In a tough job market, I’m often the recipient of calls on the subject of Consulting. Is it an option? What’s it like? I am empathetic. I was in the same place many years ago. So now is as good a time as any to share what being a Consultant is, and what it isn’t.
It’s NOT a Lifestyle Choice
Consulting is NOT a lifestyle choice. It’s not a means to have more free time for friends, family or hobbies. Ideally, you will be working for multiple clients, in various time zones, each with a discrete project with separate milestones and deliverables. If anything, it will be more time consuming than a full-time job at a single client.
Evaluate the Demand and Carve Out Your Niche
The more specific you can be about your area of expertise, the better. It helps focus your prospecting and clearly demonstrates value to your potential customers. For me, Sales and Ad Operations was and still is an area with high demand for expertise. Others lean on Programmatic and now AI.
Become Your Client’s Employee
You should think about your client’s business as if it were your own. Are they doing what needs to be done? What can you do to help them achieve their goals? Can your expertise and experience identify risks that your client is not aware of? Thinking about these issues and deciding how to act on them is part of the Consultant’s job.
It’s All About the Deliverable(s)
Each engagement should be defined by an explicit SOW with clear deliverables, down to the type of documentation delivered. IMHO documentation should be in your own words. Your voice and whatever analytical and writing skills you have are your own. I understand the value of AI, but in this case, if you are using AI to prepare deliverables to a client, they can rightfully ask, “why do I need you at all if I can use AI to achieve the same results”.
Don’t Nickel and Dime Your Client.
In my experience, determining a fixed fee and sticking with it has led to numerous clients and renewed engagements over the years. It’s your job as a Consultant to estimate the time and effort needed for the job and the resulting fee. It’s a simpler budgeting process for the Client. It’s YOUR problem if you underestimated the effort, not the Client’s problem.
Promote Your Services
There are so many avenues for this now. In-person events, social media posts, articles (like this one) on LinkedIn. (I prefer in-person events, but I’m my own worst enemy on that count. I am more likely to stay in-office and work on documentation.)
Build a Team You Know and Trust
As your business expands, establish and cultivate relationships with other SMEs. Be transparent in all business dealings, learn from your business partners (like my colleague Leslie Lupton), be generous and unquestioning on sharing the wealth. I’m lucky to be working with the same business partners for 15 – 20 years. There is no churn.
Costs and Benefits
Consider the costs associated with Consulting. Have you priced out the cost of self-employed health insurance? It’s probably as much as your home mortgage. Ours was around $2,300/month. And don’t forget insurance. Client contracts specify insurance requirements before you begin working with them. General business insurance and cyber insurance (if you are handling data) will probably add another $5K to your annual costs.
On the other hand, equipment (laptops, printers, etc.), supplies, justifiable travel, home office – those can all be potential write-offs at tax time.
If after reading all this, you are still excited about being a Consultant – go to it and good luck!
