operation.
What’s more, finding reliable and professional people who understand the work and do it correctly can get time-consuming and difficult when you hire a team. Many landscaping workers are beginners, so you may not always find experienced individuals.
Seasonal changes and inclement weather pose other challenges—ones you have no control over.
Step 1: Choose Your Niche and Landscaping Services
Landscaping is an umbrella term. There’s a wide variety of services that come under it.
While you can start as a full-service landscaping company, it’s best to focus on just one service when you’re starting out. Plus, choosing a landscaping niche will also help you save money in your initial budget, giving you more wiggle room to buy equipment, hire people, and advertise your business.
Survey the Market
The very first step of building a successful landscaping business is knowing your local market. This is called market research and validates that your business idea is a good fit for your area.
You should know who your competitors are, if the market is oversaturated, your customers’ pain points, and the average prices for the services. Use this knowledge to determine the services you want to offer.
Question local landscapers for feedback. Here’s a list of questions to ask:
How easy is it to find customers?
Do you face any difficulty retaining your clientele?
Is marketing a landscaping business time-consuming or expensive?
Do you find yourself juggling more landscape work than you can handle?
The above questions will give you a fair idea of what to expect once starting your landscaping business.
You can also question potential clients and ask them things such as:
How much would you pay for X or Y service?
Do you currently have a landscaping company you work with?
Have you ever had a negative experience with a landscaping company?
Pick Your Landscaping Niche/Services
As mentioned, you won’t find yourself getting short of options when choosing landscaping niches. Here’s a list of some of the most common ones:
Lawn and tree maintenance
Fertilization, weeding, and pest control
Sod and lawn installation
Landscape architecture and design
Deck and patio construction
As you narrow down your offerings, keep an eye out for your competition and the overall scope in your niche. This will help you identify potential customers.
Another aspect here is deciding whether you want to cater to commercial clients or residential clients. Each has its advantages, so it really boils down to your personal preference.
Analyze Your Competition
The rule here is simple: Don’t start your landscaping business without doing your homework.
You need a good understanding of your competition to create a solid marketing plan and ensure better outcomes. Besides, you should be paying attention to any business that’s doing a good job so you can improve your strategies.
Once you identify the top performers in your chosen niche, take a long, hard look at their:
Website — What landscape services do they offer? How much do they charge for their services? Who is their target clientele?
Employees — How large is their company? Are they direct competitors to you? How big are their service teams?
Marketing — Are they listed on sites like HomeAdvisor? Do they send out flyers in the email? Do they have commercials?
You should not copy your competitors. But you can use them as inspiration to set up your landscaping business and make good business and marketing decisions.
Step 2: Establish Your Landscaping Company
Now that you know the kind of services you’re going to offer, it’s time to shift your focus to the logistical part of establishing a company. This involves registering your business, creating a business plan, and getting the necessary licenses.
Decide Your Company’s Name
Choosing the name of your company is serious business. You want something that accurately conveys the services you offer, especially since your business name is the first impression you’ll make on a customer.
And changing a name after registering a company can be very tedious. So if you want to save yourself from extra paperwork, make sure you focus and brainstorm a great name.
The best business name is simple, short, and relevant. It should be easy to remember but unique enough to stand out from your rivals.
Sounds confusing, right? Trust me, it won’t be once you get down to brainstorming.
You can always use a business name generator for ideas if you have trouble coming up with a business name or want additional inspiration.
Create a Business Plan
A business plan is a living document that outlines your company’s future. It includes several crucial details about your business, including your goals, financials, strategies, and management.
Your business plan helps improve your chances of being a successful landscaping business. Plus, it outlines your company‘s mission statement and long-term goals and details your expenses, both of which facilitate better decision-making.
A business plan also makes it easier to secure business loans or other financing options from bankers and investors.
Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be intimidating. You’ll find tons of sample business plans available on the internet. To give you a brief idea, here’s what a business plan generally covers:
Mission statement and objectives
Company description
Services you’ll offer to customers
Market analysis
Sales and marketing strategies
Organizational and management structure
Budget figures and financial projections
It isn’t necessary to prepare an overly detailed business plan. However, the more detail you include, the better the document will serve as a roadmap for your company.
Choose Your Business Structure
Before registering your business, you have to choose your business structure. Most landscaping businesses opt for one of the following three options:
Sole Proprietorship. Owned by a single person responsible for all of the business’s legal liabilities, taxes, and debts. Although the easiest and least expensive type of business to start, you can be held personally liable for your business’s obligations and debts (limited liability).
Partnership. Involves two or more people coming together to form a business. There are two types of partnership: Limited partnership (one general partner with unlimited liability) and limited liability partnership (each partner has limited liability).
Limited Liability Company (LLC). LLCs allow you to enjoy the benefits of both partnership and corporation structures. Owners have to file a simple tax return and pay taxes at the personal income tax rate—all the while personal assets stay protected from third-party lawsuits or bankruptcy.
As you can see, each business structure has its benefits and drawbacks. Consider consulting with an attorney to help you make the right choice.
Get the Required Industry Licences
Starting a landscaping company doesn’t involve procuring special industrial licenses, but you need a state business license. Contact your county clerk’s office to find out the licenses required, business licensing fee, and if there are any potential restrictions.
Although getting a landscaping business license is a simple process, you can be turned down if you have a criminal record, violate zoning laws, file the wrong paperwork, or fail to pay taxes.
Obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also important.
For those of you who aren’t aware, an EIN is your business’s federal tax ID that makes you eligible to open a business bank account, hire employees, and apply for local permits. You can apply for it for free through the IRS website.
Step 3: Figure Out How Much Money You Need
When you know how much it costs to start a landscaping business, you’ll automatically be more vigilant with your money, which, in turn, will help you sustain the business.
Maintaining a positive cash flow is key to ensuring you can buy the necessary tools and pay your team members without running into debt. It’s why you should budget your money and make well-informed decisions when renting or purchasing equipment and tools.
Analyze Your Business Requirements
You have to figure out how much money you need ASAP.
Finding the answer isn’t exactly easy since landscape startup cost depends on various factors. You have to consider your location, vehicle requirements, how much equipment you already have, the kind of marketing you want to do, business fees, and so on.
Confused? Let me explain in more detail.
If you already have a truck, leaf blower, hedge trimmer, and a mower, you’ll probably only need about $2,000-$4,000 worth of additional landscape equipment. But if you start from scratch, you’ll need way more money to have everything checked off your list.
Getting your landscaping business insured is also critical to protect yourself against expensive liability lawsuits.
To simplify it further, you need the information for the following two questions:
How much money and assets do you already have?
What more assets or equipment before you can start taking clients?
Figure out how to fill the gap between the questions above. For instance, you can apply for a personal loan or a business loan.
Buy Your Initial Tools and Equipment
Once you know the landscape services you want to provide, you can create a list of all the tools you need.
I found this excellent list prepared by Spyker that covers all the standard equipment used in the landscaping business, along with their average cost:
Manual gardening tools (shovels, rakes, shears, trowels, etc.): $10-$50 each
If you have the startup budget to cover everything on your list, you’re golden. But if you don’t, you can rent the more expensive tools initially and then buy them once you have enough money.
A good rule of thumb is to buy fewer pieces of high-quality equipment rather than purchasing a full range of landscaping tools of lesser quality right off the bat. Remember, tools wear out over time, so the more high-quality your tools, the longer they’ll serve you.
Decide Your Prices
The average hourly pay of a landscaper is about $14.25 per hour, according to Payscale. However, you can set your rate based on your experience, location, and the services you offer.
I highly recommend looking at what your competitors are charging. The idea is to price your services closer to theirs to stay competitive—you don’t want to be too high or too low.
You can also test out what hourly rate gets you the most landscaping projects. Once you gain more experience, you can raise your rates accordingly.
Also, you already know the kind of money you need to maintain a positive cash flow and buy equipment/tools. So don’t forget to plan for those expenses and taxes when setting your rates.
Step 4: Hire a Crew
While some landscaping projects are one-person jobs, you’ll need a team of reliable people when handling larger jobs.
Finding good workers is one of the most challenging parts of running a landscaping business. You want experienced and friendly individuals you can trust—without going over your budget.
Post Job Advertisements
Job marketplaces like Linkedin and Monster.com are excellent places to find quality employees. Alternatively, you can also reach out to trade schools and colleges to find candidates looking for work.
Ask for Referrals
The other option is to work your contacts. Contact your current vendors, clients, and other peers in your community, and inform them you’re hiring. Ask them to pass along contacts of reliable and professional people they think would be a good fit for the job.
Passing out flyers can also work.
Step 5: Sort Out Your Business’s Branding and Marketing
As a business owner, you want to create a strong brand identity that sets your brand new landscaping business apart from your rivals. You also need effective marketing strategies to attract a steady stream of clients for your business.
Fine-Tune Your Company’s Brand
I cannot emphasize the power of great branding enough. It really can make all the difference when it comes to outshining your local competitors.
Your brand is how your clients perceive you, so you have to strategize in a way that best reflects who you are and the services you offer. Since we already have a business name and a mission statement, you can work on understanding your unique selling point (USP).
Your USP is the defining characteristic that distinguishes you from other landscapers. Think about what makes your company unique. Do you have a diverse team of designers? Do you offer 24/7 customer service? Are you only focused on luxury landscapes?
Next, you have to refine your brand messaging to best highlight your USP. Consider what you want your business to say and how to communicate it to your target audience effectively.
Lastly, you’ll need a unique logo for your business and build a professional website to put your business on the online map.
Market Your Landscaping Business
You need a solid web presence to land more clients and, of course, start earning money.
The good news is there are both online and offline marketing strategies to implement. For instance, you can create profiles on leading social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram and regularly post content relevant to your target audience.
Posting high-quality, SEO-optimized content on your website is another effective way to drive organic traffic through search engines. As for offline tactics, you can focus on building strong relationships in your local community to land new job opportunities.
Another excellent way of boosting your clientele is by delivering the best possible service. Satisfied customers are more than happy to refer your services to their acquaintances, friends, and family.
You can also use Booking Koala’s marketing tools and automated referral program to further market your business.
Step 6: Start Booking Clients
Once you have put everything together and have a team ready to go, you are ready to start booking clients and working on jobs!
Use Booking Koala to help you manage all your bookings in real-time and make sure to give excellent customer service.
You’ll do great!
The success of your new landscaping business depends on your work quality and your relationships with clients. And while you should give your best at the job, don’t forget your budget and always stay on top of emerging marketing trends to ensure your landscaping success.
Two double data fields named width and height
that specify the width and height of the rectangle. The default values are 1 for both width and
height.
A string data field named color that specifies
the color of a rectangle. Hypothetically, assume that all rectangles have the
same color. The default color is white.
A no-arg constructor that creates a default
rectangle.
A constructor that creates a rectangle with the
specified width and height.
The accessor
and mutator methods for all three data fields.
A method named getArea() that returns the area
of this rectangle.
A method named getPerimeter() that returns the
perimeter.
Draw the UML diagram for the class. Implement the class.
Write a test program that creates two Rectangle objects. Assign width 4 and height 40 to the first
object and width 3.5 and height 35.9 to the second object. Assign color red to all Rectangle
objects. Display the properties of both
objects and find their areas and perimeters.
Every day, the ProgrammableWeb team is busy, updating its three primary directories for APIs, clients (language-specific libraries or SDKs for consuming or providing APIs), and source code samples.
Starting a consulting business takes time, effort, and patience.
But the rewards are worth it.
You can work from home if you wish, choose your hours, and set your own prices. The flexibility is unmatched.
Additionally, the consulting field has relatively few barriers to entry, especially if you have in-demand skills and expertise.
Don’t know where to start? I’ll take you through the process of creating a consulting business step-by-step.
The Easy Parts of Starting a Consulting Business
There are numerous avenues to enter the consulting business. Factors like the increasing number of new enterprises, soaring profits in some sectors, and growing private investments mean constant demand for consultants. Some industries with the greatest need for consulting services include media and technology companies, manufacturing, non-profit organizations, life sciences, and healthcare.
Additionally, setting up a consulting firm doesn’t always have to be a long and complicated process. For example, you could set up your business as a sole proprietorship. While this option doesn’t offer the personal liability protection of LLCs and corporations, you may not need to register your business. This option allows you to set up quickly and scale your business as you grow.
Many niches don’t require you to have special certification or degree to be a consultant. Continuing your education can help you remain competitive in your specific industry, but, in many cases, you can get by with the knowledge and experience you already have when starting your business.
Similarly, the consulting business generally has few financial barriers to entry. You can start your business at home with little more than a phone, project management software, and your expertise. Project management software is beneficial for automating many monotonous tasks, so you may not need to hire staff in the initial stages of your business.
WorkflowMax is an excellent example of project management software that can prove invaluable when getting your business off the ground. This software offers useful features, including lead management, client management, document management, time tracking, job costing, quoting, invoicing, and reporting. It is also affordable, starting at $55 per month for up to three users.
The Difficult Parts of Starting a Consulting Business
Like with any new business, consulting has its challenges. The first significant challenge is cash flow. It takes time to build a client pipeline, and there can be months without work. There will also be a lot of rejection as you work to grow your brand equity and reputation. So it’s a good idea to have at least six months’ expenses saved up before leaping into this business.
The initial period of growing your business also requires you to do a lot of non-consulting work. Many new consulting firms don’t have the budget to hire employees to handle administrative tasks. These tasks may include invoicing, filing taxes, drawing up contracts, managing clients, taking defaulters to small claims court, and following up on unpaid bills. These necessary aspects of your business can take time away from your core competency, which is consulting.
Finding the right audience can also be challenging. You’ll need to identify an underserved target market amidst fierce competition from other consultants. On the other hand, the target market should also need your services and afford your rates. This combination can be challenging to master. It takes intense market research to identify a target market where your business can flourish. Sometimes that might mean relocating to a different area with better and more lucrative prospects or finding a new target market.
Step 1 – Identify Your Niche Market
The good news is that consulting is a broad market with many points of entry. Consultants are needed in just about any field that you can imagine. Even so, it is necessary to choose a niche. A niche will help you get clients more quickly, deliver more value to your customers, and enjoy greater profits. A niche will also make business easier to brand and potentially allow you to become a leader in a specific market.
Evaluate Your Skills and Experience
Your expertise is the obvious place to start when considering a consulting niche. If nothing else, your clients expect you to have above average or excellent expertise in your chosen field. Your ability to deliver value to your client is also the lifeline for your business. Therefore, choose a niche where you have above-average or exceptional expertise.
Similarly, consider which niche has the most demand for your skills. Also, you’d like to get the most value from your efforts. For this reason, look for high-paying niches or where there is a high possibility of scaling your business quickly.
Research the Competition
The Boston Consulting Group doesn’t have to worry about the other consulting businesses directly competing with them. The firm has the reputation and brand equity that clients flock to do business with. But you are not so lucky. Competition is likely to be a significant headache when you are starting.
Pricing your services appropriately can be challenging. You’ll have to take into account your competitor’s pricing, even if you offer superior services. It will also be harder to attract clients if your competitor has a more solid or longstanding reputation.
Be sure to research other consulting firms in your niche and geographical location. You may need to consider another niche if the competition is too steep. Alternatively, you may have to come up with a unique value proposition to attract clients.
Keep in mind that some consulting can be done entirely remotely; others cannot. So when picking a niche, consider whether you want to work remotely or physically go into your client’s offices. You must also consider your chosen industry’s expectations. If you want to work entirely from home, but the niche you are looking at has a standard of being on-premises, you need to know that and adapt your expectations.
Create A Business Plan
A business plan may not be mandatory at this stage. This is especially true if you plan to start small. However, a business plan can help increase clarity, create a structure for your business, and source funding. The business plan doesn’t have to be complex. Even a one-page business plan is better than nothing.
Start by defining your market and the specific services you offer. Moreover, articulate why you are best suited to serve your niche market. Also, think of your unique value proposition and include it in your business plan. For example, you may be taking clients through a well-defined methodology or offering a service guarantee.
Your business plan should also include details about your target market. This includes your pricing strategies, competition, and how you intend to go to market. Also include details about your marketing plan and whether you plan to hire employees.
Step 2 – Get Project Management Software
Most startups have limited budgets, so hiring employees might not be possible right off the bat. But project management software can be a trusty tool to help you develop and grow your business. The software can help you handle multiple aspects of your business, including managing clients, projects, job costing, and invoices. I like WorkflowMax for its transparent and affordable pricing.
Choose Your Plan
WorkflowMax has a straightforward and transparent pricing structure. You pay according to the number of users. WorkflowMax pricing is as follows:
3 Users – $55
5 Users – $80
10 Users – $120
20 Users – $190
50 Users – $275
100 Users – $350
You also have the option to tack on more features if needs be. But, of course, you’ll have to pay extra for these features. For now, the three–user plan has enough features to help you set up and run your consulting business.
Set Up Your Account
WorkflowMax is easy and intuitive to set up. Even so, the software comes with instructional videos in your dashboard. You’ll get step-by-step instructions on how to set up your account.
Create Systems
Ideally, you wouldn’t want to start over every time you begin a new project or acquire a new client. Templates are a great way to save time and effort on many of your repeatable tasks. Consider creating templates for tasks such as client proposals, onboarding templates, data gathering forms, and contracts.
WorkflowMax comes preloaded with templates to simplify your work. These include templates for generating new leads and creating new jobs. You can also create custom templates for quotes, invoices, job briefs, tax letters, and statements. Besides increasing efficiency, templates also help you work efficiently and maintain quality between projects.
Step 3 – Set Your Prices
Creating a pricing structure can be tricky, especially in the beginning. It might take a few tries before you can narrow down on the perfect structure. But it is still crucial that you create a clear structure to present to prospective clients. Pricing is one of the most important considerations for clients, so take your time to think it through and research it.
Consider Pricing Factors
There are a few things to think about when coming up with your price. Some of the important considerations at this point include:
Your industry standard
How much your competition is charging
The time and resources you expect to invest in your projects
Your experience and expertise
The amount you need to earn to support your business
Your desired income
Be sure to include a miscellaneous line item in your pricing. As you will soon find out, additional resources and expenses are almost inevitable when doing business. This is something most clients understand, as long as it’s reasonable.
WorkflowMax has a job costing feature that can help you to establish your prices. You can also estimate the cost of your projects broken down into individual tasks. You can also create job quotes, calculate profits, and compare each project’s estimated and actual cost. This feature is handy for determining if your price is too low or high.
Choose Your Pricing Model
There are three main ways you can structure your pricing. The option you choose depends on your industry standards and what works best for your business. Each pricing model has its advantages and disadvantages.
Per-project pricing – This pricing model means you get a fixed amount for each project. Many clients prefer this option since it’s easy to estimate the total cost of the project. You’ll usually get paid in installments during the contract. Most consultants using this model charge a fixed monthly fee. A potential pitfall of this model is late payments. This is particularly true for large agencies and companies with long pay cycles. You can help avoid this problem by billing the first and last month before the project commences.
Hourly fees – Hourly fees can be great for ensuring you get paid for all the hours you spend working. This pricing model ensures that no billable task falls through the cracks. WorkflowMax has a time tracker to ensure that you capture all your billable hours. You can then generate automatic invoices based on your timesheet data. The downside of this pricing model is some clients might think you are too expensive. Billable hours can also be unpredictable, making it difficult to accurately estimate the cost of projects.
Retainer fee – Experienced consultants with strong reputations typically charge a retainer fee. This means the client pays a fixed rate every month in exchange for an agreed-upon number of hours. This option can be great for generating consistent cash flow. But some clients may include a clause in the contract that you can’t work with competitors for the duration of the contract. This model can also be expensive for small businesses that prefer a fixed project fee or hourly rates.
Step 4 – Register Your Business
Registering your consulting business isn’t mandatory if you plan to do business as a sole proprietorship. But registering your business has advantages, including personal liability protection and opening business bank accounts, hiring staff, getting loans, and building a reputation with customers.
Set Up an LLC
A limited liability company (LLC) is the way to go for most beginning consultants. While the rules vary slightly from state to state, the process of starting your LLC is relatively straightforward.
You’ll first need to find a unique name for your company. Then choose a registered agent. A registered agent is a person who’ll be receiving official and legal documents such as subpoenas and lawsuits on your behalf.
Next, you’ll need to prepare an operating agreement. You’ll need this if you’re going into business with partners. The operating agreement outlines how the LLC will be run. Details in the agreement include how profits and losses will be allocated, member voting rights, ownership interests, and how the business will be governed.
You’ll also need to file an Articles of Organization with the state. This document contains the particulars of your business, including the business name and address, the purpose for forming the LLC, and the length of its existence. Finally, you’ll receive a certificate indicating that your company exists if your application is successful.
Get Certified
Most consulting fields don’t require any special certification. But some specialized fields may come with these requirements. Even where not required, the appropriate certification can help build your credibility. This credibility is especially critical when you are just starting.
There are also certifications tailor-made for consultants in different industries. Some popular certifications for consultants include:
Chartered Enterprise Analyst (CERA)
Certified Human Resources Consultant
Certified Educational Planner
Accredited Agricultural Consultants
Step 5 – Start Reaching Out To Prospects
Clients are the lifeblood of your consulting business. You’ll need to be aggressive to market your business and reach out to prospects. You’ll also need to create a roadmap for how you intend to sell your business.
You can start with your immediate network, including family members, friends, and work contacts. Speak to your network about the services you offer. They’ll be happy to refer clients to you.
Create a Business Website
A business website is a must-have in today’s business environment. Most of your clients will look you up online before hiring or find you on the internet while searching for related services. So, create a professional business website to showcase what you have to offer. This is also a great place to show off your credentials, certifications, licenses, and anything that can help boost your credibility.
Leverage Social Media
Social media is a great platform to get the word out about your business. LinkedIn is beneficial for finding professionals in your industry. Also, consider joining groups in your industry. This is a great place to contribute to discussions, offer valuable insights, and network with others in the business.
Write Client Proposals
A client proposal is an effective tool for closing sales. The proposal is also your chance to show your clients how you will solve their problems and serve their needs. Some of the important aspects to cover in your client proposals include:
The specific problem you are solving
Why you are offering your services
What the project is
Timelines for the project
The budget for the project
Deliverables
How you measure results
WorkflowMax easily lets you create proposal templates for your clients. You’ll only need to customize your templates with each client to save time. Templates are also a great way of sending out a consistent image.
Step 6 – Build Your Brand
It may take some time for clients to start coming in. But building your reputation can help accelerate the process. Most of your initial clients will be referrals. So, go above and beyond to make your clients happy.
Stay Organized
The key to getting referrals and repeat clients is to stay organized. This means keeping all your essential information in one place, delivering projects on time, and following up with invoices and payments. You’ll be juggling many tasks and responsibilities in the beginning. That’s why project management software like WorkflowMax is so useful.
WorkflowMax has a robust document management feature to ensure you never misplace crucial information. You’ll be able to keep all your important files securely in one place. You can also send documents and attachments directly to a job on Workflow Max. The software integrates with Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox to make document management even more effortless.
Hire Staff
It may be necessary to hire employees as your business grows. However, taking more business than you can handle is a recipe for disappointing your clients. At the very least, consider hiring a virtual on-demand assistant. The assistant can take care of some of the dirty work like chasing payments or doing market research while you focus on revenue-generating work.
Deliver Results
You’ll need specific metrics for tracking your results. You can also talk to your clients about what they hope to achieve. Ultimately, you’ll need to deliver results to be successful in your consulting business. Finally, be sure to stay on top of industry trends to provide top-notch consulting services to your clients consistently.
Hi guys im trying to do a Login system in Wpf with Visual Studio
I got the code and DB working fine with Windows Forms in Visual Studio
I have changed the code 3 times and they all work on Windows forms but not with Wpf Forms.
Below is the code i used, do i need to change it for Wpf? or am i missing something, im still learning so any input would be welcome
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using MySql.Data.MySqlClient;
namespace WpfChatApp
{
/// <summary>
/// Interaction logic for MainWindow.xaml
/// </summary>
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
MySqlConnection connection = new MySqlConnection("server=localhost;username=;password=;database=login");
public static string Username = "";
public static string Account_ID = "";
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
if (Properties.Settings.Default.Username != string.Empty)
{
txtUsername.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.Username;
txtPassword.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.Password;
}
}
private void BtnLogin_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
Username = txtUsername.Text;
Hide();
Main newform = new Main();
newform.Show();
Data db = new Data();
String username = txtUsername.Text;
String password = txtPassword.Text;
DataTable Table = new DataTable();
MySqlDataAdapter adapter = new MySqlDataAdapter();
MySqlCommand command = new MySqlCommand("SELECT * FROM `users` WHERE `user` = @user and `password` = @pass ", db.getConnection());
command.Parameters.Add("@user", MySqlDbType.VarChar).Value = username;
command.Parameters.Add("@pass", MySqlDbType.VarChar).Value = password;
adapter.SelectCommand = command;
adapter.Fill(Table);
if (Table.Rows.Count > 0)
{
System.Windows.MessageBox.Show("Logged In");
}
else
{
if (username.Trim().Equals(""))
{
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("Enter your username to Login", "Empty Username", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
}
else if (password.Trim().Equals(""))
{
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("Enter your password to Login", "Empty Password", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
}
else
{
System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show("Wrong Username or Passowrd", "Wrong Data", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel, MessageBoxIcon.Error);
}
}
if (Properties.Settings.Default.Username != string.Empty)
{
txtUsername.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.Username;
txtPassword.Text = Properties.Settings.Default.Password;
}
}
private void BtnRegister_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
}
}
}
Data.cs
using System.Data;
using MySql.Data.MySqlClient;
namespace WpfChatApp
{
class Data
{
MySqlConnection connection = new MySqlConnection("server=localhost;username=root;password=;database=login");
MySqlDataAdapter adapter;
DataTable Table = new DataTable();
public void openConnection()
{
if (connection.State == System.Data.ConnectionState.Closed)
{
connection.Open();
}
}
public void closeConnection()
{
if (connection.State == System.Data.ConnectionState.Open)
{
connection.Close();
}
}
public MySqlConnection getConnection()
{
return connection;
}
}
}
Think about this question. How can we start to make use of AI/ML if you are not a developer or data scientist? How about applying these capabilities to the discipline of IT or Cloud Operations. In this two-part blog, I am going to explore the problem and the opportunity that exists in the emerging area known as AIOps, some of the tools that can help, and what I think the future looks like in this area.
My Background
My role in VMware is all about Cloud and Cloud Management. My conversations are usually with people who care about building, running, or managing applications in public and private clouds and care about everything that's required to do so. That led me to think about how AI is going to affect these people and what opportunities it creates for different roles, specifically in the IT and Cloud Ops space.
In one of the large programs that I was handling very recently, I had the overall responsibility of owning 82 critical applications catering to the most important business functions of a very large global organization and an industry leader. I consider it an honor for getting an opportunity like this in my career, to be at the driver’s seat for a truly digital transformation program like this one.
I respect the confidence of my esteemed partners for their faith in me and without going into the finer details I would like to share some of the learning I/We had in this amazing program.
In this article, I am going to highlight the sure-shot way of failing with Microservices and tips on avoiding them.
Using Microservices when It Is Actually Not Needed
Microservices cannot be used in every context. It is perfectly fine to not use microservices in applications that are small and can be managed easily as monolithic. Microservices come with their own sets of complexities like inter-service communication, managing different services, cascading failures if not implemented properly.
