An Association of Computer Consultants at Montreal: WHY and HOW.

(CE MESSAGE EST AUSSI PUBLI' EN FRANCAIS) *************************** We are some independent computer consultants from Montreal. Our initial thought was to create a small consultant consortium (with independent one-person companies) to promote together some of our own activities, find more appropriate contracts and share some common resources. But it seems many other local consultants share these ideas and a wide regional association would be much more successful. ================================================================== <<If you hear a consultant referring to another consultant as "the competition", the chances are good that the consultant is new to the business. Experienced consultants know that far from being rivals, most other consultants are a resource for them that, used properly, can help them significantly expand their own practices.>> (The Computer Consultant's Guide - Janet Ruhl, 1997, John Wiley & Sons). ================================================================== This not-for-profit organization would have the main goal to promote the activities of independent consultants - members and owners of this association. It would be business and professional-oriented, offering strong and realistic business and networking opportunities for the consultants. It must become and serve as an entry point for potential clients looking for different skills and immediate availability. Any contract will be subsequently established directly between the client and the consultant. The association will not be involved in these negotiations and will receive no finder's fee for these contracts. Some flexible rules may be defined to reward the referrals, but each part involved in the process will know and agree or not with the billing rate. The most valuable asset of this organization should be its reputation, which must be built and preserved by each one of us. To protect this reputation, selection criteria may be established to become a member. This kind of association has big chances to benefit from a free publicity, because it will be representative for a whole region. Each member will also become a messenger of our goals. Registering our association, ordering a common generic business card (with something like "member of the Association of Independent Computer Consultants from Montreal") and creating a Web site would be probably the easiest, cheapest, fastest and most effective way to start promoting our services. But we'll not be limited at only showing a members catalog, the services they provide and processing incoming submissions. We'll promote shareware and other software products, present analyses and programming tips coming from our experts. We'll promote our profession and try to involve other people in using our services. We can propose different cellular teams for specific large project needs. Each consultant may be involved in such a team as expert in a specific domain or product, and the client will have to pay no extra-fee or worry about the internal arrangements between the consultants. Membership could also offer large opportunities to share common resources between the consultants. We think at professional books, magazines and software. We think at lawyer and accounting services. We can get significant discounts in our insurance or hardware and software purchases. The association could become the best way to find other consultants with common affinities and establish alliances. Some of us could also be interested to share a part of a common business office (with an already installed infrastructure) for a very cheap price. Admitting different types of consultants in the association (contract programmers, custom software developers, computer-oriented management consultants, ISPs and hardware and software resellers) would permit valuable contacts between people working in different areas of expertise. Some consultants may worry about the duties they may have in such an organization. They could be afraid to be involved in an inflexible institution limiting their independence, but in fact we can fully preserve our freedom and define only a few high-level flexible rules accepted by everybody. Other distinct groups may be created inside the association, depending on specific areas of interest. At any time you're free to establish contracts outside the association, at your own. But chances are that it will be much easier to contact clients in the name of the association, if we help it to become quickly well-known and respected. Here are only some proposals, and we hope you'll consider them seriously. There are main differences between experienced "one-person company" consultants offering theirs services and the job-seekers. Let's build for us another more appropriate image, promoting in a better way our expertise and efficiency! The creation of such an association depends on your response. DO IT FOR YOU! Chris L. Computer Consultant from Montreal >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS WILLING TO DEBATE THIS SUBJECT IN A PRIVATE MEETING IN MONTREAL ARE INVITED TO SEND (IN FRENCH OR ENGLISH) A MESSAGE TO: accs@dsuper.net FOR ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS, PLEASE USE THE NEWSGROUP: alt.computer.consultants <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (WE APPOLOGIZE FOR THE ACCURACY OF THIS TRANSLATION) *********