Freelance consulting, coaching, IT contracting and other self-employed professional roles are fast becoming the preferred way to find fulfilling work, generate a great income, and futureproof careers, whilst giving all the benefits and freedoms of being your own boss – but few know how to make it really work.

The Freelance Consultant is the comprehensive guide into turning your expertise into a viable, and valuable, business.

With independent consultant Richard Newton, you will discover a wealth of insider knowledge as well as a network of other successful advisors willing to share their stories. The Freelance Consultant will explain how to:

• Setup, run and thrive in your freelance, consultant or coaching business.
• Acquire those vital first paying clients.
• Know what it takes to become a successful, differentiated and valuable advisor.
• Build your business, define your services and set your prices.
• Understand your customers and identify, manage, and retain key clients.
• Keep developing and continually improving your skills an growing your business.

Entrepreneurship is the engine of economic development, which in turn impacts the challenges facing future entrepreneurs. Understanding the development of a vivid entrepreneurial society requires attention to several interacting factors, as well as expected transversal policies provided by ministries and administrations as a whole. This timely book explores institutional, behavioral and policy issues of primary importance to seizing the entrepreneurial society. Exploring the Entrepreneurial Society collects original work from renowned scholars involved in entrepreneurship research, with theoretical and empirical contributions anchored in economics, management and sociology. The chapters are structured in five distinct parts: entrepreneurship in relation to formal and informal institutions; entrepreneurial choice, orientation and success; entrepreneurial behaviors; entrepreneurial finance, growth and economic crises; and entrepreneurship, social dimensions and outcomes. By examining themes at the forefront of research interest, this book will appeal to scholars, as well as MA and PhD students, in entrepreneurship, business administration and economics. Policy makers will also be able to apply the results in a more practical context. Contributors include: E. Akola, S. Allegrezza, L. Ben Aoun-Peltier, A. Aragon Sanchez, J.H. Block, D. Boegenhold, J. Bonnet, D. Carre, G. de Wit, M. Dejardin, A. Dubrocard, N. Esteban-Lloret, F. Facchini, U. Fachinger, A. Frankus, D. Garcia Perez de Lema, P. Giordani, G. Maldonado-Guzman, J. Heinonen, G. Hernandez-Canovas, A. Jacquemin, F. Janssen, S. Larue, N. Le Pape, N. Levratto, X. Li, M. del C. Martinez Serna, H. Okamuro, E. Papaoikonomou, M.C. Ramon-Llorens, A. Risselada, U. Rizzo, A. Rubio Banon, V. Schutjens, P. Segarra, Subandono, M. Teruel Carrizosa, L. Tessier, A. van Stel, I. Verheul, N. Vi Dung, Ph, S.G. Walter

The contribution of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is acknowledged as an influential engine to economic growth. However, the biggest challenge faced by these SMEs is the lack of competitive service offerings for their target customers due to unstandardized products and a lack of consumer engagement and strategies. Service Marketing Strategies for Small and Medium Enterprises: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that provides guidelines on how SMEs can achieve sustainability through positive marketing outcomes and effective customer services. Featuring research on the assessment of SMEs' customer service expectation, listening to customers through qualitative research, service quality model and its marketing implications, integrated marketing communications for SME environments, effective service encounters, and relationship developing strategies for SMEs, this publication provides new models for managers, industry professionals, academicians, and researchers.

In a world where an increasing number of people work remotely, Invisible Work is a new skillset and framework to ensure personal and business success - from the author of The Creative Economy. Just as power has moved from boardrooms into the domain of dynamic individuals, Invisible Work maps the evolution of this new way of being and succeeding. It is a mindset of deeply focused, value-added thinking and sharing. It is a process of creativity that combines emotional intelligence and collaboration. It is the key to the success of a growing army of self-employed workers. This is an emerging field of work in which new business domains and creative endeavours are based on personal interests and digital connections. Howkins lays out a visionary framework for working practice and success. He focuses on the ways in which we think most innovatively, how we best share those private ideas, and how we make unseen connections and remain authentic while staking out our domain in a virtual world.

The recent economic crisis has had severe and negative impacts on the EU over the last decade. This book focuses on a neglected dimension by examining European political entrepreneurship in times of economic crisis with particular emphasis on EU member-states, institutions and policies. Governance and Political Entrepreneurship in Europe examines the role that the political entrepreneur can play in promoting entrepreneurship and growth. The book includes an actor and a structure perspective by focussing on politicians and institutions within the public sector that use innovative approaches to encourage businesses with a goal of growth and employment. This exemplary book is a useful tool for entrepreneurship and political science scholars wishing to gain a better understanding of the ways in which political bodies can impact economic development. EU politicians and public servants would also benefit from reading this timely book as it offers key information on how they can help to promote growth. Contributors include: M. Alebaki, C. Berggren, M.-L. von Bergmann-Winberg, S. Gretzinger, C. Karlsson, B. Leick, A. Olausson, A. Parkhouse, E. Petridou, B. Pircher, C. Silander, D. Silander, P. Stroemblad, S. Tavassoli, E. Wihlborg

This thoroughly updated and revised edition of a widely acclaimed, classic text will be required reading for academics, policy makers and advanced students of international business worldwide. Employing a distinctive and unified framework, this book draws together research across a range of academic fields to offer a synthesis of the determinants of MNE activity, and its effects on the economic and social well-being of developed and developing countries. Unique to the new edition is its focus on the institutional underpinnings of the resources and capabilities of MNEs, and the role of MNE activity in transmitting and facilitating institutional change. Since the initial publication of this book more than a decade ago, the economic, managerial and social implications of globalisation and technological advancement have become even more varied and prominent. Accompanying these developments, there has been a rise in scholarly interest in interdisciplinary research addressing the important challenges of an ever-changing physical and human environment. Drawing on articles and books from international business and economics, as well as economic geography, political economy and strategic management, a systematic overview of the developments in scholarly thinking is presented, while also highlighting the emerging topical issues and methodologies.

Entrepreneurship is always evolving, and while some view entrepreneurship as something one is born to do, entrepreneurs should continue their education to improve themselves professionally. Entrepreneurship does not end with the creation of a start-up or in pursuing an already consolidated economic reality; it manifests itself in everyday life. Responsible Entrepreneurship Education: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides innovative insights into educational strategies for the continued preparation of entrepreneurs. The content within this publication examines economic theory, lifelong learning, opportunistic and positive thinking, business creativity, and operations management. It is designed for entrepreneurs, students, business educators, academicians, managers, and researchers.

Innovation and standardization might seem polar opposites, but over many years various scholars have noted close connections between the two. This Handbook assembles a broad range of thinking on this subject, with contributions from several disciplinary perspectives by over 30 leading scholars and experienced practitioners. Collectively, they summarize and synthesize the existing body of knowledge - theory and evidence - pertaining to standards and innovation, and provide insights into how this knowledge can be useful to scholars, industrial strategists, policy-makers and standards practitioners. Drawn from leading experts in several social science disciplines, this Handbook provides new insights into innovation processes and systems using theoretical, empirical and applied approaches. By situating standards and standardization as specific factors which play distinctive roles in innovation-driven growth, it establishes that standardization (doing things the same way) is an essential component of innovation (doing things differently). The book also provides novel and practical insight into how standards are incorporated into innovation strategies and policies. Comprehensive and original, this collection will be a vital resource for all students and academics of social, natural and engineering science communities. Policy-makers and practitioners will also find a wealth of experience and knowledge within its pages.

Companies operating in countries with volatile economies face an environment subject to turbulence. It is important to understand how these companies can overcome adversity, establish competitive advantage, and achieve superior performance. The selection of competitive drivers can help to improve the ability to capture, process, and manage information that can generate knowledge and innovation in products and processes, as well as increase strategic capacity and organizational performance. Strategy and Superior Performance of Micro and Small Businesses in Volatile Economies focuses on the ways that organizations capture information and disseminate it in their work teams, transforming this knowledge into innovative products and services that establish competitive advantage. It will improve the understanding of the role of strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the effort to reduce poverty levels in societies with volatile economies and which are subject to serious social disparities. Highlighting topics such as economic development, market performance, and network economy, this publication is designed for managers, entrepreneurs, business professionals, academicians, researchers, and students.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been widely acknowledged to be an important agent of development because of their potential for addressing unemployment, inequality, and poverty, as well as promoting inclusiveness in economic development. The sector is critical for achieving the country's sustainable growth. However, there is a lack of research on the adaptations SMEs are making in today's technologically driven market. Challenges and Opportunities for SMEs in Industry 4.0 is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of modern business development and innovative strategies for small and medium enterprises in the age of smart industrialism. This book features a wide range of topics including business intelligence, collaborative manufacturing, and organizational networking. This reference source is ideally designed for managers, policymakers, economists, entrepreneurs, strategists, researchers, industrialists, academicians, educators, and students.