Beejive have opened up their beta test to the public prior to launching v1.0 of their multi client chat program for the Blackberry. This client application supports gtalk, msn, yahoo and aol so is pretty useful. Several changes have made recently to improve the notification of new messages and the release notes are worth reading.

The installation information has now been moved to their website at www.beejive.com To install the application OTA, you can just point your BlackBerry browser to www.beejive.com/download.Do you use your blackberry to IM people - do you use it for corporate use or personal use? Personally I use it for a combination of both, although if I had all my friends on the blackberry account I’d never get any work done, so I have a work account for google (my primary chat client) that I use.

One useful feature that I use is the ability to send a text message to another gmail chat account that is normally offline and everytime I arrive or leave a client I send it an IM so I can then later go back and fill out my time sheet. This is quick and easy and always available - my computer may not be turned on, or I may not have my timesheet paperwork with me, but the Blackberry is nearly always by my side. A quick “L company1″ or “@ company2″ gives me good tracking capabilities.

Sometimes we plan deeply and then take concerted action to build a computer consulting career. At other times, good fortune just seems to fall into our laps. That said, it doesn’t mean that you can’t learn something from my good, if somewhat accidental, fortune.

It is a natural part of any consulting business that you often make clients of people who once worked for you. In my case, a contractor who remodeled part of our house has hired me several times over the last few years to maintain his office and home computers. When he launched a new endeavor, running a high-end photo studio, he called me in once again.

As it happened, this studio was connected to a property management company that owns both residential and office properties. In fact, they were remodeling part of the photo studio building into office suites which were rapidly filling up. Before I really knew what had happened, I became the de facto computer consultant not only for the photo studio and the property management company, but everyone who rented from them. Through this one connection, I have added 3 new clients in the last 2 months. Even better, they are all at one location, so I can make one visit to handle a number of problems. Sweet!

Of course, while I really wasn’t trying to gather up a flock of new clients, I see now that anyone can actively pursue this particular method. In past Career Opportunities columns, I have written about the possibility of becoming the on-site computer consultant for local resort hotels. Connecting with property management companies is very similar. The goal in both is to maximize your client relationships so that they start working for you. Imagine the possibilities — Can you set up a meeting with the owners of that high-rise office building on the corner? How about the small set of office suites above the dry cleaners? How about that 5-star resort in Beverly Hills, Sedona or Las Vegas?

Be aware of the possibilities when dealing with your clients and their clients might just be your clients, someday.