Why You Probably Won't Survive as an Independent Consultant

Don't take the title of this blog post wrong. I hope you survive as an Independent Consultant... I really do. Yet before you jump ship for the bountiful glory that is independent consulting, allow me to tell you the story of Zed - a person much like you that failed to realize the true evil that lurks behind the facade of independent consulting.

Meet our Hero: Zed

Meet our hero, Zed. Long ago, Zed was working as a star programmer for a consulting company getting paid $30 per hour while billing out $150 per hour to their client (probably more). Zed used his superior analytical skills to learn that his company is being paid $120 per hour more than Zed is being paid. Thats just ludicrous!

So Zed did what any entrepreneurial minded superhero would do - he quit his job and went to work for the client as an Independent Consultant. This move now got him paid $60 per hour. The client paid out less, Zed's made twice as much, and that evil consulting company had been banished into oblivion.

    Everything is now right in the world.  Zed is now living the life as an Independent Consultant - the dream job that's easy to start and nearly impossible to sustain.

But Zed's bliss would not last forever. Little did Zed know, that a new menace was about to rear it's ugly head - An evil force known as "Nu Bidnsss."

Our Villain: Nu Bidnsss

Within his first year of consulting, Zed was protected (financially) from ever having to deal with Nu Bidnsss. He was heavily sheltered in the warmth of a paying client to whom he could enjoy a prosperous life.

Yet like every consulting engagement, the client too eventually fell out of love with Zed. Zed's incredible programming abilities eventually gave the client a product they were proud of, and soon Zed would not be needed any longer.

One day, as Zed left a client "wrap up" meeting, he felt a cold chill across the back of his neck. He tensed, turned around quickly and saw the most fearsome creature he had ever laid eyes upon - Nu Bidnsss.

Nu Bidnsss Sucks

Without a lofty paying contract firmly in his hands, Zed did not know how to attack Nu Bidnsss. Beating this evil beast required abilities he had never learned, like salesmanship, networking, and the Shaolin art of the "Ass Kiss."

Zed realized at that moment, that his training was all wrong. Until now he had made a great living by being a star programmer. His skills had made him heavily recruited out of college, highly sought-after in his consulting company, and well-paid from clients. Certainly with these skills he would never have to come face-to-face with Nu Bidnsss. Yet here he was, staring it down.

The Fall of Zed

Try as he might, Zed could not stop the force of Nu Bidnsss. It quickly swallowed up his savings, his second mortgage, and all of his credit cards. As Zed struggled wildly to defeat the beast, he realized that it was not his ability to work for clients that would save his life, it was his ability to get new clients, that would be his lifeblood.

    Alas, Zed has no frigging clue how to get new clients. 

And so Zed was defeated by Nu Bidnsss. Drained of any of his financial resources, emotional excitement and his seemingly endless list of smart-ass remarks, he was taken by Nu Bidnsss and forced to work in the salt mine cubicles of hell - Big Corporate.

- The End -

Epilogue

This story is as sad as it is consistently true.

Surviving as an independent consultant isn't about actually consulting (it's a given that you can do that.) It's about finding new business.

As it happens, most people suck at finding new business. Once the Pixie Dust of the first client engagement wears off, the painful reality of having to beg for business becomes very obvious.

If you truly want to build a business as a consultant, focus on the business of selling yourself, not specifically on delivery. If you're not good enough to get yourself in the door on your own merits, your life as an Independent Consultant is going to be short-lived at best. Like our boy Zed.