Hi Friends,

Today, I again got an opportunity to share my views on a  very challenging, unique and of course my favorite topic”How to Start a Company Secretary (CS) Practice?”with fellow young CS Aspirants at Management Skills Orientation Programme(MSOP) at Ahmedabad Chapter of ICSI. I recollected my days when I started my practice and all my struggles, challenges faced, failures and achievements just flashed. It’s being a challenging journey for me till date.I firmly believe that ” Practice is a reflection of your reputation and of its team managing the practice and reputation is build on the basis of your values system , ethical practices, your knowledge,  experience and soft skills and of course your quality of work.” Action speaks louder than Words!

 I am sharing some important points , pics and small clip of my Talk:

Watch Video Clip on :https://youtu.be/f31jBTafYy0

1.It’s a big dilemma for a fresher professional to decide initially whether to be Full Time Company Secretary or Company Secretary in Practice.

2. Self Assessment is required to be done for Better Choice which includes Professional and Personal Readiness.

3. Ask yourself the following questions to analyse your Professional Readiness  :

 – Do I currently have the professional competence and skills needed to offer services on Independent Basis?

-Am I duly qualified to practice or to do Job as ICSI Guidelines?

-Is there an experienced or knowledgeable mentor I respect who would be willing to supervise me and provide feedback?

-Can I obtain professional liability insurance to protect myself and my family while I practice?

-Can I accept full responsibility for the success or failure of my own practice?

-Can I effectively organise my time and plan and work efficiently without structure?

-Do I have confidence and do I believe in my ability to develop a successful practice?

-Am I willing to spend in practice promotions, public relations and presentation to convey to the community that I am operating a Private Practice?

-Can I make and stick to my decisions?

-Am I comfortable with collecting fees directly from clients?

-Can I afford to do it financially?

-Am I able to preserve and persist in the face of adversity?

-Can I perform the administrative duties of a private practice and still maintain the highest level of professional performance?

-Am I willing to govern any practice, at all the time and all the places, according to ethical standards of my profession?

4. Ask yourself the following questions to analyse your Personal  Readiness  :

-In addition to time spent with clients, an independent practice will take many hours a week to promote and supervise. Are my spouse and family supportive and enthusiastic?

-Are there any personal problems or conflicts in my life that could affect my practice progress that require resolution before entering private practice?

-Is my physical health good enough to meet the demand of a private practice?

-Do I realistically have time to start and run the private practice?

-Am I able to handle frustration, uncertainty and risk  taking?

-Will I accept infringements on my personal time with calls from clients on evenings, weekends and holidays?

Key Components to CS Practice: Advantanges & Disadvantages:

1. Autonomy: Independence—you are your own boss but disadvantage is that no one
   to turn to for assistance. You are responsible for all areas of the practice— administration, accounting, marketing, staffing. Isolation—a real factor for
   sole practitioners.
2. Flexibility: Control over time—ability to set hours of work and annual work volume but little down time .
3. Clientele: Ability to choose your clients but too narrow clientele at initial period  which can hurt the startup practice.
4. Environment: You can control your work enviornment, office layout and location but all expenses i.e staff, technology , furnishing &  space is required to be borne by you.
5. Financial Considerations: You are at liberty to set your fees scales based on your experience, skills,demand for services and client ability to pay but again it can be affected by local economies, client inability to pay and fluctuating business cost.
6. Accountability:Private practice is a good motivator— practice is a reflection of your reputation. Ability to provide best service possible is without limits.You have total control over success of the practice but on the other side there are fewer opportunities for peer review, you are responsible for all errors – Statutory & Business management.

Attributes of a Good Consultant :-Image: 
– What people feel you know and not what you know.

– Once consultant opens his mouth his image is getting created.

– Consultant should learn and change himself (learn from his own mistakes).

– Consultant to modify himself to suit client needs ethically.

– To know the client before starting consultancy.

–  Keep the deadline for assignment.

-Developing Soft Skills, use it in right way at right time and place.

So, develop professional excellence rather than perfection, as beyond perfection there is excellence but there is nothing beyond excellence!!