Consulting, Contracting and Freelancing: Be Your Own Boss
By Ian Benjamin
Unsolicited feedback from readers
............................................................
‘I purchased your book two months before I started my business and found it extremely useful. It is full of practical and pragmatic advice and now after two years I still refer back to my copy regularly. I used the proposal example for my first tender application and was successful. I still use it to this day and have a better than seventy per cent success rate!
- Gary McMahon, Dunsborough, WA
‘I received the book last week after having previously borrowed it from the library. I have now read it for the second time, it is plastered with post it notes! I recommended it to a colleague the other day and will continue recommending it.’
— Elizabeth Devine, Devine Law At Work, Sydney
‘I bought your book the day I went into the Smartlicence office to register my name. I was still working full time at that stage and working for myself was only a dream but registering the name was the first step. I went home and got stuck into your book and after a week started talking and planning about my business and securing my first contract. Four weeks later I became a consultant and I love it. Now, three years later, I still love it and am seriously focused on expanding the business beyond myself. Just wanted to let you know that if I had not have picked up your book that day I'd probably be frustrated and not enjoying the freedom and strength that being a consultant provides.’
- Sarah Sheppard, My Marketing Manager, Toowong, Queensland
'Great book. Got it last week and I have completed it already. Completed my business plan with the assistance of your book. Lots of good stuff…Thanks for the great information.’
- John Duffield, UMACS Business Solutions, Brunswick, Vic
‘"I'm not usually moved to write to authors to congratulate them on their books (unless they are MY authors ... I'm a publisher) .. but I bought your new book last weekend, read it in a couple of days - and I think it's marvellous. So I thought I'd write and thank you. I'm about to leave my company and become a consultant (of the passionate practitioner variety). It’s been a long time coming, and now feels like the right time . . . but, naturally, such a big decision has not been achieved without a lot of soul searching . . . and attendant fear. I decided finally to do it about two weeks ago, then started scouting around for books to read. Yours was the first one I came across in a bookshop in Wellington. I doubt whether I’ll bother to look for more . . . it seemed to anticipate all my worries and provide sensible practical responses. So thanks .... as a writer and publisher myself, I appreciated too the clear structure and straightforward writing style. My plan might turn to custard, I realise, but at least I feel a measure of confidence now that I didn't have before.’
- Bronwyn Sterling, Wellington, New Zealand
‘Early in my career as a freelancer, I bought one book -- Ian Benjamin's Consulting, Contracting and Freelancing. This book is practical: it gives advice you can get on with. It's realistic: it doesn't make pie-in-the-sky promises. And, it's well-informed -- by Ian's and others' experiences. For these reasons, I've returned to the book again and again.’
- Chris Walker, Writer and Editor, Perth WA
'Just a word of thanks for all the good advice in your book (2nd Ed). You answered most of the questions I had before reading it, and helped me structure my plans for early retirement. I'm not there yet, but will be in a few months. South Africa is slowly growing in need for good consultants in all spheres of industry. I'm sure there are many more like me in SA that will be reading your book, and feel the same as I did after reading it.
Thanks again.
- Cosi Romanis, South Africa
‘I heard about you through your book which is in the Graduate School of Business (University of Cape Town) library. My area of ‘specialisation’ has needed a boost and your book is helping me refine my thinking and where my real talents lie.’
- Pam Moore, Cape Town, South Africa
‘Your book is fantastic and I am already 2/3 of the way through it. The marketing chapter was particularly useful as it is the area I struggle with. Having spent 31 years in the army you don’t have to worry about marketing! We don’t really “sell” our services in Defence, we just do what we are told.’
- Zac Zaharias, Director, Peak Learning, Canberra
‘As a career coach working with many people who are looking to use their skills in the consulting or contracting arena, I have found Ian’s book
“Consulting, Contracting and Freelancing” to be an absolute gem. It addresses so many questions and backs up the answers with very practical and relevant examples.'
- John Link, Careers Advisor, Newcastle
‘Thanks to your book I have a clear idea of everything I need to do to get my business up and running . . . Your book saved me six months of trying to figure out what I needed to do.’
- Dr Ingrid Baade, Consultant Statistician, Brisbane
‘As a freelance journalist and publisher of an online magazine devoted to small and internet business, I read many business books. This one is distinctive as being truly practical and inspirational. It really does detail a path to freelance success.’
- Susan Kirk, freelance journalist, Wellington Point, Qld
"I came across your book today, bought it and read it in one go...this is not unusual for me, although it only happens with books that are worth reading from cover to cover and are interesting enough to do it in one go. Congratulations on the job well done ... the most interesting sections of the book for me were examples and case studies about pricing, quoting, marketing and similar issues and experiences ... I got 3 - 4 potentially valuable ideas, so investing in the book should prove a shrewd investment."
- Igor Popovich, Director and Principal Trainer, Career Professionals,
International Management Consultants, Trainers and Educators
Other reviews
............................................................
Vogue Australia, Vogue Business, August 2003 Ian Benjamin has distilled his 12 years of experience in training independent consultants to create this excellent handbook. Designed to help you navigate the processes of becoming a successful consultant, the book provides step by step plans supported by case studies. The most important chapter is probably ‘Are you ready for this?’, where Benjamin look directly at the effects of making such a huge change in your life. If the answer is yes, then this is the book for you.
The book has also been reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Courier Mail, The Sun-Herald and other journals.
Ian has also addressed the National Press Club, been a guest on Tony Delroy's nightlife on Local ABC and on Peter Switzer's in-flight program Talking Business on Qantas. He has addressed many other forums and is happy to discuss addressing your organisation. Please email. |
