Consultant, Contractor, or Employee

I am new to the consulting business. I worked for a great company for 32 years and when they restructured, it was my turn to go back into the real world, as we called it.  I made the decision to become a consultant rather than look for a job because I realized I had a lot of broad experience and I wanted to offer my help to as many organizations as I could. That said, I promptly put Project Management Consultant on my business cards, set up a webpage and started looking for work.

So, what did I do wrong? Everything; and I should have known better. I didn’t plan; I used what I call the enthusiasm process – fire, aim, ready.

When you apply for a contract position, people treat you like a potential employee.  I have something like 20 versions of my resume – is that what a consultant does? I talked to my contacts, I had a lot in the small community of credit unions, and everyone was happy to point me to jobs that were available. It just didn’t seem to fit properly with what I envisioned.  So, taking a step back I had a ‘duh’ moment and realized I needed to build a plan to start a business.

I treated the process like a project. I built a 1^st quarter goal. I thought long and hard about what business I was in. If I were a project management consultant, I would need to find out what projects were in the early stages. I needed to find a second line of business to minimize the risk of dry periods, and I needed to get some income coming in fast.

I learned that there’s a big difference between a consultant, who gives advice, and a contractor, who does a job. I knew I wanted to be a consultant. As I built my pitch and thought about marketing myself, I found that there are many small business people who don’t know what project management is, they are used to just getting things done. If I was going to target that market, I needed to explain project management and my differentiator, hard to do in a 2-minute pitch.  I had determined that small and medium companies were where I could add value, and my differentiator was that I would build capability in the business as I worked with them.  I wanted to grow my business through training and mentoring, not necessarily project managing.  And, I knew if I was going to be successful as a consultant I would have to be able to explain what benefit the client would receive.

The hardest part for me, and I’m guessing a lot of people who became free from the corporate bonds in the last year, was navigating the passage from employee to advisor. The best step I took was going online and finding business meet up groups.  Find one and go, you’ll meet with people who are in the same boat as you and people who’ve been there. I was amazed by how much free and graciously offered help was available. I had the good luck to join in with a group of people working to create a marketing process bible. Working with this great group of people has helped me refine my understanding of what business I have chosen to be in.  Each time I answer that question, it gets a little clearer and I get a step closer to being able to identify and attract the client I can help.

How have I done with my first quarter goal? I missed it by a week. If I hadn’t written down my goals, I don’t think I would have achieved it at all. Because of it, I’ve started on my first engagement and I’ve made progress in developing my training and mentoring business line. I know there will be difficult times ahead; I know I’ve been very lucky so far. More importantly, I know I’ve made the right decision.

My tip of the week is for those of you who are still trying to figure out what you want to do when you grow up.

Get out there and try different things. Join groups. Talk to people. Keep working on your vision. Make a list of four things you want to accomplish this quarter and start figuring out how to accomplish them.

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~Franklin D. Roosevelt