Considering the freelance work-life but don’t know where to start? This mini-series will show you how to run a Salesforce freelance business, digging into real world discussions of how to start and thrive as a Salesforce freelancer.
This episode features Brian Talarczyk and Tom Ryan. Brian is the COO & General Manager of Cheshire Impact, and has been working in technology consulting roles since 2000. Tom is a certified Pardot Consultant and the founder of Marcloud Consulting.
Show Notes:
- We kicked off our conversation by talking about why running a services business at scale is so different than running a solo freelance business.
- The importance of process management, organizational structure and managing people when running a services business.
- Tom talks about how he spends his time: 30% is billable, the rest of his time is spent managing his team and doing sales/marketing. As his firm continues to grow he expects his time working directly with clients will continue to decrease.
- The importance of enabling team members to specialize by industry and product as the firm grows.
- Both Tom and Brian believe that all consultants on their teams should be able to manage their own work from end to end. They expect their consultants to be client facing, manage project schedules, perform client strategy and implementation. They don’t take the approach of having consultants specialize by function (e.g. dedicated project manager, dedicated strategist, dedicated developer, etc). Tom believes this approach is better for the client and is a key to the growth of his firm.
- How Tom evolved from freelancer to having a team.
- The importance of leading with your core competency and then listening to clients on where to evolve.
- The difference between a firm that identifies as marketers and a firm that identifies as technologists.
…and more!
Listen to the podcast and discover more about the host at the link below.
source: https://www.salesforceben.com/salesforce-freelancing-scaling-vs-staying-solo-ep-6/
