Marco Schmidt

To be honest, in my experience, it's not always just about professional certifications. As a self-employed person in particular, it can be difficult to win a major project contract without being able to demonstrate knowledge of project management. Therefore, it is not only important to train the "hard skills", but also the skills that are more secondary and should be seen as "accessories". Especially in the fast-paced world of IT, I should plan at least 20% of my working time for further training.

Being self-employed requires discipline. That's why I usually have to plan my day very precisely. For me, this works best in the early morning: do some sport, go to the bathroom, prepare breakfast. In the meantime, I structure a large part of my daily routine. This doesn't always require the fanciest and most expensive software. In particular, tools that are offered in suites and at low monthly costs sometimes offer many helpful integrations. (Specifically: Outlook and Teams with tasks, Kanban boards, etc., for example). I am a big fan of documentation. The more professional it is, the better the feedback from customers. And I myself can always look up what I did and when.

As I mentioned before, in my opinion, one of the main characteristics of successful consultants is specialization. Experience has shown that clients are not attached to specific companies. I have had many clients who have changed their service provider with me. Why? Because I am my own brand and clients can rely on me to give them the truth and my honest opinion on issues they consult me on. So it's all about visibility. Not only through a modern website (that works flawlessly on mobile devices), but also through presence and social connections. In the end, business is done through people and nothing is more valuable than a personal recommendation.

Two main aspects: 1. Specialization 2. Passion The second aspect actually has priority to me, because only if I enjoy doing something will I be able to become good at it. Learning will be much easier, understanding will be less difficult and I won't mind investing an hour or two in the evening or at the weekend. Especially in the incredibly wide-ranging field of IT, I can't know and be able to do everything. I therefore believe it is necessary to identify 2-3 core skills (which I am passionate about) and tailor my consulting services precisely to this area. If 1 and 2 are fulfilled, I still have to dedicate myself to the skills that are perhaps less suited to me and invest in training, especially in communication and negotiation.