I am going to start exploring the possibility of setting up a one-day conference for sole proprietors and people new to consulting in Vancouver by the end of the year. There are a lot of things I’ve had to learn the hard way over the last six years and I want to pack as many of those lessons and a host of guest speakers into the event to cover topics like:

• How to survive the first 10,000 hours of your consulting business
  
• Sales and lead generation for consultants
  
• The RFP circus – how to get on the inside track and win bids
  
• Branding and marketing for sole proprietorships
  
• Social media for small consulting firms
  
• Credentials and professional development
  
• Identifying and building up equity in niche markets
  
• How to grow your firm
  

I’m throwing this out there because I want to get a sense of who is interested in coming to something like this and what kinds of topics they’d like to see covered. Networking will be a big component of this and there will also be vendors on hand to share services that can make your life as a consultant easier. I’m starting a mailing list for this conference and have bought a domain name to host the event details/registration (miniconcon.com). I’m thinking Fall, 2009 in downtown Vancouver for the timing.

If you’re interested in getting involved in this as an attendee, a speaker or a vendor that would like to have a booth at the event, please contact me.

If this event is a success, I plan to run it in other Canadian cities and possible more than once per year in Vancouver. The format I’m leaning towards is like the TED Conference [LINK] where attendees get to hear a number of 20-minute power-talks by innovative, thoughtful and experienced people. Networking will be a big part of this event and a directory of attendees and their elevator pitches will be posted on the website.

Feel free to post your suggestions or ideas in the comments section below. Other topics we should cover? Potential speakers we should look at?