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What's the appeal of being an independent consultant? Why would you do this versus any other business or job? Genuinely curious what the appeal is.

gk1 7y ago
For me: - I get to work on something new every few months. New company, new people, new challenges, etc. This keeps things interesting. - I get to do what I think is best for the client, rather than taking orders from someone. - Pays much better than salaried positions (for me, at least). - I get to define my own job. If next year I decide to switch from marketing consulting to, say, operations consulting or sales consulting or illustration work or some narrow marketing thing like site conversion optimization, I just update my website headline it's done. - Experience the joy of running a business. Project cash flow, close deals, scope out projects, deliver results, collect feedback, track invoices... Love it. - Ultimate flexibility. Last year I took a month off to travel, and this year I took a month off for paternity leave. All it took is advance notice to my clients, and a return date so they know when we can pick back up.
- bitcoinmoney 7y ago
  Can you share what you consult on?
  - gk1 7y ago
    I'm an engineer-turned-marketing-consultant for enterprise software startups. I help them attract and convert more enterprise customers in a repeatable way.
    - raverbashing 7y ago
      Interesting How long is your average engagement, if you don't mind asking. Also I suspect this requires a lot of travel (and time away from home), correct?
      - gk1 7y ago
        Starts with two months, usually, and on average goes for over a year. As the startup grows there are always new challenges that pop up. Actually I barely travel even though most my clients are in the Bay Area and I’m on the east coast. Everything is done remotely with email, slack, and zoom. I go there once a quarter but even that is just for some face-to-face time and not out of necessity.
0x5345414e 7y ago
For me it's first and foremost freedom to do what I want. I work on what I want, take time off when I want, set my schedule how I want. Also variety. Lots of different projects for businesses in different industries. It's definitely not boring.
elbows 7y ago
I got into consulting mostly for the freedom and schedule flexibility. I work when I want to, and if I wake up feeling tired or unmotivated I can take a morning off instead of having to grind through it. And I can spend significantly less time working overall. I've also found that consulting gives me a healthy amount of emotional separation from my work. I'm hired for a specific task, and I can take pride in doing that well. The long-term success of the client isn't my problem and I don't have to stress about it.
neillyons 7y ago
I didn’t set out with freelancing as my goal, it was more that I decided to travel. I left my employer to travel for six months. On my travels I visited Japan and decided I’d love to go back there. When I came back to the UK I started studying Japanese and applying for a Japanese working holiday visa. I also needed to get some savings together. I could of went back to my employer but it seemed like a lot of effort as I was at my parents place in Northern Ireland and my employer was in England. Moving over is a hassle and I knew I would be leaving after a few months so I decided to try freelancing. I am a Python web developer and couldn’t find any work in Northern Ireland. My clients ended up all being in London and I would work remotely. When I actually moved to Japan my client at the time was happy to continue working with me. Which was pretty cool. I have fond memories of that time. Working in a ryokan, sitting on a tatami mat coding Python. So cool. I ended up working for a company in Japan which was cool. Before my visa ran out my old colleague contacted me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to freelance with him at the same company he was working for. I had my interview over Skype while in Japan so when I came back to the UK I was straight into work. It ended up being more convenient to freelance than to look for a job and I’ve just continued to freelance ever since.

gk1 7y ago

For me: - I get to work on something new every few months. New company, new people, new challenges, etc. This keeps things interesting. - I get to do what I think is best for the client, rather than taking orders from someone. - Pays much better than salaried positions (for me, at least). - I get to define my own job. If next year I decide to switch from marketing consulting to, say, operations consulting or sales consulting or illustration work or some narrow marketing thing like site conversion optimization, I just update my website headline it's done. - Experience the joy of running a business. Project cash flow, close deals, scope out projects, deliver results, collect feedback, track invoices... Love it. - Ultimate flexibility. Last year I took a month off to travel, and this year I took a month off for paternity leave. All it took is advance notice to my clients, and a return date so they know when we can pick back up.

bitcoinmoney 7y ago
Can you share what you consult on?
- gk1 7y ago
  I'm an engineer-turned-marketing-consultant for enterprise software startups. I help them attract and convert more enterprise customers in a repeatable way.
  - raverbashing 7y ago
    Interesting How long is your average engagement, if you don't mind asking. Also I suspect this requires a lot of travel (and time away from home), correct?
    - gk1 7y ago
      Starts with two months, usually, and on average goes for over a year. As the startup grows there are always new challenges that pop up. Actually I barely travel even though most my clients are in the Bay Area and I’m on the east coast. Everything is done remotely with email, slack, and zoom. I go there once a quarter but even that is just for some face-to-face time and not out of necessity.

0x5345414e 7y ago

For me it's first and foremost freedom to do what I want. I work on what I want, take time off when I want, set my schedule how I want. Also variety. Lots of different projects for businesses in different industries. It's definitely not boring.

elbows 7y ago

I got into consulting mostly for the freedom and schedule flexibility. I work when I want to, and if I wake up feeling tired or unmotivated I can take a morning off instead of having to grind through it. And I can spend significantly less time working overall. I've also found that consulting gives me a healthy amount of emotional separation from my work. I'm hired for a specific task, and I can take pride in doing that well. The long-term success of the client isn't my problem and I don't have to stress about it.

neillyons 7y ago

I didn’t set out with freelancing as my goal, it was more that I decided to travel. I left my employer to travel for six months. On my travels I visited Japan and decided I’d love to go back there. When I came back to the UK I started studying Japanese and applying for a Japanese working holiday visa. I also needed to get some savings together. I could of went back to my employer but it seemed like a lot of effort as I was at my parents place in Northern Ireland and my employer was in England. Moving over is a hassle and I knew I would be leaving after a few months so I decided to try freelancing. I am a Python web developer and couldn’t find any work in Northern Ireland. My clients ended up all being in London and I would work remotely. When I actually moved to Japan my client at the time was happy to continue working with me. Which was pretty cool. I have fond memories of that time. Working in a ryokan, sitting on a tatami mat coding Python. So cool. I ended up working for a company in Japan which was cool. Before my visa ran out my old colleague contacted me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to freelance with him at the same company he was working for. I had my interview over Skype while in Japan so when I came back to the UK I was straight into work. It ended up being more convenient to freelance than to look for a job and I’ve just continued to freelance ever since.