5 ms·

A consultant making 5 figures a week, in practical terms, is a unicorn that is not reliably repeatable. Most people cannot maintain that level of marketing whil

A consultant making 5 figures a week, in practical terms, is a unicorn that is not reliably repeatable. Most people cannot maintain that level of marketing while maintaining an income (as a consultant) effectively. If they could, every programmer would try to transition into making 5 figures a week as a consultant instead of making $100-200k with a stable job. The $4k/week thing isn't since pretty much any decent consultant can command $100/hr which is what that weekly billing works out to.

mgkimsal 9y ago
That person making 5 figures per week often doesn't need or want to be working 'repeatably' or have a full schedule. A couple folks I know charge $15k-$20k/week, but they only care to take on a few of those per year, while pursuing other interests (other business ideas, etc). Even $30k/week is still selling time for money, and "isn't scalable" - maxing out at $1.5m/year even fully booked, which few are.
- putnam 9y ago
  Are they in-person jobs?
- AFNobody 9y ago
  I'm talking about number of people able to do it rather than the specific individuals who have gotten into that position.
putnam 9y ago
Why can they not maintain that level of marketing? What is stopping them?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
maneesh 9y ago
I used to have a similar scarcity mentality --- thinking that because other people were successful, it was like the lottery -- based purely on chance. But I learned over time to develop a abundance mentality -- rather than say 'it can't be done' -- to change my mode of thinking to say 'how did they do it, and is there anything for me to learn.' A consultant making 5 figures a week is not a unicorn, it's not even that uncommon. But it's not just coding -- there's other steps that are also necessary but not sufficient. Building a reputation, building a following (a blog or email newsletter is a good way to get started), meeting people who open doors, etc.
- AFNobody 9y ago
  Please provide literally any evidence you have that the average consultant can reliably and repeatedly generate 5-figures-a-week-individual consultancy. I can already tell you no such evidence exists but if you want to search for it, you are free to do so. > I used to have a similar scarcity mentality --- thinking that because other people were successful, it was like the lottery -- based purely on chance. > But I learned over time to develop a abundance mentality -- rather than say 'it can't be done' -- to change my mode of thinking to say 'how did they do it, and is there anything for me to learn.' You probably should look up 'reliably' and 'repeatable' and the definition of those words. You really should not attack a straw man. I just understand the probability of X event is Y and I'm not naive enough to try to talk myself into wasting energy on low probability paths. The 5 figures a week consultancy path is exactly such a low probability path.
  - maneesh 9y ago
    5-figures a week is a high number, no doubt. But are you saying there is NO way to improve one's position in life and income? That, if a path can't be shown repeatedly and reliably in a double-blind clinical study, there is no value in attempting to improve oneself? Do you believe income is fixed, and that if you can't hit a five figure mark, well -- you might as well not try?
    - AFNobody 9y ago
patio11 9y ago
There are plenty of reasons to take a steady job over running a business, even a very lucrative business. I’ve done both; no stressing over Christmas on whether a check will arrive soon enough in January or February to pay for my tax assessment in March has non-zero value to it. Paternity leave was pretty nice. I get to devote a supermajority of my professional efforts to work rather than devoting 10% to business administration and 20% to sales/marketing. Consultants with relatively high rates are not unicorns, any more than lawyers or doctors with high rates are. This is not just repeatable, this is a fairly reasonable career path, much like “work at AppAmaGooBookSoft” is a lucrative but well-trod career path. (Which, btw, have in-the-door offers for mid-career professionals which are reasonably competitive with running a full-time consultancy at $30k/week.)
- AFNobody 9y ago
  > Consultants with relatively high rates are not unicorns, any more than lawyers or doctors with high rates are. This is not just repeatable, this is a fairly reasonable career path, much like “work at AppAmaGooBookSoft” is a lucrative but well-trod career path. (Which, btw, have in-the-door offers for mid-career professionals which are reasonably competitive with running a full-time consultancy at $30k/week.) You are seriously going to engage me with the argument that $600k+ (20 weeks of paid engagements @ $30k/week) a year in income + benefits is common? I think you have a greatly inflated opinion of what the top 25% of software developers get paid let alone what is reasonable and repeatable.
  - unreal37 9y ago
    It honestly sounds like you think $100/hr is the upper limit of consulting earnings. There are at least some people making $250/hr+ as a technical consultant. Is it 0.01%, 0.1% or 1%? Who knows. But it's possible, and it's possible to get there if you're strategic about it.
    - AFNobody 9y ago
      > Is it 0.01%, 0.1% or 1%? Who knows. I said it wasn't common which you are acknowledging. Simply because less some small percentage of people can mange it doesn't make it repeatable.

mgkimsal 9y ago

That person making 5 figures per week often doesn't need or want to be working 'repeatably' or have a full schedule. A couple folks I know charge $15k-$20k/week, but they only care to take on a few of those per year, while pursuing other interests (other business ideas, etc). Even $30k/week is still selling time for money, and "isn't scalable" - maxing out at $1.5m/year even fully booked, which few are.

putnam 9y ago
Are they in-person jobs?
AFNobody 9y ago
I'm talking about number of people able to do it rather than the specific individuals who have gotten into that position.

putnam 9y ago

Why can they not maintain that level of marketing? What is stopping them?

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

maneesh 9y ago

I used to have a similar scarcity mentality --- thinking that because other people were successful, it was like the lottery -- based purely on chance. But I learned over time to develop a abundance mentality -- rather than say 'it can't be done' -- to change my mode of thinking to say 'how did they do it, and is there anything for me to learn.' A consultant making 5 figures a week is not a unicorn, it's not even that uncommon. But it's not just coding -- there's other steps that are also necessary but not sufficient. Building a reputation, building a following (a blog or email newsletter is a good way to get started), meeting people who open doors, etc.

AFNobody 9y ago
Please provide literally any evidence you have that the average consultant can reliably and repeatedly generate 5-figures-a-week-individual consultancy. I can already tell you no such evidence exists but if you want to search for it, you are free to do so. > I used to have a similar scarcity mentality --- thinking that because other people were successful, it was like the lottery -- based purely on chance. > But I learned over time to develop a abundance mentality -- rather than say 'it can't be done' -- to change my mode of thinking to say 'how did they do it, and is there anything for me to learn.' You probably should look up 'reliably' and 'repeatable' and the definition of those words. You really should not attack a straw man. I just understand the probability of X event is Y and I'm not naive enough to try to talk myself into wasting energy on low probability paths. The 5 figures a week consultancy path is exactly such a low probability path.
- maneesh 9y ago
  5-figures a week is a high number, no doubt. But are you saying there is NO way to improve one's position in life and income? That, if a path can't be shown repeatedly and reliably in a double-blind clinical study, there is no value in attempting to improve oneself? Do you believe income is fixed, and that if you can't hit a five figure mark, well -- you might as well not try?
  - AFNobody 9y ago

patio11 9y ago

There are plenty of reasons to take a steady job over running a business, even a very lucrative business. I’ve done both; no stressing over Christmas on whether a check will arrive soon enough in January or February to pay for my tax assessment in March has non-zero value to it. Paternity leave was pretty nice. I get to devote a supermajority of my professional efforts to work rather than devoting 10% to business administration and 20% to sales/marketing. Consultants with relatively high rates are not unicorns, any more than lawyers or doctors with high rates are. This is not just repeatable, this is a fairly reasonable career path, much like “work at AppAmaGooBookSoft” is a lucrative but well-trod career path. (Which, btw, have in-the-door offers for mid-career professionals which are reasonably competitive with running a full-time consultancy at $30k/week.)

AFNobody 9y ago
> Consultants with relatively high rates are not unicorns, any more than lawyers or doctors with high rates are. This is not just repeatable, this is a fairly reasonable career path, much like “work at AppAmaGooBookSoft” is a lucrative but well-trod career path. (Which, btw, have in-the-door offers for mid-career professionals which are reasonably competitive with running a full-time consultancy at $30k/week.) You are seriously going to engage me with the argument that $600k+ (20 weeks of paid engagements @ $30k/week) a year in income + benefits is common? I think you have a greatly inflated opinion of what the top 25% of software developers get paid let alone what is reasonable and repeatable.
- unreal37 9y ago
  It honestly sounds like you think $100/hr is the upper limit of consulting earnings. There are at least some people making $250/hr+ as a technical consultant. Is it 0.01%, 0.1% or 1%? Who knows. But it's possible, and it's possible to get there if you're strategic about it.
  - AFNobody 9y ago
    > Is it 0.01%, 0.1% or 1%? Who knows. I said it wasn't common which you are acknowledging. Simply because less some small percentage of people can mange it doesn't make it repeatable.