Before starting your IT consulting business, make sure all your ducks are in a row. In this article, learn some more of the steps you should take before beginning your IT consulting practice.

Step Thirteen. Volunteer if You Can't Get Paying IT Consulting Customers

If 30 days have passed since you let everyone you know you're open for business and you still don't have referrals or paying customers, then take the bull by the horns and volunteer for a non-profit. Give them a few volunteer hours to help them with a PC upgrade or a tune-up. Help them update their website or give them some computer training. Just be sure you limit it to a 2 or 4 hour type deal or you may not be getting an end to it.

Contact the executive director or the office manager and be honest. Tell them you have just opened up a new IT consulting business and you would like to donate a couple of hours of your time. Tell them specifically 2 hours, 3 hours whatever it is, in return for a testimonial from them and introductions to 3 active members that they think may have computer problems and could benefit from your IT consulting services.

Formalize it by putting a couple of sentences down on a piece of paper that gives them a statement of work and what they are agreeing to give you in return.

Step Fourteen is to Keep Repeating Step Thirteen

Volunteer your services until you have 3 or 4 testimonials from business owners or managers. The best testimonials are from well-known people in your community that other businesspeople will recognize.

Step Number Fifteen: Start attending Local Business to Business Events.

Look in the business section of your local paper. Pay attention to the networking and lead groups as well and Chambers of Commerce. See if you can attend as a guest. Plan on going to one networking event per week every single week for the next 4 weeks.

Then go around and be friendly. Tell people you are just starting up a business. Ask them how they use IT in their business and exchange business cards and see if there is any way your IT consulting business can help them.

Think about helping THEM, don