Consulting - Managing Your Own Business

Hours: 24 / Access Length: 180 Days / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced
Retail Price: $139.95

Course Overview:

This course will provide an overview of consulting as a profession and will introduce the basic concepts included in consulting, such as establishing credibility and managing clients. Case studies will demonstrate the concepts in a practical manner. Additional topics covered in this course include proposing and delivering consulting services, client interactions, and the skills involved in advising others. 

Students will:

• Describe the role of a business consultant.
• Explain ethical consulting.
• Identify basic and detailed steps in preparation for working with a client.
• Describe methods for establishing credibility.
• Identify best practices in managing client meetings.
• Identify practices to avoid when setting up a consulting business.
• Identify best practices in client interactions.
• Explain how to overcome client-related obstacles.
• Explain how deductive and inductive reasoning are essential in advising clients.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Preparing to be a Consultant

In this lesson, we will explore an overview of consulting, including qualifications for being a consultant and reviewing ethics in consulting. We will also review the preparation steps necessary to start consulting.

Lesson 2: Establishing Credibility and Managing Meetings

In this lesson, we will look at the first steps after getting a consulting job. Introductions and establishing credibility will be covered. We will also review best practices in client meetings including setting objectives, the composition of the consulting team, and structuring the meeting.

Lesson 3: Proposing and Delivering a Consulting Service

In this lesson, we will learn how to propose and deliver a consulting service. Topics include selecting content for a written proposal, optimizing the client experience, and consulting methodologies. Practices to avoid will also be covered.

Lesson 4: Client Interactions

In this lesson, we will discuss client interactions and the skill of advising. We will learn the importance of adaptability, how to deal with potential obstacles, and methods for advising others.

All necessary course materials are included.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.