I can’t tell you how many times really smart colleagues tell me that they so admire what I do and how I do it – but can’t imagine themselves doing “this”. At other times I interact with people who proclaim they want to do what I do, and I inwardly cringe at their naivety.
Let me unpack a few myths that people have about independent consulting – and you can decide for yourself!
Myth #1 – It’s more risky than working for someone else.
Hmmm…this is always a head scratcher for me. Many of my professional colleagues, all good people with great skills and stellar work ethics are caught up in endless rounds of reorganizations and downsizing. The pattern is work a few years, be in transition for up to a year, repeat, and repeat yet again.
At one time a corporate job was a safe haven – work hard until retirement. Not so much anymore.
I actually feel less risky knowing that I have the skills needed to find work, do good work, and to do that on my own.
Myth #2 – You are on the road all the time.
Maybe. Maybe not. It’s your practice and your choice. It was true for me in the first six years of my practice due to the work I chose to do. And then, I chose to do more local work and I barely travel at all.
Here is the catch – unrelenting travel is the hard reality of consulting with a bigger consulting firm. It’s so much so that most folks burn out after a few years. But as an independent consultant, you can shape your business around the amount of travel you want in your life.
Myth #3 – You GET to travel to cool places.
Sometimes. And sometimes to not so cool places. I’ve been to London, Amsterdam, NYC, Tampa, San Diego, and Vail all because of business. And, I’ve been to lots of places that are not on anyone’s bucket list!
Here is what business travelers know – that even when you get to really cool places with your work, most times you work. And work a lot. Don’t confuse leisure travel with work travel. Very different experiences!
Myth #4 – I’ll get to do what I’m good at 100% of the time
Here is the truth of the matter. You’ll get to do what you love more of the time. But not all the time. Because of this cold hard fact: That in order to find the client that needs the work you love to do, you also have to do other things. Other things like marketing your services, networking, doing the accounting, troubleshooting your own technology problems. Things like running the business.
Myth #5 – If I bill at $150 per hour, I’ll make $6K a week if I work 40 hours.
Your multiplication is spot on. Your grasp of consulting isn’t quite there.
There is a bit of work to get the engagement that enables you to provide and bill for your services. You will not bill 100% of your working hours. Most likely it will be about half of that – on a good month. (See above to see what you are doing with your other work hours).
Myth #6 – Consulting is what you do between jobs.
We’ve all heard the joke about a consultant is someone looking for a real job that has a business card. And I know that folks between jobs are often advised to state that they are consulting to avoid a gap in their employment. A few might be fortunate enough to stumble into some freelance work.
Building a successful independent consulting business is something you do full time and over time. It takes focus and work and resilience. I tend to think it is worth it. In fact, I can’t imagine working any other way.
Want to launch your own independent consulting business? The first step is to download a free chapter of Kris Taylor’s book, Owning It, where you’ll discover more data about the happiness of current consultants.
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