I think the key is whether you are setting off as a consultant or starting a consulting business. To make consulting successful, you have to think of yourself as a business owner, and you have to work in the business as well as on the business. Even if you plan to be a team of one forever, your future is tied to the uncomfortably difficult responsibilities of business development, marketing, sales, account management, delivery, and financials. You have to do all of those things to make it as an entrepreneur. No one will hand over their hard-earned money unless they understand who you are, what you bring to the table that's different from what anyone else can do, how you've helped others like them in the past, and how well your services fit with their pain, their company culture, etc.
Anytime I meet someone who is ideating and expecting to start a business--consulting or otherwise--I strongly encourage them to write out a business plan and get feedback from another entrepreneur. To my knowledge, the vast majority don't write one, and I think that's a key factor in why they fail. The time, thought, and sweat it takes to build 15-25 pages of details on what you're selling, to whom, for how much, and through what means, only to have it dismantled by someone else, is a humbling but necessary experience. I view a business plan as a natural filter to weed out those who aren't fully committed to long-term entrepreneurship.
After a successful exit a couple of years ago, I put my shingle out to help digital health companies by leveraging my experience with integrating products into the health IT ecosystem. I met lots of great founders who are doing really interesting things with AI. While I enjoyed the engagements, they weren't commercially viable long term and I found myself drawn back to W-2 work in a market segment with lots of opportunity. I'll keep a handful of clients where I have fractional roles in product and business development support. It's a fun time to build things with the new tools that make it easy to prototype.
OneoftheManyJadedWhoTriedThisToughPath - 5 weeks ago
Having lived this experience of being ousted and finding myself without a job and in dire need of income and healthcare insurance for a family, it was a rough experience. Last week's post nails it for I many who think they have sway and connections but rapidly discover the reality of the 'friends' they thought they had as they fade into obscurity, no longer interested in you (or really the position you held)
It is a humbling and terrifying experience, and getting up every day trying to be positive as you watch your savings disappear and face some hard decisions of liquidating what little you have accrued to pay bills and cover healthcare for you and your family.
Even if you do have something to offer and you have leads, converting them to income remains challenging. And the multitasking required to focus on delivering a good product to your existing client(s) while worrying about the inevitable decision that will kill that contract and leave you back at square one is a killer. Oh and while you are trying to focus, make sure you continue to find useful information and insights to post to maintain your illusory swagger in the LinkedIn game; otherwise, you cease to exist in many people's ????̶????̶????̶????̶????̶ minds.
And then the few folks who do offer you time are typically not in a position to buy anything and are mostly being kind, and you try to balance their generosity with your need for work, hoping you don't blow yet another relationship up by becoming an irritation
When something comes up that is full-time, you try not to jump too quickly to keep some leverage and not blow the deal.
What Ben Rooks said is exactly how it has worked out for me. We really enjoy the work we do, the diversity of clients we get to work with and the satisfaction of solving some hardcore challenges/opportunities.
I got some great advice when I started Get-to-Market Health along the lines of "don't do it unless you are all in because people will never bet on you if they sense it is a temporary situation". MIkeD, you POV was spot on and still appreciated 8 years on.
I left W-2 employment in 2009 to begin my own advisory practice and never looked back. I always tell people consulting after a job that, in my experience, there are two types - those that are doing this to stay in the flow/make some money/try things out, and those, like me, for whom it is the next phase in their career. I was exceptionally fortunate in that my consultancy surpassed my best expectations. No judgement for those who prefer the predictability, security (although that's less realistic these days), and camaraderie of larger (i.e., greater than 1 or 2 co-workers), but for me, it was definitely the right course and there's not a job I can imagine that would remotely entice me to change (unless Krug wanted me as a brand ambassador)!
I think the key is whether you are setting off as a consultant or starting a consulting business. To make consulting successful, you have to think of yourself as a business owner, and you have to work in the business as well as on the business. Even if you plan to be a team of one forever, your future is tied to the uncomfortably difficult responsibilities of business development, marketing, sales, account management, delivery, and financials. You have to do all of those things to make it as an entrepreneur. No one will hand over their hard-earned money unless they understand who you are, what you bring to the table that's different from what anyone else can do, how you've helped others like them in the past, and how well your services fit with their pain, their company culture, etc.
Anytime I meet someone who is ideating and expecting to start a business--consulting or otherwise--I strongly encourage them to write out a business plan and get feedback from another entrepreneur. To my knowledge, the vast majority don't write one, and I think that's a key factor in why they fail. The time, thought, and sweat it takes to build 15-25 pages of details on what you're selling, to whom, for how much, and through what means, only to have it dismantled by someone else, is a humbling but necessary experience. I view a business plan as a natural filter to weed out those who aren't fully committed to long-term entrepreneurship.
After a successful exit a couple of years ago, I put my shingle out to help digital health companies by leveraging my experience with integrating products into the health IT ecosystem. I met lots of great founders who are doing really interesting things with AI. While I enjoyed the engagements, they weren't commercially viable long term and I found myself drawn back to W-2 work in a market segment with lots of opportunity. I'll keep a handful of clients where I have fractional roles in product and business development support. It's a fun time to build things with the new tools that make it easy to prototype.
Having lived this experience of being ousted and finding myself without a job and in dire need of income and healthcare insurance for a family, it was a rough experience. Last week's post nails it for I many who think they have sway and connections but rapidly discover the reality of the 'friends' they thought they had as they fade into obscurity, no longer interested in you (or really the position you held)
It is a humbling and terrifying experience, and getting up every day trying to be positive as you watch your savings disappear and face some hard decisions of liquidating what little you have accrued to pay bills and cover healthcare for you and your family.
Even if you do have something to offer and you have leads, converting them to income remains challenging. And the multitasking required to focus on delivering a good product to your existing client(s) while worrying about the inevitable decision that will kill that contract and leave you back at square one is a killer. Oh and while you are trying to focus, make sure you continue to find useful information and insights to post to maintain your illusory swagger in the LinkedIn game; otherwise, you cease to exist in many people's ????̶????̶????̶????̶????̶ minds.
And then the few folks who do offer you time are typically not in a position to buy anything and are mostly being kind, and you try to balance their generosity with your need for work, hoping you don't blow yet another relationship up by becoming an irritation
When something comes up that is full-time, you try not to jump too quickly to keep some leverage and not blow the deal.
What Ben Rooks said is exactly how it has worked out for me. We really enjoy the work we do, the diversity of clients we get to work with and the satisfaction of solving some hardcore challenges/opportunities.
I got some great advice when I started Get-to-Market Health along the lines of "don't do it unless you are all in because people will never bet on you if they sense it is a temporary situation". MIkeD, you POV was spot on and still appreciated 8 years on.
I left W-2 employment in 2009 to begin my own advisory practice and never looked back. I always tell people consulting after a job that, in my experience, there are two types - those that are doing this to stay in the flow/make some money/try things out, and those, like me, for whom it is the next phase in their career. I was exceptionally fortunate in that my consultancy surpassed my best expectations. No judgement for those who prefer the predictability, security (although that's less realistic these days), and camaraderie of larger (i.e., greater than 1 or 2 co-workers), but for me, it was definitely the right course and there's not a job I can imagine that would remotely entice me to change (unless Krug wanted me as a brand ambassador)!