Consulting Lessons Learned

- Communication is essential (client needs to constantly know you're still thinking of them)
- As a client, you get out of it what you put into it (product clarity, guidance, design production, server work)
- Always be explicit
- Always be legally covered
- Invoice frequently
- Manage expectations every step of the way
- Make sure that the client considers everything that is work work
- Be pragmatic to ship, and expect the same of your clients
- Beware of "I'm giving you carte blanche"
- Try to break large projects into smaller pieces rather than signing on for everything
- Better to have things blow up early rather than later when everyone is more invested
- Do what you can to prevent bad situations, but recognize that you don't have total control over outcomes
- When it rains it pours
- Trust your gut about people
- Evaluate the client's health (if startup what stage--early salad days or desperate pivot?)
- People who don't want to sign your agreement or pay your rate likely want to take advantage of you
- Recognize power games and don't play into them
- Know whose opinion matters
- The buck stops here
- Consulting is a relationship like dating, not marriage (can end at any moment no matter how well things seem to be going)
- A consulting project will quickly expose the internal problems of the client
- Raise issues early and often
- Document, close loops
- Consulting is like Groundhog's Day: same thing over and over, but you have to be careful because sometimes past is instructive, sometimes it isn't)
- All clients turn
- Maintain some leverage
- Know when to fire a client