Take a few classes 1st to learn business basics

By BOB YOUNG, Special Advertising Sections Writer

In today’s tight job market, becoming a free agent in the business world — an independent contractor or consultant — can be an appealing alternative for experts looking to capitalize on their skills.

With proper education and training, freelancing can be a lucrative career path with many benefits. There’s no time clock, and you’re free to set your own course and fully reap the profits of your expertise and education. There are always new faces and personalities to work with and fresh projects to tackle.

Prepare before you leap

That’s the good and the bad news, depending on what type of worker you are, said Gary Goodman, an instructor for UCLA Extension and author of several books, including “Six-Figure Consulting: How to Have a Great Second Career” (Amercian Management Assn., 1997).

“There is absolutely a growing demand in this area, but you need to learn certain basic skills and get proper training to understand what you’re getting into,” he said. “The market is wide open, not only for management and marketing projects but also graphic design, information technology, engineering and some fields that few people have even thought of.”

Examples he gave include writing training manuals and documenting protocols for handling inquiries from customers and other businesses.

The best way to get grounded is to take a course or two, such as Goodman’s “Building Your Consulting Business” class, which can be taken alone or as part of an entrepreneurship certificate program. Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Long Beach are among other local universities that offer extension courses on consulting, contracting and entrepreneurship.

The classes can be invaluable ways to get hands-on experience and skills, said Prem Sundaram, 34, a marketing consultant who took a pair of UCLA Extension classes to help prepare for his new venture of co-founding The Strategics Group, based in Santa Monica. Through his company, Sundaram serves in an advisory capacity for business strategy, product development and marketing for his clients.

The classes he took at UCLA, which covered marketing and business fundamentals, were crucial to his success, he said.

The classes “made us learn marketing concepts and then come back and relate them directly to a product line,” he said. “We learned real-world sales approaches, gained experience thinking up marketing messages for product lineups [and even created] customer lists. We practiced developing effective sales pitches, customer relations and marketing strategies for particular products.”

“Not only was I able to draw from the instructor’s experience, but the classes also [helped me establish] deep connections within the UCLA community and create valuable business contacts,” he said.

SCORE workshops

Another resource for free agents is the nonprofit Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA). SCORE offers free one-on-one counseling from retired executives, along with workshops that address basic business subjects.

“My workshop applies to anyone who wants to work for [himself or herself],” said Jack James, a consultant and SCORE counselor in Santa Ana. “It covers the basics of running a business: how to deal with taxes, create business plans, get permits and licenses. That’s very important for consultants and anyone who’s self-employed.”

SCORE also offers online advice and answers e-mailed questions for free. The group’s website, www.score.org, offers a broad range of educational resources and background information on all aspects of being an entrepreneur. SCORE has offices in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, Palmdale, Ventura and Santa Barbara.

Learning the basics of business is especially crucial for creative types who sell knowledge and talent, said Sandy Sutton, district director of the SBA’s Santa Ana chapter.

“Some management consultants I’ve known can’t balance a checkbook,” she said.

It’s important to know how to manage money, since work tends to go in cycles, Goodman said. When a flurry of projects comes to a close, you need to have money on hand to see you through while you scour the market looking for new projects to tackle.

And if it sounds too dry or intimidating, don’t despair. Technology has taken a lot of time and drudgery out of the process, said Rudolph Estrada, a business professor and director of the Small Business Institute at Cal State Channel Islands.

“Computer software has made this a lot simpler,” Estrada said. “Programs like QuickBooks and Quicken let you enter expenses and income and crank out fundamentals of what you need – but you must know what it all means.”

Before you can balance your books, you need to produce income, of course. And the best time to start lining up clients is while you’re employed, working nights and weekends, if possible, he said.

“ It’s always a good idea to minimize risk by lining up at least a client or two before striking out as a full-time consultant or contractor,” Estrada said. “You don’t want to put too much pressure on yourself at first.”

To maximize your money, keep in mind that being a contractor or consultant is a business like any other — only the product you’re selling is your experience and knowledge, said Goodman.

“You must learn to ‘productize’ yourself,” he said. “That’s one of the most important things I stress in my class. Identify what specialized skills you have and find the value of those skills, along with ways to market them to clients.”

As important as it is, marketing oneself is very often the main weakness of free agents, Goodman said.

“So many students tell me that getting out there, networking and making contacts is the hardest part,” he said. “But you absolutely must market yourself like crazy. You must be comfortable taking meetings and aggressively selling yourself. You must put a lot of energy into researching which companies need your skills.”

When considering a career as an independent contractor, it’s essential to take stock of yourself and determine if you have the proper personality, Goodman said. (The SBA website offers a personality test that can help you determine if you’re prepared to make the leap.)

“First off, you must determine whether you’re a sprinter or a marathoner, in a sense,” Goodman said, “Contractors and consultants, like myself, often don’t make good employees. We like freedom and excitement. [But] some people just aren’t cut out for the independent lifestyle.”

Can you work fast and move quickly from one new project and situation to the next? Or are you more suited to keeping your nose to a familiar grindstone as an employee pulling a steady paycheck?

These may well be the most important questions to ask yourself to determine your free-agent success potential, Goodman said.

Indeed, going the free-agent route requires something of a “gambler’s mentality,” said Estrada.

“You must have fire in the belly, be a risk taker, but most people are risk-adverse, which is natural,” he said. “You have to be a self-starter, able to manage your time wisely, and be willing to roll the dice.

“It’s not for the faint of heart, but for some people it’s a great life.”

Bob Young is a freelance writer based in Glendale.

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