I can't say from the details you have given me, but if I were to start a business I would much prefer starting one doing product development rather than consult

I can't say from the details you have given me, but if I were to start a business I would much prefer starting one doing product development rather than consulting. Consulting is a hard business model which doesn't scale very well because you can only sell one hour of your time once. When that hour is gone, it's gone forever. One hour of product development time can be sold as many times as the market can bear. Those hours can be sold while you are sleeping. Meanwhile, the travelling consultant is being run ragged. I know which business model I prefer, but not sure if that translates to which company I would rather work for. Given all the extra time travelling (and lifestyle restrictions / hardships which go with travelling,) it's possible the product development firm actually pays more for your time.