Lessons from Going Solo

As someone who's gone down the same route, this article resonated with me a lot.

Firstly, going solo is invaluable. It teaches you the basics of starting your own business (you'll likely need to start an LLC after a certain point), teaches you how to sell yourself, and managing financial uncertainty through varying income (my hardest lesson thus far)

The article mentions overemployment, which I'd initially set my mind to years ago. However, as soon as I started, I realized I was purely doing consulting type of work, and so it made no sense to hide that fact.

Now, let's touch on something important which rarely gets talked about. Starting with the following context: Contractor/consultant is often used interchangeably in our industry.

Which brings us to the next point: Companies often hire people as contractors (effectively on the same terms as consultants) as a way to save money. Take such offer, and soon after you find yourself subject to performance reviews, lack of freedom as to where you want to work from and during which hours. This can be genuinely upsetting if you are used to the freedoms that a consultant lifestyle affords you.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem. Most countries have "false self-employment" laws. They became a huge thing after the gig economy exploded and companies started insisting that all their workers were self-employed.

In my case, I’ve had to use this once. Not because I wanted to, but because a client did something so far over the line that I immediately contacted an attorney, who then made the client aware that it had been a false self-employment engagement and put forth a substantial settlement offer, which the client accepted because they knew they were utterly fucked. Fun story in retrospect, as the whole C-suite largely got fired because of it.

So, remember this card in your sleeve the next time your client starts treating you as a regular employee. False self-employment can be suuuuper expensive depending on the jurisdiction you're in.

There is a reason why many companies refuse to hire contractors, and it's often becaue they assessed these risks correctly. If you only want people on FTE terms, only hire them on FTE terms. Simple as that.

Other, general advice I would give to new consultants:

  - Be assertive about the number of interview rounds you're willing to participate in. You will be surprised how often prospective clients will capitulate to your demands. Not being desperate signals higher value.
  - Take high-impact certifications, the more niche the better. Look into Databricks, Backstage, etc. These do get used as filters by headhunters on LinkedIn.
  - Make friends with your fellow consultants on the gigs. They likely have an extensive network of their own, which you can leverage. When you are in a position to recommend people later on, such as when building a new engineering team, reach out to exactly those people, even if they aren't looking for new opportunities. They will remember that you had their backs, and it will do a lot for you in today's job market.