Part I of III: Advantages
With the economy tight, a lot of corporate workers are being turned into "consultants." The first reaction is fear–no regular paycheck, no health insurance. The second reaction is often intense joy–no schedule, no meetings. Then confusion sets in. "Do I really want to run my own business? I know a lot about my topic, but… "
Good question. Not everyone who is an expert in a topic should run a business. There is a lot more to owning your business than doing the work you are good at. You have to do administrative work, keep track of your spending, plan ahead, market yourself, keep track of your hours, bill clients, set limits, prepare taxes, and carry on with family responsibilities and commitments.
Let's take a look at the pros and cons of being a consultant. The pros first. We'll do the cons next time.
- It's yours to run as you please. No more micro-managers breathing on your every keystroke. You make the decisions, you live with the consequences, you learn from your mistakes. It's a huge responsibility, but if you are an entrepreneur, this is perfect.
Experience tip: Start small to keep your business manageable. Grow it slowly to keep it under control, even if you have to have a part-time job at first.
- Your hours are yours. Early bird? Get up at 5 a.m. and be in your office at 5:05 a.m. Night owl? Start at 9 and stay as late as you like. This is even better if you are working from home.
Experience tip: Your clients are the important part of this equation. You'll do better if you follow the client's schedule rather than your own.
- You can refuse to work with clients you don't want to work with. Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb at and not doing it. A client wants you to do work you aren't good at? Turn it down. No one is forcing you anymore.
Experience tip: Ask questions up front; one person's opportunity is another's nightmare from hell.
About the Author: Quinn McDonald is a writer and nationally-known speaker who has achieved the "Professional" designation from the National Speakers Association. Contact Quinn through her website, QuinnCreative.com.
Another option is to keep a day job. A lot of folks, like myself for the past few years now, are doing a lot of consulting and web development work on a freelance basis on their off-hours. I’m a web junkie, so after spending my 9pm to ? hours of the night reading through tutorials/code samples and working on personal projects for years, it hit me one day that I could and should be making money doing it.
I do some development as part of my day job, but not enough to keep my skills sharp and to grow them. I like the security of a day job, and the additional cash and being able to pick and choose my freelance projects has really been great. If I were to quit and do web dev full-time I could *probably* make as much as I do with my day job within a year or so, but it would be stressful for me. I’m not one to cold call or go door to door or schlep my services at conferences during breaks, so that would hold me back. I know some successful web designers who can’t code a thing and are still designing websites that look like they were hot stuff back in 1999. They are successful because of two things:
1. They are professional in both their organization and appearance. I know this is superficial, but in my experience the *real* clients (ie, not the clowns trolling craigslist for the cheapest rates) do prefer someone who is older and not a 25 year old with a MacBook Pro. No offense.
2. They are good schmoozers, small-talkers, sellers. This can’t be understated enough.
I fall into the first category, but definitely not the second, which is why I have to keep my day job : )
mark
http://www.elearninglive.com
Another option is to keep a day job. A lot of folks, like myself for the past few years now, are doing a lot of consulting and web development work on a freelance basis on their off-hours. I’m a web junkie, so after spending my 9pm to ? hours of the night reading through tutorials/code samples and working on personal projects for years, it hit me one day that I could and should be making money doing it.
I do some development as part of my day job, but not enough to keep my skills sharp and to grow them. I like the security of a day job, and the additional cash and being able to pick and choose my freelance projects has really been great. If I were to quit and do web dev full-time I could *probably* make as much as I do with my day job within a year or so, but it would be stressful for me. I’m not one to cold call or go door to door or schlep my services at conferences during breaks, so that would hold me back. I know some successful web designers who can’t code a thing and are still designing websites that look like they were hot stuff back in 1999. They are successful because of two things:
1. They are professional in both their organization and appearance. I know this is superficial, but in my experience the *real* clients (ie, not the clowns trolling craigslist for the cheapest rates) do prefer someone who is older and not a 25 year old with a MacBook Pro. No offense.
2. They are good schmoozers, small-talkers, sellers. This can’t be understated enough.
I fall into the first category, but definitely not the second, which is why I have to keep my day job : )
mark
http://www.elearninglive.com
Another option is to keep a day job. A lot of folks, like myself for the past few years now, are doing a lot of consulting and web development work on a freelance basis on their off-hours. I’m a web junkie, so after spending my 9pm to ? hours of the night reading through tutorials/code samples and working on personal projects for years, it hit me one day that I could and should be making money doing it.
I do some development as part of my day job, but not enough to keep my skills sharp and to grow them. I like the security of a day job, and the additional cash and being able to pick and choose my freelance projects has really been great. If I were to quit and do web dev full-time I could *probably* make as much as I do with my day job within a year or so, but it would be stressful for me. I’m not one to cold call or go door to door or schlep my services at conferences during breaks, so that would hold me back. I know some successful web designers who can’t code a thing and are still designing websites that look like they were hot stuff back in 1999. They are successful because of two things:
1. They are professional in both their organization and appearance. I know this is superficial, but in my experience the *real* clients (ie, not the clowns trolling craigslist for the cheapest rates) do prefer someone who is older and not a 25 year old with a MacBook Pro. No offense.
2. They are good schmoozers, small-talkers, sellers. This can’t be understated enough.
I fall into the first category, but definitely not the second, which is why I have to keep my day job : )
mark
http://www.elearninglive.com