WIC 2008 Compensation & Best Practices Survey
Key Findings & Conclusions
7th Annual Survey – June 2008

Total Sample

Key Learnings

• Business trends remain positive; the economy is not hurting consultants.
• Consultants are making their businesses more profitable.
• Consultants see a big shift in their revenue levels, profitability and sophistication of their businesses between 3-6 years after they start doing business.
• The data gathered on business practices has been very consistent over the history of the survey.

Overall Key Trends

• Social networking is becoming more prevalent and important.
• Technology is impacting the way we work with our clients – both positively and negatively.
• Virtual consulting teams are becoming more common.
• Clients are increasingly concerned with containing costs, but are willing to make the investment when they understand the value they will receive.
• In consulting, experience counts more than being young and hip.
• There are more consultants to compete with, some of whom are not very qualified or experienced.
• Clients are increasingly concerned with risks and security.

Revenue/Rate Trends

• Average revenue continues to go up each year—currently at $203K.
• 70% of consultants increased their revenues last year and 60% expect to do the same in the next 12 months.
• Average hourly rates, project fees, and monthly retainer fees all increased this year.

Top 20% Consultants - Best Practices

• The top 20% of respondents in terms of revenue earned provide a view of best practices that could benefit all consultants:
• They base project fees on value to the client vs. target hourly rates
• They’re able to maintain stable profits even when revenue declines
• They’re more likely to charge monthly retainer fees than the group as a whole
• They’re more likely to set fees based on ROI and/or value to the client
• They’re also more likely to use subcontractors and to mark up their fees
• Over half use 5+ subcontractors
• They’re much more likely to charge some percentage of their fee upfront
• They spend more time on marketing than the group as a whole

Demographics of the Sample

• Respondents were 91% female, 9% male.
• 84% of respondents are located in the Bay Area, 5% in other parts of CA, 12% outside CA.
• Virtually all respondents have at least a Bachelor’s degree; more than half have a Master’s degree, PhD or professional certification.
• 65% of the sample has over 7 years experience in consulting; 34% have more than 10 years.
• Respondents are in all stages of the consulting lifecycle: 42% are maintaining their business at the current level; 32% are developing their business; 9% are just launching or getting started, 7% are managing a mature practice.
• 62% are sole proprietors; 20% are incorporated; 18% are LLCs or partnerships.

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