For a number of years I have been giving a talk titled So You Want to be a Consultant? Most recently, I had the pleasure of giving that talk at TechTown—Detroit’s ever-growing business incubator and networking organization. I gave my presentation at this month’s “First Friday” networking event and the staff at TechTown did a great job preparing and promoting for it. Thanks guys!

The room stayed packed even while we went an hour over the posted schedule so obviously consulting and entrepreneurship are popular topics these days.

I’ve noticed an interesting pattern: when companies do large layoffs, they inevitably fall behind in their production schedules. That opens the door to consulting and entrepreneurship opportunities within those companies that might not have existed before. So it seems natural to me that I find consulting and entrepreneurship getting more attention in the current business environment.

I’ve been in the software consulting and staffing business for many years, and have had my share of experiences with facing and overcoming the tribulations that come with running one’s own business. A lot of my experiences are specific to the technology business, but most of those experiences apply to any form of consulting. At least half of one’s success as a consultant depends on a good grasp and application of basic business knowledge and I am happy to share that with people.

So, by request, I am posting the slides from my presentation for your reference. I hope you find them useful.

So You Want to be a Consultant?

John W. Stout is the founder and president of Stout Systems. With 30 years’ experience in the computer industry in a variety of roles, he is an advocate of the effective communication of technology issues and objectives. He is also sought after as a industry speaker and is very active in the business community.