5 ms·

I have some meta advice, having done a bunch of really fun consulting gigs over the past few years: * Flexibility is super important to a lot of people. I lik

by nlh 7y ago

I have some meta advice, having done a bunch of really fun consulting gigs over the past few years: * Flexibility is super important to a lot of people. I like to tell clients “one of the best things about hiring a consultant is that you have no long-term obligations to me. You can cancel our contract on a day’s notice if you want, and I won’t be the slightest bit annoyed.” I’ve never had anyone actually do that, but folks always always react positively to that offer and appreciate it. * Bill by the week, do a one-week minimum, and pair that with the above. You’ll be surprised how often that week turns into six months (or more). * A lot of full-time folks get very threatened when a consultant arrives on the scene (particularly if you’re a generalist, but even if you’re a specialist). This is just a natural protective instinct. Don’t be put off by this - go out of your way to reassure them you’re there to help, work with them, and help them do their jobs better. The defensiveness will often turn into supportiveness and they can become your biggest champions. * Think of yourself like a business, not an employee. Make sure you can be independent, go over-and-above on documentation, and communicate like a professional. Don’t get mixed up with company drama or gossip. You’re above the fray (and that’s why you should be paid accordingly.)

comprev 7y ago
We've recently had an ex-consultant join our team as a perm and one of the biggest challenges he's faced is reducing his ego. It's taken several months to adjust his working methods into a "team player" and realise he's not the only smart person it the room.
- mosselman 7y ago
  We also had an ex consultant join recently and that wasn’t at all like you describe for us.
  - raihansaputra 7y ago
    That might really depend on their experience. "Consultant" is a wide term. They can work for the Big 4 companies around people like them, or one-man-army helping small businesses with stubborn clients. What might be successful for them by having to push those clients might not be a best fit for a team. Doesn't mean they won't fit, but both the team and the ex-consultant need to know the context.
  - spurdoman77 7y ago
    Surprise that consultants can be as different as normal people. Fundamentally I dont think there is a big difference, they just prefer different kind of work. Personally as an employer I really enjoy consultants, because I habe freedom not to order their services when I dont need them anymore. With employees I am kind of obliged to keep them hired until they want to leave.
    - mosselman 7y ago
      > Surprise that consultants can be as different as normal people. That was my point, yes.
- robinduckett 7y ago
  Personally, I thrive when being a facilitator, and I love being the dumbest guy in the room as I get to learn a bunch from interesting people. Keeping egos out of the room is important.
- lowercased 7y ago
  from the other side - I've worked for many years as either the only or the primary person responsible for delivering a project. I've spent a few months on a team in a project this year. The one 'adjustment' I had to make was understanding that if something wasn't delivered, it wasn't "my fault" (or wasn't my fault automatically). I missed a couple of delivery dates - the world didn't end. I pushed out some stuff with errors - other people on the team picked those up and fixed them. I did the same for others when I could. The mindset wasn't so much "I'm the only smart person in the room" as "I've spent 10 years being personally responsible for nearly every aspect of every system - and done that reasonably well - and now there's other people in the process". There's some adjustments to make, and sometimes you don't always know the best way to make those adjustments. Now, some (most?) of the people on that team had < 5 years of professional experience. A couple had ~10-12. I have 25 years. There were times when I tried to offer up my perspective/experience - not because I'm necessarily "smarter" but... if I've seen problems and know how to avoid them... shouldn't we try to avoid them, and help the business avoid those problems? Now, I have been on teams where I am the smartest person in the room (or... the most productive, or the most accomplished, or whatever). It's not like that all the time, but it does happen sometimes, and it can be awkward. Pretending that everyone has equal skill and experience and that all inputs are valid doesn't benefit the project or business, although it might, in the short term, help team morale by not hurting feelings of some people. Some of those same people might end up leaving at a moment's notice anyway (which I've seen happen - don't upset person A - they're valuable(!) - then person A leaves with 1 hour notice).
ramblerman 7y ago
Nice summary, this is great advice. Out of curiosity what size businesses do you target?
- nlh 7y ago
  I wish I could say I “targeted” folks but that would give me too much credit and attribute too much intention :) The gigs I’ve gotten have been referrals / connections through friends. Sweet spot for me is post-funding startup (just beyond scrappy - eg can afford me). But I’ve also done at least one gig for a large multinational. That was the exception, though.
  - ajcodez 7y ago
    In my experience consulting opportunities come through personal connections and often to work with early stage clients that are not very technical. What you bring is experience they can trust because you were referred by someone they know. Clients often don’t have the ability to get the project started or hire the right people so often consultants start as the interim lead developer and then migrate to the interim hiring manager and then pass the baton. I recommend asking for equity if you’re launching early stage companies for clients.
Aeolun 7y ago
> This is just a natural protective instinct. It is also because incoming consultants, or visiting people from overseas, often suggest seemingly practical, but actually pie in the sky solutions, that sends us off on yet another hare brained revision of the system. By the time it turns out the solution wasn’t so practical after all, they’re long gone. It’s very nice when you can steer them to suggest the correct things though, and management is suddenly willing to listen.
notzuck 7y ago
Me and my partner do the same. Billing weekly is what has allowed us to have no contracts in place, worst case scenario we lose 2 weeks pay but that's never happened. We have no contracts because plenty of people have a budget but most are not allowed to sign on behalf of the company without legal and procurement involvement. We're now doing over 500k / year on this model and we've just hired our first offshore contractor to help us with a new implementation we won last week. The plan is to be at 1 million in revenue (with tiny overheads) within the next 18 months.
- TooCleverByHalf 7y ago
  If you wouldn't mind sharing, I'd be interested in hearing what kind of work you provide to clients when hired to consult.
- hazelnut 7y ago
  Do you have multiple clients at the same time? How many weeks do you have no client work? I guess you use it for networking/marketing, right?
- snowwrestler 7y ago
  I'm amazed that companies with required legal and procurement processes will just pay an invoice without a contract. My employer's finance team absolutely will not write a check unless they can tie the invoice to an approved contract.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- AdamGibbins 7y ago
  How do you get gigs without a contract? That no doubt violates all sort of insurance, security and finance rules for most companies.
- jklein11 7y ago
  You might want to talk to a lawyer about how not having an agreement exposes you to risk. This smells like the kind of thing that works out just fine for years until something hits the fan and it explodes in your face. I’d love to learn more about how you got to 500k in revenue. Any chance you have some time to chat?
domlebo70 7y ago
This is great advice. Thanks

by nlh 7y ago

comprev 7y ago

We've recently had an ex-consultant join our team as a perm and one of the biggest challenges he's faced is reducing his ego. It's taken several months to adjust his working methods into a "team player" and realise he's not the only smart person it the room.

mosselman 7y ago
We also had an ex consultant join recently and that wasn’t at all like you describe for us.
- raihansaputra 7y ago
  That might really depend on their experience. "Consultant" is a wide term. They can work for the Big 4 companies around people like them, or one-man-army helping small businesses with stubborn clients. What might be successful for them by having to push those clients might not be a best fit for a team. Doesn't mean they won't fit, but both the team and the ex-consultant need to know the context.
- spurdoman77 7y ago
  Surprise that consultants can be as different as normal people. Fundamentally I dont think there is a big difference, they just prefer different kind of work. Personally as an employer I really enjoy consultants, because I habe freedom not to order their services when I dont need them anymore. With employees I am kind of obliged to keep them hired until they want to leave.
  - mosselman 7y ago
    > Surprise that consultants can be as different as normal people. That was my point, yes.
robinduckett 7y ago
Personally, I thrive when being a facilitator, and I love being the dumbest guy in the room as I get to learn a bunch from interesting people. Keeping egos out of the room is important.
lowercased 7y ago
from the other side - I've worked for many years as either the only or the primary person responsible for delivering a project. I've spent a few months on a team in a project this year. The one 'adjustment' I had to make was understanding that if something wasn't delivered, it wasn't "my fault" (or wasn't my fault automatically). I missed a couple of delivery dates - the world didn't end. I pushed out some stuff with errors - other people on the team picked those up and fixed them. I did the same for others when I could. The mindset wasn't so much "I'm the only smart person in the room" as "I've spent 10 years being personally responsible for nearly every aspect of every system - and done that reasonably well - and now there's other people in the process". There's some adjustments to make, and sometimes you don't always know the best way to make those adjustments. Now, some (most?) of the people on that team had < 5 years of professional experience. A couple had ~10-12. I have 25 years. There were times when I tried to offer up my perspective/experience - not because I'm necessarily "smarter" but... if I've seen problems and know how to avoid them... shouldn't we try to avoid them, and help the business avoid those problems? Now, I have been on teams where I am the smartest person in the room (or... the most productive, or the most accomplished, or whatever). It's not like that all the time, but it does happen sometimes, and it can be awkward. Pretending that everyone has equal skill and experience and that all inputs are valid doesn't benefit the project or business, although it might, in the short term, help team morale by not hurting feelings of some people. Some of those same people might end up leaving at a moment's notice anyway (which I've seen happen - don't upset person A - they're valuable(!) - then person A leaves with 1 hour notice).

ramblerman 7y ago

Nice summary, this is great advice. Out of curiosity what size businesses do you target?

nlh 7y ago
I wish I could say I “targeted” folks but that would give me too much credit and attribute too much intention :) The gigs I’ve gotten have been referrals / connections through friends. Sweet spot for me is post-funding startup (just beyond scrappy - eg can afford me). But I’ve also done at least one gig for a large multinational. That was the exception, though.
- ajcodez 7y ago
  In my experience consulting opportunities come through personal connections and often to work with early stage clients that are not very technical. What you bring is experience they can trust because you were referred by someone they know. Clients often don’t have the ability to get the project started or hire the right people so often consultants start as the interim lead developer and then migrate to the interim hiring manager and then pass the baton. I recommend asking for equity if you’re launching early stage companies for clients.

Aeolun 7y ago

> This is just a natural protective instinct. It is also because incoming consultants, or visiting people from overseas, often suggest seemingly practical, but actually pie in the sky solutions, that sends us off on yet another hare brained revision of the system. By the time it turns out the solution wasn’t so practical after all, they’re long gone. It’s very nice when you can steer them to suggest the correct things though, and management is suddenly willing to listen.

notzuck 7y ago

Me and my partner do the same. Billing weekly is what has allowed us to have no contracts in place, worst case scenario we lose 2 weeks pay but that's never happened. We have no contracts because plenty of people have a budget but most are not allowed to sign on behalf of the company without legal and procurement involvement. We're now doing over 500k / year on this model and we've just hired our first offshore contractor to help us with a new implementation we won last week. The plan is to be at 1 million in revenue (with tiny overheads) within the next 18 months.

TooCleverByHalf 7y ago
If you wouldn't mind sharing, I'd be interested in hearing what kind of work you provide to clients when hired to consult.
hazelnut 7y ago
Do you have multiple clients at the same time? How many weeks do you have no client work? I guess you use it for networking/marketing, right?
snowwrestler 7y ago
I'm amazed that companies with required legal and procurement processes will just pay an invoice without a contract. My employer's finance team absolutely will not write a check unless they can tie the invoice to an approved contract.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
AdamGibbins 7y ago
How do you get gigs without a contract? That no doubt violates all sort of insurance, security and finance rules for most companies.
jklein11 7y ago
You might want to talk to a lawyer about how not having an agreement exposes you to risk. This smells like the kind of thing that works out just fine for years until something hits the fan and it explodes in your face. I’d love to learn more about how you got to 500k in revenue. Any chance you have some time to chat?

domlebo70 7y ago

This is great advice. Thanks