INDEPENDENT CONSULTING: ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES HIGHLIGHTS

Speakers: Sally Thornton & Robbie Baxter

On June 19th, we had our first local Forum event on the Peninsula in San Mateo.  We were happy to have a full house and, once again, we are amazed by the talent of our audience.  The attendees included professionals from leading companies (e.g., Intuit, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, and others) and we all shared insights, tips, and a mutual goal of helping each other succeed no matter what the chosen path.

Here are a few key audience questions we wanted to share:

Q:  What are market rates for independent consultants? 
A:  If your FT salary is $100k, the market pay would be approximately $100/hr.  Some companies that have leading brands have a lot of willing contractors so they may be able to pay less -- so like any job it is always a balance of supply & demand. 

Q: If I'm finding my own consulting projects, how much time should I allocate to my own business development?
A:  (Robbie Baxter answered) I spend about 30% of my time on BD every week.  Even when I'm working on projects, I have to block out time every week to network and open doors to future projects.

Q: Was it scary to jump from an employed status to a self-employed status?
A: (Robbie Baxter) Yes. I obsessed about how much money I needed to earn each month to cover my expenses and, more importantly, to feel like a success. When I started, I made a conscious effort to work with larger more established companies, because I believed I’d have a better chance for ongoing work (which has proven to be true). Big firms seem to have a bigger appetite (and budget) for strategy work. I also made up my mind early on to be flexible about the kinds of projects I was willing to take on. I basically decided to accept any project that paid fairly and was within my skill set. Over the past 6 years, as I’ve grown more comfortable with the lumpiness of my project flow, I’ve been able to be more selective in the type of work I accept. When I started, I was afraid of being too picky. Another scary thing about going out on my own was being responsible for “everything”--administration, finance, IT etc. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. In practice, figuring out the logistics is much more simple than I had thought. The scariest thing about getting into consulting is making the decision to do it.

A: (Sally) Also, yes...since I’m employing other people, the payback for me is longer and a bit daunting. I’m living the cliché of “if you really love your work, you’d do it for free”!!! For our talent, I advise them that given our early stage of Flexperience, if financial security is in your top three goals, then we might not be ready for you today (and hopefully that will change in 6-12 months). The talent who sign up with us today at our early stage are people whose top priorities are flexibility in their work schedule, intellectual stimulation, experiencing new companies/cultures (some wish to try a company before they possibly accept an employee position to really see if it’s a good fit), and keeping their income competitive. As Robbie stated, consulting can be “lumpy” so I don’t want to mislead anyone about the financial security if someone is depending on Flexperience for their only source of consulting opportunities.

Q: Do you think you it would be difficult to go back to a full-time job working for a company after doing consulting?
A: (Robbie) If you are consulting in a consistent and focused way, you should be developing your skills and expertise in a way that continues to be marketable. I think most consultants could probably get a job at the level where they stepped off the track with a minimum of effort. However, the bigger challenge for me is how much my attitude about work has changed. As a consultant, I am an entrepreneur, totally responsible for my own livelihood. The thought of working for someone else, giving up the excitement of selling work, collaborating with a broad range of clietns and no longer building my own business that best fits my skills, interests and need—this seems very unappealing. What I hear from a lot of consultants is that it’s very hard to go back to a full time job after spending time as a consultant.

A: (Sally) I think it’s all about what you want...if you want to “off ramp” for a while and use consulting to stay current in your skills/network/income, then going back full-time if/when you’re ready is a no brainer. There is a lot of data out there that proves this (and the May issue of MORE magazine posted on our website covers some of that).

Q: What advice do you have for people who aren’t really sure if this path is right for them?
A: (Robbie) Figure out specifically what makes you uncomfortable with consulting. Is it figuring out the logistics? Ask some established consultants your questions—it’s a very friendly and supportive community. You can find independent consultants through your alma mater, by querying your friends and colleagues or by participating in an association like Women In Consulting. Is it the entrepreneurial part? If so, you might want to explore some of the larger firms and agencies that place people like you and take a percentage in exchange—Flexperience is a terrific example. Is it the thought of working alone? You might want to take on a small project and see what consulting feels like for you. You can take on a project at any time, and decide after your try—one great thing about consulting is that investment costs are low. Just dip your toe in and start talking to people or taking on a project or two. If it doesn’t work out, you can always go back to plan b! But I believe that if you know your strengths, work hard and commit to consullting, you are likely to succeed well beyond your expectations.

A: (Sally) That’s one reason we started Flexperience...to give people more choice in how they work and try different paths. I would encourage anyone thinking about consulting to attend our events and talk with other women who are doing it. I have found this community to be incredibly supportive of each other which is so inspiring. Even though we’d love to grow our database of consulting talent, we want anyone who does join to be really excited about it after thinking through what their goals are. We’re here to help however we can.