Creating a Successful Consulting Practice

Starting with understanding the types of consulting projects and how they originate, this book shows the reader how to develop networks that can play an important role in generating prospects for consulting projects.

The reader is given the steps of identifying the objective of a project, establishing the project’s scope and deliverables, how insure a successful consulting engagement by having early agreement between the consultant and the client on the process, the deliverables, the timetable and the cost of the project.

The author introduces a process that will guide consultants through the steps of generating a project strategy, tactics and execution plan, and how to present recommendations to the client. Finally, this book will provide insights and guidance on how to build a thriving practice through successful completion of individual consulting projects.

The global consulting market was estimated to be $251 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 and is projected to have steady growth through 2020. There is no better time to pursue a career in consulting and this book will be a useful guide for consultants both established and aspiring.

Gary W. Randazzo, MBA, is senior professor of practice at the University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business and teaches a business consulting lab for MBA students. Students in this class work with real companies and address current challenges facing those clients. Projects range from marketing strategies for multinational banks to operational systems design for resource allocation by a major airport system to location strategies for small service businesses. Mr. Randazzo is also president of GWR Research, a management and marketing consulting firm, has served as CEO, CFO, and CIO of large and small companies, and has been a partner and founder of several start-ups. While most firms are domestic, Mr. Randazzo served as chairman of an international LED sign company.