Consultants seem to be everywhere today, and are often regarded with the suspicion commonly invoked by lawyers and loan sharks. And, as is the case with the two L-words persons, when you need one, you'd better get a good one. But how do you know when you really need one?

Perhaps the best way to answer that is to ask another question: what is a consultant anyway?

In the simplest case, a consultant is just a contract worker with a special skill, be it computers, marketing, whatever, who provides services your own staff can't accommodate and for which you have a vital but impermanent necessity. That is, the consultant gives you a fish. (Or rather sells you a fish.)

But in the better case, a consultant teaches you to fish; he or she is a mentor, teacher, advisor, who not only does things for you but imparts the skills or information you need to practice your craft or business--or your life--more effectively. To do this--and to do it at your convenience--is to me the soul of this vague category of business called "consulting."

Consulting Services:
•photography
•marketing/communication
•environmental affairs

Please note that I do not do "script doctoring."