Last week, I wrote a tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek article about some of the challenges that grant writing consultants face. They aren't really big deals and I can definitely say that the good outweighs any bad I might encounter.
If you've read about me on the site then you know that I kind of became a grant writer by accident. In 2001, I quit my full-time career and my consulting business was born – 9 years later I'm still loving it.
In my case, I became a consultant so I could work from home as we were at that time planning a family. That could even be your incentive. Other reasons to consider beginning this profitable and fulfilling career might be that:
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You're looking for a part-time job to bring in extra income
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You're looking for a second career after retirement
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You're tired of the strains of a full-time job
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You're worried about the security of your job
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You just plain don't like your job and want something different
Right now, I challenge you to think about what makes you happy – what you want out of life and what you don't want. As a grant writing consultant, all of my “wants” out of a career are met. Just a few things that I get to enjoy include the freedom to be on my own schedule so that I can look after my family, I can set my own hours and I get to work with people I actually like. I work with nonprofits so I get to feel that I'm making a contribution to the greater good. It's a win-win situation for me.
What about you? Think that this career might be something you'd enjoy? Well, I'm having a webinar next Tuesday, January 26th that might answer some questions for you about how to get started. Look Here to see if it's something you'd benefit from. By the way, if you're one of the first 10 registrants for Work From Home, Do Good and Make Money as a Grant Writing Consultant, you will receive a free copy of GRANTworks – almost 50 pages of instruction designed to turn you into a winning, successful grant writing consultant.
Hope to see you there!
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written by Kivi Leroux Miller, January 17, 2011
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written by Gayle L. Gifford, January 17, 2011
Congratulations on nine years! This coming June, it will be 15 years ago that I started my own business. How time flies! We started by writing lots of grants. Now we pass that along to other writers... but we hear from clients again and again that they wish there were more good ones out there.
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written by Bunnie Riedel, January 17, 2011
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written by Sherry Truhlar, January 17, 2011
Cheers to all those that strike out on their own!
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What steps do you take to prepare yourself? How do you market yourself? How do find clients?
If your background is journalism and science writing (currently ag science writing and communications for a university), how do you learn the new skills you'd need to be versatile and capable, and thus able to promote yourself and convince potential clients why you're a better choice than someone else?
For instance, aside from a grant-writing project I did as a technical writing undergrad, I really have no grant-writing experience. I have edited grants others here have written ... but I'm not sure if there are specific nuances to writing a winning grant that aren't just common sense ... rules, conventions, "do's" and "don'ts", etc.
I recently turned 30, but I took a bit longer to enter the workforce after taking a couple extra years to finish my master's degree due to a stint taking a magazine writing internship (and some unforeseen problems with my original grad project that were outside my control), and then I had a rare opportunity to study journalism overseas for a year through a Rotary scholarship.
So one of my concerns is that, while my age might suggest I have the experience commensurate with others my age in my field, I feel like I'm behind by a couple years due to my unorthodox path.
I've been thinking of enrolling in some community college classes in grant writing, web design or other such areas to boost my skills in case freelance or even an independent consulting business could take shape one day... but any other suggestions from veteran female entrepreneurs out there would be much appreciated!