Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello,

First off, thank you for reading my question. I'm an IT Consultant working in technology for more than 15 years and I have done some consulting work in the past. I have been thinking about starting up my own consulting firm that will provide services from small-medium sized businesses. I hired few free-lancers in the past to generate the leads for me and for some other work. There are couple of things that I badly need to get my business up and running. 

1. Sales Associate
2. Marketing

Rameses,

I can't offer any specific suggestions without much more information but I will make a few general comments"

1. It is going to be very difficult to recruit "quality" sales help without some financial resources.

2. Unless they share your passion and commitment to the business goals - I would refrain from bringing anyone into a "partnership" position, regardless of their skills.

3. I'm not clear as to why or whether you need a "sales associate" - other than perhaps you are not comfortable with that part of the business process.  

4. There are several ways you might acquire customers. The first key in developing your marketing (and sales) portion of your business plan is to determine (decide) how many customers you need to acquire and what the acquisition process will be. (key steps and timeframes)  

5  With the above information, you can review the options and chose the one that best fits your situation.

6. I don't know what your goals are for this business- but if you intend to build something more than a job for yourself- you will likely need to acquire some capital.

Hope this helps. If you want to discuss your situation, feel free to contact me directly (email is in my signature) or drop me a PM.

Sent you an email.

Thanks!