From ASME San Francisco Section February 1998 Newsletter:

Small Business Report: February 1998
by Eric E. Worrell, P.E., Small Business Committee Chair, ASME Region IX and San Francisco Section

This column, past editions, upcoming small business events, The Small Business and Consultants Referral List and more are on the web at http://www.ccnet.com/~eew/asmesfsb/. For ASME International's Small Business page and Engineering Solutions Directory, go to http://www.asme.org and click the "Business Center" link.

For this month's report, I turn to some friends. Thank you to Tosh Fujita, Chair of ASME's Los Angeles Section and leader of the LA and Orange County Section's activities, for the following article:

LA/OC Small Business Group Learns About "The Business of Being A Consultant"

On October 15, 1997, the ASME Small Business Group composed of members from the Los Angeles and Orange County Sections held a dinner meeting at Sambi's in Downey. During the networking session and the Japanese buffet dinner, attendees made new contacts a s well as catching up on the latest news from members who attended our previous meetings. To enjoy the benefits of networking with other professionals as the basis for identifying business opportunities and making new friends, join the group. You'll als o be treated to presentations especially tailored to small engineering business activities. Contact Tosh Fujita at 818-354-8700 and join the group!!

The talk by Dr. Andy Cutler focused on "The Business of Being a Consultant" from the perspective of real-world realities. Dr. Cutler's presentation resulted in stimulating discussions that continued well after the scheduled 9:00 PM closing time. For exa mple, Dr. Cutler offered the practical advise that TALKING too much during attempts to close a sale loses the sale, while SILENCE coupled with asking questions and listening to the client closes the sale--this insight was gained from experience.

With Dr. Cutler's permission, LA Section reprinted his article, "The Business of Being a Consultant" © Minerva Laboratories 1997). I've quoted a few of the many pertinent points made in the article. Some are well known and others less obvious.

• People consult doctors and lawyers for helpful and correct opinions. Any employee can give you off the wall opinions for free. Consultants succeed by selling correct opinions people can use.
  
• Business is a 'just do it' activity. Some good advice is to pretend there is a drill sergeant screaming DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!!!!!!!!!! at you. This imaginary sergeant will do more for your business than any number of business school books.
  
• Take the time to develop those relationships which will help you do business on your own. Limit or end those which will hinder you.
  
• Get lots of credit cards, home equity lines, etc., while you still get a W-2....Make cash flow projections ... then plot money versus time....Make minimum payments on debts unless you have six months' expenses in the bank
  
• Your best source of work is people you already know. Periodically let them know you are available....Help people, then put them in your rolodex. If they're decent people they'll be aching to help you back....
• Don't overspecialize. Clients need mundane problems solved, not Nobel prize winning dissertations on minutae. Figure out what you LIKE to do. Become really good at it.
  
• Time management is your most important skill. Focus on it constantly. Controlling your time allows you to spend a lot of it selling....As a consultant you must get around to a lot of tasks which are important but not urgent....If someone says they don't hire consultants, call yourself a contractor.

Andrew Hall Cutler, Ph.D., P.E. consults under the trade name of Minerva Laboratories. He helps clients solve product and process development problems using his knowledge of chemistry, chemical engineering and materials science.. He also helps with busi ness development and is a registered Patent Agent. He can be reached at (714) 857-0410.

The next item comes from the ASME International's January 7 "Capitol Update". Current and past versions are available on the Government Relations Page at www.asme.org. To stay up to date on important issues, by weekly e-mail, sign up for the ASME Action Network Team.

SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATIVE RESEARCH CONFERENCE SET FOR APRIL

The Department of Defense and the Small Business Administration will team up to sponsor a conference on the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. The conference, set for April 3-5, in San Jose, California, will allow small businesses to meet with research and development program managers from 11 federal agencies.

The SBIR is a three-phase program that provides, on a competitive basis, grants to small businesses to develop innovative ideas for specific federal R&D needs. Awards of up to $100,000 are granted for feasibility studies to determine an idea's scientific and technical merit -- phase 1-- and up to $750,000 over two years in phase 2 to expand on the results of the first phase and to further development of the idea. Phase three is for commercialization, and no funding is provided for that. A small business is defined as one that has no more than 500 employees, including in its affiliates.

Additional information about the conference can be obtained from the conference web site: http://sbir.foresnt.com, or by calling (561) 791-0720.

If you have comments or input for small business activities, this column or the small business web site, please contact Eric E. Worrell, P.E., The Ergonomic Energy Works, (back on my own) P.O. Box 271923, Concord, CA 94527-1923, Phone/Fax (510) 689-45 79, eew@eew.com.

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