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I don’t see why not. Some here on HN are probably getting that much as a salary :-). patio11 has some blog posts on getting up to a $50k a week consulting rate

I don’t see why not. Some here on HN are probably getting that much as a salary :-). patio11 has some blog posts on getting up to a $50k a week consulting rate that would see you hit the target in the first 20 weeks of the year. If it has to be ARR I can imagine courses can make this much (like the top React courses) which require little maintenance I.e. can be managed by one person maybe outsourcing some graphic design and video work but not taking on employees.

patio11 5y ago
My highest charged rate was $30k, though I did have $50k accepted on a proposal once (engagement didn't happen). Presumably rates have moved up in last several years as everything else in tech is moving up (irrespective of whether my value in particular has gone up; would hope it has but highly unlikely anyone is going to be able to hire me as a consultant again). Anyhow: boutique consultancies can absolutely bill a million and change in a year. Separately: there are many one person SaaS and infoproduct businesses which cross the $1M mark. Most would probably prefer me avoid mentioning them by name, and I will make the obligatory disclaimer "I did not need privileged position in the marketplace to come by this information." But to the extent that folks trust me, know that this is both doable and getting more common in the community over time, as entrepreneurs attack better markets, as the Internet touches more people, and as the community gets better about teaching repeatably successful tactics/strategy versus having everyone invent their own businesses from scratch. (I interpreted this question as being about revenue rather than valuation but if it were about valuation the answer is, even more obviously, yes; a typical B2B SaaS company doing ~$300k in revenue will easily clear $1M in valuation. Many SaaS entrepreneurs will get there in about 2-2.5 years from founding.)
gk1 5y ago
Can confirm this is achievable with consulting, though of course not easy. I left my job in 2013 to do consulting, after being inspired by Patio11 (hi Patrick!). It took just one year to hit the six-figure mark, and another few to be in the half-million range. There was a clear path to $1M — I peaked in the upper six-figures — but I chose instead to travel more and then start a family. Amazingly my income remained steady even in those "relaxed" years and also through the pandemic. Eventually consulting stopped being fun and felt more like chasing a high score year after year, so I joined a startup to try something new. So I never did reach $1M. Though if we count equity compensation then I was a stone's throw away, if not over.
- MrDresden 5y ago
  Out of curiosity, what was the subjects/languages/frameworks that you consulted on?

patio11 5y ago

My highest charged rate was $30k, though I did have $50k accepted on a proposal once (engagement didn't happen). Presumably rates have moved up in last several years as everything else in tech is moving up (irrespective of whether my value in particular has gone up; would hope it has but highly unlikely anyone is going to be able to hire me as a consultant again). Anyhow: boutique consultancies can absolutely bill a million and change in a year. Separately: there are many one person SaaS and infoproduct businesses which cross the $1M mark. Most would probably prefer me avoid mentioning them by name, and I will make the obligatory disclaimer "I did not need privileged position in the marketplace to come by this information." But to the extent that folks trust me, know that this is both doable and getting more common in the community over time, as entrepreneurs attack better markets, as the Internet touches more people, and as the community gets better about teaching repeatably successful tactics/strategy versus having everyone invent their own businesses from scratch. (I interpreted this question as being about revenue rather than valuation but if it were about valuation the answer is, even more obviously, yes; a typical B2B SaaS company doing ~$300k in revenue will easily clear $1M in valuation. Many SaaS entrepreneurs will get there in about 2-2.5 years from founding.)

gk1 5y ago

Can confirm this is achievable with consulting, though of course not easy. I left my job in 2013 to do consulting, after being inspired by Patio11 (hi Patrick!). It took just one year to hit the six-figure mark, and another few to be in the half-million range. There was a clear path to $1M — I peaked in the upper six-figures — but I chose instead to travel more and then start a family. Amazingly my income remained steady even in those "relaxed" years and also through the pandemic. Eventually consulting stopped being fun and felt more like chasing a high score year after year, so I joined a startup to try something new. So I never did reach $1M. Though if we count equity compensation then I was a stone's throw away, if not over.

MrDresden 5y ago
Out of curiosity, what was the subjects/languages/frameworks that you consulted on?