Have you transitioned into independent professional consulting/advice?

[Nala]

I am a professional in a lucrative field. I am considering offering my advice as a consultant.

For those of you who are independent professional consultants, how do you fold consulting into your "regular" work and/or transition from employee to full-time consultant?

I am seeking input from those of you who command high fees because of the nature/value of your work.

Thanks in advance.

[Jill]

For those of you who are independent professional consultants, how do you fold consulting into your "regular" work and/or transition from employee to full-time consultant?

I would think that to do it right you need to own your own company, not be an employee somewhere else.

It wouldn't be fair to your employer nor your consulting clients.

[Nala]

Thanks, Jill.

In my field, it is very common (among the best in the field) to consult part-time. It is also considered fair and ethical.

I am simply trying to ascertain how people who have done this did so -- there is no handbook.

[Jill]

In my field, it is very common (among the best in the field) to consult part-time. It is also considered fair and ethical.

Really? What's the field?

If you have a full time job, when would you do the consulting? At night? Weekends? Does your employer know you're doing this? (Or want to do this.)

As long as your employer is aware and okay with it, then that's great.

Being a consultant is an awesome role and can be very lucrative when you're truly an expert. If you are at that point and want to do do more consulting, I would highly suggest doing it full time.

[JPX]

Consulting on the side is very common in many fields. Many employers even allot a certain amount of days per year for consulting. However Nala, consulting is also very different from field to field. Reading Consulting for Dummies won't help much either.

I recommend you contact successful consultants in your field and try to work out some sort of alliance, which could eventually turn into a partnership. If you are secure enough in your abilities, you can also take the risk and go full time. But keep in mind that a lot of consultants fail, not because they are not experts in their field, but because they are not experts at selling -- in this case, themselves.

[JohnK]

On 1/1/2001, I made a jump to consulting from being an employee. For nearly a year prior to that I planned for it. For 3 years prior to 1/1/01, I worked at a small, successful software company (which has since been bought, but that's a whole other story).

During the year 2000, I saved every penny I could. The goal was to have at least a year of rent and food money in the bank before making the jump. I didn't accomplish this goal, but I had 7 months worth. Another twist to the jump was I decided to move 300 miles away, to a market which was locally dead, but was equally distant from two major metropolitan areas. So I made sure I had a really dependable vehicle, and was willing to drive a lot.

Also during 2000, I told everyone I knew that I would be doing this. I sought and received the blessing of the president of the software company, and lobbied the sales staff, programming staff, tech support and other consultants, not for assistance after I made the jump, but just for goodwill.

The move took 10 days. My first appointment was a few days later. I sent out fax blasts and letters to all current customers of the software in the areas within 250 miles for 6 months. This did not go over well with some consultants, but I mended fences with them and refrained from contacting their clients when they provided me with the necessary data to do so.

Needless to say, during the first year, I worked over 60 hours every week. That first year, I made a small profit after paying myself subsistence. In 2002, I paid myself better, and made a larger profit. Word of mouth referrals started to come in slowly. Things looked bleak many times, but I adjusted to the uncertainty and kept a financial reserve as well as building investments using common sense. I now make twice as much as when I worked at the company, plus have a much larger retirement cushion than I would have.

My first vacation was in 2006. All other trips were for business, period. At this point, the business still has its ups and downs, but I'm completely certain that I can make a good lliving in this for as long as I wish to. I have a loyal client base, and experience a steady 15% growth in referrals and income every year without having to market or advertise. Using some of the information from this Web site, in the last year, I have started a second business, which is now bearing fruit.

The point is (in my opinion only), one must use all of the commonsense measures (get a running start, save up a fair amount of cash, keep a reserve, don't be afraid to call people and talk to them), plus one absolutely must jump in with both feet, unconditionally. Maybe easing into consulting part-time works for some people. Maybe I don't know how to do anything halfway. But I do know that this succeeded when almost everyone I knew thought it would fail.

Thanks for listening.

JK

[Michael Clyde]

I attempted to start my consulting business on a part time basis, twice. I failed both times. I quit my job to do my business full time, and now I am succeeding. One can argue that part-time vs full-time was not entirely the basis for my past failures. However, this is what I've learned working for an employer full time, and dabbling in my own business on the side:

1)I cannot work two jobs whole-heartedly. Thinking about my business while working for somebody else created internal conflict. My efficiency and motivation decreased for both jobs over time. Maybe thats just my problem.

2)Working in my business, I really needed to do my marketing, meet clients, and conduct site visits during business hours. Primarily, business hours was the time alloted for my full time employer.

3) In my business, you frequently endure feast or famine. That worried me, because I worked overtime with my employer during the feasts, which permitted less time for my business. During the famine cycles, I had extra time, but could only use it for business planning.

4)You can only do so much business planning before you begin. Learning, experiencing, additional planning, and re-evaluating is much easier to do without an employer.

Anyway, go for the full-time consulting. Only your fear will keep you down. I started my business by moving to another state, with only one potential business contact (who has never used my services yet), only about 4 months of reserve funds, confidence, faith, and knowing that I could easily get another employer if need be.

[JohnK]

As Michael Clyde says, having the confidence that you will succeed, or at the least, be able to fall back on your skills, is a huge advantage.

It's Law of Attraction all over again.

JK