Ten Ways to Get Rich in Consulting by Not Taking on Clients

Let us start by assuming that you are a competent, professional consultant in some field. You are thoroughly qualified in the content of whatever your speciality is. The natural aim of most consultants is to get rich by serving more clients, thus increasing their income. Another way to get rich might be to reduce costs, and hence increase profitability. There are at least 10 ways in which one can avoid the costs of taking on the wrong client, or taking on a client under the wrong conditions.

The notions of “right” and “wrong” here are my own personal value system, as it has evolved over about 30 years of consulting. I have tried all of the “wrong” ways, innocently, from time to time. Perhaps that experience can help you to make different sorts of mistakes, or at least to be aware of what your own value system is.