Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with consultant

Suggest a really good statistical consultant?

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:33:42 -0800

Does anyone know any good econometricians/statistical consultants who can help with high-level academic work? I am pretty good, but not good enough to solve a fairly hairy statistical issue. I've hit a wall with a complicated STATA analysis involving decomposing variance, and need help developing an analytical solution to overcome a few problems with the underlying econometrics. Anyone out there ever worked with a good statistical consultant that they would recommend? Someone an econ/social science statistical background would be ideal.

Should I lawyer up for an unenforcable Non-compete?

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:57:04 -0800

Consultant legal filter: Over-broad non-compete + me jumping to a client firm + angry former boss = well, what exactly? I'm this guy from DC who was given a very bad contract. Now I'm getting out but I'm concerned about my legal rights.

I worked for this consulting firm for the last few weeks while I tried to line up other work. There is a client firm, government agency, that I had done some support work for and they approached me to come on as a full time employee doing some of the same work, but also much more outside the current support contract which ended in July. Now that they have me they've decided to end the contract Monday.

Well I jumped because it's a great opportunity but now I've been threatened with legal action. I did sign an NDA, but the restrictions are very broad and I've gotten legal advice that no court will uphold it. the full text of the section which was buried in another paragraph is:

In addition, second party agrees it will not directly or indirectly attempt to appropriate or otherwise take for its benefit the business opportunity of the company as it relates to the business of the company.

Now the former boss is pissed and said if I go forward to expect legal papers. The legal team at the firm said they're protected (the firm) and that if he went after me personally this agreement would never stand up in court. But I know people can sue for any reason, even poor ones.

Given the situation, and knowing YANML, TINLA, What steps should I take to protect myself now? Only talk in email or something? Is it time to lawyer up or wait until I get served which may never happen?

Thanks to all of you, again.

Fees and Contracts for Consultants

parmanparman — Thu, 28 May 2009 06:22:27 -0800

Enough people suggested it that I have started to do strategic management consulting on my weekends. My clients now are pro-bono until I see a horizon for costs. What are some resources on fees and what should I have them sign so that I can better manage the consultancy?

Who to talk to about buying a home?

lore — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:46:02 -0800

Who is the best person to give me information on the housing market? My partner and I are looking into buying a home. Not being experts in real estate, we'd like to have someone to consult with on basic questions about the current housing market, including the best places to buy property in Northern California (or beyond) and the legal and financial aspects of buying a home, including paying cash vs. getting a mortgage. The thing is, we don't really know who to talk to about these things.

Our first thought would be to talk to a real estate agent, but we have two concerns: 1) that a real estate agent would have a vested interest in talking us into buying, and 2) that any real estate agent we talked to would not have sufficient experience about the market outside of their "neighborhood".

Where should we go for objective and helpful advice on the housing market and the particulars of buying a house?

Need NW Bakery Consultant

Nellebee — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:15:18 -0800

How would I go about developing a recipe for artisanal bread as well as a menu for a Bakery (ie many types of bread)? I lack a "culinary school" education (I do have a college degree and currently work in a different field). I have researched many many books on the subject of hearth baking.....however i would like to develop a style with a professional. Is there a bakery consultant I can hire to work with me??

Chicago clothing consultant?

nat — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:47:55 -0800

How can I find a good sartorial consultant for a female lawyer in Chicago? My sister is finishing law school and starting a corporate-lawyer gig this summer. She's the person I always go to for clothing advice, but has expressed interest in learning more about what to wear herself.

My mom thinks it would be a good idea to get her some time with a fashion consultant who can help find clothes that fit her own style and body well. I think so too but have no idea where we'd find such a consultant. My sis has generally classic style, and she's on the taller side (5'10" or so).

It's okay if it's spendy, but of course I'd welcome more reasonably priced suggestions too.

Life of a user experience consultant

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:01:55 -0800

What's it like to be a user experience consultant?
I have been pondering leaving my company as a user experience manager and consultancy is an option. I have been working with a large company for over 5 years so I have a fair idea of what it's like as part of an in house team. I want to get an idea of what the world of consultancy, or a consultant for an agency, is like. What are the general pros and cons? Are you a user experience consultant now and love it? I'd like to hear about it. Did you used to be one and would never go back? Why?

It would be additionally great if you can give advice specifically about the London area. Even more specifically, I would need to apply for the highly skilled worker programme (currently under a sponsored permit) before making such a move but I'm assuming that's all I need?

Help me sync contacts from one user to another over exchange?

vrdx — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:18:00 -0800

Help me figure out a CRM/Sync solution! I'm going crazy trying to figure out a good solution for a small firm; need to sync contacts, more inside... So, I've googled myself to pieces and need your guidance. I've got a small group of folks in a firm I am the go-to solutions consultant for their newer IT services. I've got a few users spread throughout the country, and we're using a hosted exchange solution. One of the exec's assistants is not local, but has a 'master' contact database - this is a master list, within outlook, and is several hundred MB's large, containing many pieces of information w/in each contact's entry (some sensitive). I can set up the 'shared contacts' functionality from w/in exchange+outlook, but I need to sync those contacts TO users databases (for some to use w/ BlackBerry's / iPhones) (They've been using Outlook as a CRM solution...)

So, what is one way (preferably free) to sync this 'master list' of contacts to multiple users? It can run over Exchange, if that helps.

Possible issues: It needs to be pretty simple and easy to use, I can only remote-assist so much, but, it can't require a ton of learning curve on the users part, so things like Act, FileMaker, etc. are out... They are also somewhat averse to paying for another service (getting hosted exchange going was a huge step but still took a ton of work) so things like salesforce are out too.

Additionally, assume the users have a basic level of comfort/knowledge with things like outlook, but still experience general pc issues that perplex them ("why won't my outlook open...?") so I'd like to be as easy as possible.

So, mefi masters, help me! I'm open to trying tons of stuff, and we have online storage available to use as an intermediary place to store a database (to get from one remote user to the next), but I'm out of ideas.

Identify a recent book about a con man or hustler who turned his life around

gemmy — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:01:16 -0800

Book Filter: Help me identify the book about a con man or hustler that my friend's husband heard about on the radio recently My friend is trying to identify a book that her husband mentioned hearing about on the radio in the D.C. area recently, in order to buy it for a surprise xmas gift.

The radio show (one of the local shows where the target audience is younger guys) interviewed the author during a speaking tour about the book. The book would have been a decent seller, but doesn't seem to appear on any bestseller lists that we have found. The title of the book might have had something with either angels or devils in it.

The book, which would have been released within the last year, was about a con man or hustler and detailed his exploits during his heyday. Some of the stories might have had something to do with gambling or poker. The book then talked about him turning his life around to become a consultant on those kinds of issues.

My Google-fu is failing me on this, despite doing some serious looking around. I found a few books that sort of match, but nothing published recently. (We thought we found it upon seeing "Con man or Saint", but unfortunately that turns out to have been published in 1969...) I know that it wasn't the story from "Catch me if you can", because he really liked that movie and would have been able to identify the story.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

What IT systems would Jesus use?

allkindsoftime — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:50:28 -0800

Looking for a IT consultant for a largish-church in NYC - please help? Asking for a friend, who manages media / communications for a large church in NYC. They need to conduct and evaluation of their current hardware / software environment for:

1) Church office internal systems
2) Church website hosting / management / design (site already exists but they want to pursue some new direction as well as plan an intranet)
3) Data storage / security / etc.

Further, they need to develop a strategy / vision for where their systems need to be in the future for more optimized operations.

The church currently has ~15,000 "clients" (for lack of a better word) that it communicates with regularly through snail and virtual methods, and does not feel their systems are up to speed with what they need for management of information exchange (church communications, demographic surveys of the clients, etc.). The data in its current state is fragmented, with some departments having certain information but others not having access to it, etc..

The church is looking to contract an IT Consultant that can help them with this evaluation and strategy development. I work in consulting but my firm deals primarily with large (for-profit) clients, so what we're looking here for specifically is a consultancy / firm that works with smaller clients, and (if possible) for non-profits in particular.

There's no formal RFP in process yet, they're just currently looking for someone capable for this effort before confirming scope / budget / scheduling. Any ideas?

TIA.

Who did Office Depot go to set up an online storefront?

cha4 — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:40:00 -0800

I've been tasked with finding an e-commerce consulting company to help guide us (we are a wing of a fortune 500 company) through the entire e-commerce process. Not so much creating it necessarily, but more guidance/consulting. My google-fu is yielding all fluff. Ideally, looking for "Company X helped Barnes & Noble switch to an online storefront" type of info, so I can back up any suggestions I might be able to make.

I want to double-dip, for the same company.

pineapple — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:30:23 -0800

Can I be a contracted consultant for the same organization that already employs me full-time? I work for the incorporated American subsidiary of an EU-owned Ltd. There is an opportunity for me to do about six months' part-time consulting work on a project for the Ltd. The work would have almost nothing to do with my stack for the Inc. side.

For various financial and business reasons, I would prefer that the consulting gig be wholly separate from the day job. My accountant says there's no real tax issue, as long as I plan to declare the additional income and am prepared for the big chunk that will go out of the consulting pay as SE tax. Fine.

But I'm thinking more about the legal and logistical issues, and what I should make sure gets put in a contract. Or any EU/UK work laws about which I might not be aware, that would make this an unattractive option for my company (I know they'd rather I just did the Ltd. work for free, or that they paid me a bit of extra compensation via Inc. instead of the fair market value of the consulting, so their eye will be toward finding reasons not to go this route). I checked my own work agreement and all it states is that I can't moonlight for third parties.

I know you're not a lawyer, and if you are you're not my lawyer, so don't worry about that (although all IAAL advice is welcomed!). Although it should probably be said that I don't intend to retain my own separate employment attorney for this, since the consulting gig isn't lucrative enough to justify the expense, IMO.

There's plenty in the AskMe archives about making the switch from full-time employee to independent contractor, or vice versa, but not much about how to be both simultaneously (other than this one which is mostly focused on the tax issues.). Thoughts?

So this consultant walks into a bar...

Miko — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:19:23 -0800

JokeFilter: Seeking a consultant joke heard about 5 years ago. So sometime at my last job, 5-8 years ago, I heard what I remember as a pretty clever joke about consultants. Unfortunately, I can't remember much about it. I think the setup was a long story, not apparently related to a consultant, but in some other occupation. The joke peaked when someone said to the main character "You shouldn't call yourself a _______[whatever it was], you should call yourself a consultant." The main character asks why, and the punchline is something like "Because you came here knowing nothing about what you were talking about, told a bunch of people how to do what they already know how to do, left without solving any problems, and got paid for it."

Only, it was funny.

I realize this is a shot in the dark, but since it's the kind of thing that probably crops up in keynote addresses and corporate seminars from time to time, I'm hoping it rings a bell for someone. Thanks!

Story about why an expert giving a simple fix to a complex problem still deserves to be paid?

mrgoldenbrown — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 19:23:34 -0800

I am trying to find/identify a story about a customer with some problem (plumbing maybe?) and calls in an expert to fix it. The expert fixes the problem in some trivial way (turning a valve?) The customer then refuses to pay the expert's fee for such a simple fix. the punchline comes when the expert replies that his fee isn't for turning the valve, it's for knowing *which* valve to turn.

Give away free slices, or charge for the whole loaf?

lekvar — Fri, 11 May 2007 15:31:46 -0800

Is there a living to be made as a Graphic Design Consultant? I hate working prepress. I don't have the energy to be a designer. One thing I do enjoy is answering technical questions about printing, graphic design, the assorted applications used, logistics, etc. I actually signed up for MeFi so I could give input on the various design and printing questions I saw come up again and again. I love playing "Stump the Chump." My favorite clients are the ones who ask questions, because they learn and I learn by answering the questions. I'm giving it away free now, could I make a living doing this?

I'm getting ready to go back to school soon. I was originally planning on getting a design and marketing degree but I've got no passion for either.

So, the question.

Designers, have you ever hired a consultant? How was your experience?
Consultants, how do you like your career? Do you find it difficult keeping up with the market?

What is required for "ethics consulting"?

ontic — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:49:05 -0800

I hear that sometimes businesses and other institutions hire "ethics consultants". Does anyone know anything about getting into ethics consulting or the actual day-to-day activities in ethics consulting? If not, has anyone seen an ethics consultant in action at a company? I'm a philosopher/ethicist who teaches courses and does research on issues in theortetical and applied (practical ethics). I'm not planning on quitting my day job as an academic (I like it way too much) but my school allows me to spend a certain percentage of my time consulting.

My experience learning about and teaching business ethics makes me comfortable enough with business, business plans, business practices, and "talking business" that I wouldn't be the typical idealistic academic flailing in the real world. But even given all this, I'm not sure what ethics consulting requires to get started and what most companies would want from such a consultant. Is not having a background in law a major liability, for instance? Do businesses ever want anything more than typical CYA-type policy suggestions?

Great Gift for a Travellin' Girl

Medieval Maven — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 10:35:53 -0800

I need a great gift for my most excellent friend, who travels five days a week as a consultant. I've searched the AskMeFi archives, but all of the other gift threads seem to be as specific as my question is, but about something else! A little more detail: she doesn't read MeFi, so no worries there. She has a nice red leather tote for her laptop and gadgets, and she likes it. She has a Nintendo DS Lite and loves Tetris and Mario Kart. I'm not 100% sure what games her husband has (but it would be little trouble to find out). I want to give her a thoughtful gift that she can use while she's away from home that will make her life better/easier/funnier on the road. I've already started her on David Sedaris, as she didn't know of him prior to Christmas. She loves Eddie Izzard and Dylan Moran, and she's my age (25-30). So, Hive Mind, what thinkest you?

How much to charge for travel time?

naelyn — Tue, 23 May 2006 11:59:54 -0800

My father is an independent consultant, and works for $900/day in the formulated food business. What rate should he charge for travel time (per day) when he travels coast-to-coast for an assignment? I should note that these travel assignments--while still in his field--are not his primary source of income. In each case, the potential employer, makes a specific request for him to fly out for the contract job.

How to accentuate the positive in a resume?

jessica — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:31:02 -0800

How do I tailor my resume to a position I have no direct experience in? Bonus: What to do about employers who think I want to have babies? Background: In December I graduated from university with a BA in Anthropology and Criminal Justice. My original intention was to go to law school, but after much debate, decided I didn't want to spend three years and over 100k pursuing something I wasn't sure I even wanted to do. Prior to returning to school three years ago, I worked as an executive assistant and alternately as a technical support engineer. My current resume is geared towards an executive assistant position. However, after speaking with several recruiters and going on a few interviews I have been told I am over qualified and my salary expectations are too high for what is available. (Let me vent for a moment that one prospective employer took one look at me and started talking about consistency and maternity leave not being available. I'm 28, look younger, but this has come up twice so far.)

Anyway, I found a great entry-level consultant position at a major software vendor that looks very promising. I would fulfill a good percentage of the job requirements (I have a BA but not a BS). Several years ago I received my MCSE, but never had an opportunity to really utilize the certification. According to the job description, networking knowledge is a plus. My problem is I'm not sure how to go about tailoring my resume to a consultant position. Especially an entry-level one. It would be great to list the MCSE, but it's been years since I've even thought about networking anything. Any additional resume tips are appreciated. I am also concerned about how to handle my appearance/age. I know it is illegal for them to flat-out ask me how old I am, however I don't know how I can deflect any underlying doubts they may have about my pregnancy prospects (which are zero). Of course I wouldn't dream of bringing the subject up, but perhaps a few subtle hints that this is not in my future plans.

I'd like to become an IT consultant

dance — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 07:27:29 -0800

I am giving serious consideration to setting up as an IT consultant. I'm well proficient in Windows and Mac, Office suites; applications and web technology. In addition, I enjoy talking and fixing computers. I've done some such already, but on a small scale and for people I already knew. My question is: what kind of things should an IT consultant be able to do, what are common requests, what should I charge and how (per job/per hour?). Are there any potential pitfalls? Is it a good idea? Thanks a bunch.

How could I start choosing the music for movies?

kuperman — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 07:07:54 -0800

What goes into getting a job as a soundtrack advisor / consultant for film? I'm aware of what's involved (per IMDB, "a person who researches, obtains rights to, and supplies songs for a production") and find that job description incredibly fascinating (not that I plan to jump ship from my current job which I like very, very much). But what's involved in actually breaking into a position like that?

How does one get a job like this? Is this a position where you start out somewhere else in the film industry - or as a suit in the music business? What credentials are required? Would I have to locate some bootleg pre-sound workprint of a film, edit it myself, send it in as a 'demo tape?' (and if so, to whom?) Last but not least, do you HAVE to live in L.A.?

(FWIW, I am not interested in score work, I know I am not qualified to do that. I at least have some of what I assume would be credentials for this position - including but not limited to production, broadcast, featured reviews for a well-known website - pretty much every stage without working FOR a record company)

I'm well aware of the dramatic marriage between music and film, and it excites me. Song selection can enhance or utterly destroy a scene, introducing subtextual elements that the script and dialogue together cannot. What would "Easy Rider" be without "Born To Be Wild?" What would "Donnie Darko" be without Gary Jules' cover of "Mad World?" Hell, what would any Cameron Crowe film be without ... typical ... Cameron Crowe ... music?

Do tell.

How do I find a usability consultant?

SpecialK — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 12:52:01 -0800

How do I find a usability consultant? We're in the middle of writing some pretty cool CRM/Project Management software. It's web based, it's ten kinds of awesome, and I've got a bunch of customers drooling over it.

I'm not so hot on some of the usability, and we're trying to make this the most useable application EVER as one of the selling points. We're using all kinds of cool DHTML and Ajax and all that other jazz to make the user's path through the program as smooth as the things -we- love using every day. (We're all mac users or recent switchers.)

But watching my mom struggle with HER new Mac over the holiday has made me a little worried that we're missing the forest for our favorite kind of tree. I need to get an outside UI designer and usability consultant together.

I could go to 37Signals, but, uh, we're kind of going to be in competition with them. Cost is also a consideration ... we're doing this out of operating revenue, and we're not exactly flinging tens of thousands of dollars in cash around. (Although yes, I'm not trying to shmeek some deal on no upfront money and % of revenue or something like that.)

Suggestions on how to find someone who does good web interface and UI consulting work?

Zen and the Art of IT Diplomacy

abbyladybug — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 14:25:35 -0800

Help! I'm so very stressed out. How do I convince my luddite of a boss that our office desperately needs a regularly scheduled IT person? I even have a perfect person in mind. I have been working in an office for about 2 months and the woman I work for is one of the co-owners of the business. While she is excellent at the skills of our profession, she doesn't know anything about computers.

For example, several people have been hired recently and she purchased computers for them without knowing what she was doing. The computers are minimum configurations from Dell with very little RAM and most don’t meet even the minimum requirements necessary for the users. Also, there are about 20 computers in the office and many of them can’t access the network (internet or intranet) because no one has the appropriate privileges or settings.

She has made weak attempts to get some of these machines working and to repair some of the other technical problems that have arisen in the past few months by hiring a consultant. However, he's only in the office once every few weeks and doesn't seem to actually repair anything when he's there. In the 8 weeks I’ve been there he has yet to change it so that printing a file does not require me copying the item to my personal jump drive and using someone else’s computer in another office.

Money is not really an issue in this. The office is in the medical field and does pretty well for itself. The problem is the owners just don’t understand how hampered the employees are by these issues on a daily basis.

As it happens, I am in a relationship with a brilliant IT person who, with proper admin privileges, could fix this place up in no time. Additionally, he'd be willing to work at reduced fees because he's so sick of hearing me complain about the rampant computer problems in my office. My boss actually brought up the issue of having my partner do some work for them when I first started working there but decided to go with this outside consultant so I know it's not completely beyond the realm of appropriateness.

How do my partner and I diplomatically approach offering services to my employer? I know that his skills and availability would quickly allow the entire office to operate more smoothly and increase everyone’s productivity. I'm just not sure of the best way to approach the situation.

This is not about getting my partner more work. He’s got plenty of work and income outside of this. Right now, my boss is very over-stressed with other professional and personal demands so I actually think this would be a very helpful proposal. I want to make sure I don't over step my bounds or create any awkward situations. Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Where to ask HW & Network Questions?

Lactoso — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 19:27:11 -0800

I am searching for a 'one stop shopping' website for hardware and network related questions. I am a computer consultant with almost twenty years experience, so I know my way around the basic issues and, given enough time, can usually dig up and/or figure out anything I'm not familiar with. But I am finding myself with less and less time to spend researching this stuff and would much prefer being able to ask a pro directly. I am more than willing to pay a monthly fee for this service, but all the websites that I've tried (Experts-exchange for one - not knocking that service, it just didn't fit my needs) really didn't come close to being able to answer my questions adequately.