Opening FEA consulting business

[gurmeet2003]

All FEA Experts,

I am thinking of starting a FEA consulting business. It will be a one man show in the beginning. I have experience in Linear/Nonlinear, Static/some Dynamic analysis. I would like those in this business to please provide some tips from their expereince.
This topic was discussed in 2005 and I have gone through that thread. I am looking for responses based on current economic conditions.

Thanks,

Gurmeet

 

[GregLocock]

Not in the business, but I have been involved with FEA consultants in the past.

Your biggest problems are two fold - finding customers, and then getting them to employ you.

For the first I have no suggestions.

For the second, I think you need a portfolio demonstrating that you have credible skills, and are experienced with correlation work in particular. I love working on projects where there is no correlation data available, but 29 years of intermittent FEA experience says that an uncorrelated model is just a back of envelope calculation that looks good on the screen.

The real issue is that if a job is straightforward the client can do it, and if it isn't straightforward why is he paying for yOU to learn how to do it?




Cheers

Greg Locock

SIGlease see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[corus]

Similarly, not in the business but might think about the same when that happy day of retirement or redundancy (or both) comes knocking.

In the early days we used consultants to mesh up a particularly difficult geometry, and then hand it back to us for analysis. That was in the early days though when meshing processors weren't that advanced and it was faster and less tedious to use outside people who were more familiar with the software. These days our customers will use outside consultants in order to get a 'second opinion' or to confirm someone elses calculations rather than rely on one single source. To get into that you need to have contacts as work comes by word of mouth. I've found that it's not a company but an individual they know, and who has the skills, that people want.

corus

 

[GBor]

Was in the business, but am not any longer. A few mistakes that I made: I didn't advertise aggressively enough, I didn't spend enough time communicating with the customers that I had, I didn't understand the business side of business (taxes, obligations to employees, etc.). I only had 1 employee - a business manager - which I brought on after about 2 years of floundering around. Perhaps my greatest mistake, however: I wasn't diverse enough. There are too many companies that don't use FEA and too many others that have it in-house whether they know how to use it or just THINK they know.

Things I did right: I was pretty good at all of the analyses that you describe, but I was also pretty well known in the industry that I was targeting, so I was able to draw some work. I bid by the job, not the hour. I was faster than most and willing to work ridiculously hard in a short period of time, so I was able to get things done pretty fast and enjoy more time with the family or pursuing the next job. I linked up with other small businesses that would combine to pursue contracts. I treated my customers fairly and my employee better.

My recommendation: Make sure you have some work to start with. I started my business and continued to work for my previous employer (who wasn't involved in the same type of business...so no conflict of interest). When I thought I had enough work to maintain my family for a year, I stepped out...then, the work fell out from under me and I was hanging out over a cliff Considering also marketing yourself for CAD or figure out ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code...take some specialty classes that will give you an edge and make companies want to employ you. Don't take on more than you can do, but don't turn people away unless you really don't need the extra customer. Just a little bad press and you are done.

The comments from the other two above me should be well considered. After all, they would be potential customers.

Good Luck!

 

[gwolf2]

> It will be a one man show in the beginning. I have experience in Linear/Nonlinear, Static/some Dynamic analysis.

Not enough to impress, lots of people do this.

Many industries have moved to mostly internal IPT´s and concurrent engineering with a mix of staff and contractors.

Try contracting.

gwolf

 

[gurmeet2003]

Thanks to all for your feedback. The tips were realistic and did help. I have postponed my decision at this time. Maybe some time in near future when the economy has rebounded.

Gurmeet