5 ms·

It sounds like Patrick is doing what most developer/business owners do (me included), which is consult until your product or service based business succeeds. I

It sounds like Patrick is doing what most developer/business owners do (me included), which is consult until your product or service based business succeeds. I tried it twice and twice I nearly burnt out. Luckily, after the second time, my business was making me a good living already, so I never looked back. The problem is that consulting will take a lot more time out of your life than even a regular job. His clients sound professional and fairly large, but the majority of your clients will be small and mid-sized companies. They will try to nickle-and-dime you for everything because they want to save money. You only have so much mental energy and I found that I didn't have much left over to work on the business. On top of this, you then needed to worry about chasing down customers for payment, which adds to the stress. I also worked for a consulting company (they grew like what is described here). It was very difficult for them to find reliable consultants. We went through so many different people, I was the only one that was still there after a year, when I finally left. It's a brutally difficult business and will sidetrack you to the point where your other business may not ever succeed.

gk1 11y ago
> ...but the majority of your clients will be small and mid-sized companies. They will try to nickle-and-dime you for everything because they want to save money. In case anyone reading this is considering going into consulting: There are good clients out there. You don't hear about them because people don't complain about good clients, they only complain about the bad ones. I've been consulting for two years and never had these problems. It helps to be on a monthly rate (vs hourly) and choose your clients wisely.
- crdb 11y ago
  I agree with this. If you set expectations and make sure you work with decent people (and that last part is just a function of life experience, unfortunately), you will have a much smoother ride. I've had both, learning the hard way. Also agree with monthly rate.
mtbcoder 11y ago
> The problem is that consulting will take a lot more time out of your life than even a regular job. I think this is a key bullet point people often forget when they idealize the whole notion of becoming a freelancer/consultant. Essentially you are taking on several jobs at once, which are generally staffed by full time people in other companies, while also burdening yourself with all of the risk that comes with running a company. Once you become a consultant, you are the company, and there's quite a bit more to it than just filling out the paperwork for the LLC application.

gk1 11y ago

> ...but the majority of your clients will be small and mid-sized companies. They will try to nickle-and-dime you for everything because they want to save money. In case anyone reading this is considering going into consulting: There are good clients out there. You don't hear about them because people don't complain about good clients, they only complain about the bad ones. I've been consulting for two years and never had these problems. It helps to be on a monthly rate (vs hourly) and choose your clients wisely.

crdb 11y ago
I agree with this. If you set expectations and make sure you work with decent people (and that last part is just a function of life experience, unfortunately), you will have a much smoother ride. I've had both, learning the hard way. Also agree with monthly rate.

mtbcoder 11y ago

> The problem is that consulting will take a lot more time out of your life than even a regular job. I think this is a key bullet point people often forget when they idealize the whole notion of becoming a freelancer/consultant. Essentially you are taking on several jobs at once, which are generally staffed by full time people in other companies, while also burdening yourself with all of the risk that comes with running a company. Once you become a consultant, you are the company, and there's quite a bit more to it than just filling out the paperwork for the LLC application.