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I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

A really good place to start is the Section's Guidebook, which is full of info like you're seeking:  https://community.amstat.org/cnsl/formembers/inpriv/guidebook

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

1) Publicity and finding clients may be difficult to do if your practice is on the side (i.e., you are maintaining FTE with another company). Operating a practice is often a full-time effort. Cultivating relationships takes time. Advertising takes time. Starting a "side" business and making it grow to replace your FTE is challenging....doable, but challenging. Two things that make it easier to do are a) having financing, and b) having 2+ contracts in place as you start your side practice.

2) Regarding rate setting, consider having different rates for a) directing the B2B project, and b) serving as a subcontractor to another consultant who is directing the B2B project. The rate of pay for directing can be 3-4 times the rate of pay to a subcontractor earns. By having a subcontractor rate that is lower than your B2B rate, you increase your opportunities for work and collaboration. 

I recently provided a consult to a friend regarding taxes, LLC vs. 1099 (sole proprietor), licensing, etc. that was specific to her situation. When you get to that point, please reach out to me, and I'll provide a complimentary 30-minute consult.

Good luck!

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

I'm interested in the recent comment:

"Two things that make it easier to do are a) having financing, and b) having 2+ contracts in place as you start your side practice."

I'm pleased to see this kind of discussion here, because the business side of consulting is the area where it's most helpful for me to connect with others in this group. I'd like to offer a different perspective on getting started.

I've found consulting to be a very low-overhead business, so I haven't needed any financing. I did make a decision early on not to get a SAS license. That's something I decided I couldn't afford when I started out. I could afford it now, but using R exclusively hasn't been a problem for any of my clients, so I've said goodbye to SAS for the foreseeable future.

I also decided to create my LLC before signing any contracts. I felt that was cleanest and safest even though costs for maintaining an LLC in California are higher than most other states. I used zenbusiness to get started. I've been pretty happy with them, though I made some small mistakes getting add-on services from them that I didn't need.

One thing I didn't pay for initially was google workspace for business. It's really cheap for a sole proprietor and much better than just having email aliases. It was kind of a hassle to convert, so I wish I'd done that to begin with.

1) Publicity and finding clients may be difficult to do if your practice is on the side (i.e., you are maintaining FTE with another company). Operating a practice is often a full-time effort. Cultivating relationships takes time. Advertising takes time. Starting a "side" business and making it grow to replace your FTE is challenging....doable, but challenging. Two things that make it easier to do are a) having financing, and b) having 2+ contracts in place as you start your side practice.

2) Regarding rate setting, consider having different rates for a) directing the B2B project, and b) serving as a subcontractor to another consultant who is directing the B2B project. The rate of pay for directing can be 3-4 times the rate of pay to a subcontractor earns. By having a subcontractor rate that is lower than your B2B rate, you increase your opportunities for work and collaboration. 

I recently provided a consult to a friend regarding taxes, LLC vs. 1099 (sole proprietor), licensing, etc. that was specific to her situation. When you get to that point, please reach out to me, and I'll provide a complimentary 30-minute consult.

Good luck!

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope

I am dissolving  my statistical consulting C corporation based business that has been viable for over 20 years and have some thoughts about clients and software.

My only source of business has been from organizations or individuals that I have worked with in the past. I never figured out how to market and sell my skills without networking with those I have worked with. I'm 72 and my contacts have all retired. I did get one client who found my company through this organization. I started the company with a single large contract and was soon included as a sub contractor on a very large healthcare data collection and analysis Federal contract, hence the need to form a corporation. 

So, network.

I was primarily a SAS shop, and licensed the base product and  SAS stat, which served all my needs. One client used a stratified sample from NHTSA, and before SAS included modules to estimate error for this data, I also licensed SUDAAN. SAS to me has the ability to carry the analysis from insuring data integrity to final reports. Additionally, many public data bases are offered up as SAS ones... (HCUP, NHTSA for instance).

For what it's worth.

I am looking to start my own side statistical consulting practice, and I am looking for guidance with regards to the following two things:

1)Publicity/finding clients

2)Advocating for myself/setting a fair rate for my work.

Additionally, as I get started, I also have questions regarding other things like taxes, whether I should form an LLC (or something similar), business license, etc.

Thanks,

Benjamin Pope