Super interesting read. I agree macro factors like the economy play into people's ability to successfully land work (of course), but I also think there's a lot that an individual can do to position themselves to succeed even with the market is luke warm.
Definitely they can - but it's stacking the odds against you a little to start a practice when times are tough. Not impossible - but important to be aware of it.
I figured when I started my coaching/consulting business that if I could make it in the middle of the deepest darkest recession (2008) I could make it at any time. So I had nothing to lose. 15 years later I’m still here.
Funnily enough I had a plan to be a self employed coach, and likewise, redundancy forced the timing 18 months earlier than I had planned. I did a lot of freelancing work as an associate trainer for the first year, then it become pretty much all coaching with some consulting projects.
Quite sobering reading for me - I had planned to go it alone as a consultant, but redundancy forced the timing. It's been really tough, extremely hard work, but we've had some wins and remain optimistic that we can make our offering 'sellable' even in this market. The work I've done as a consultant has been the most rewarding and interesting work I've done in years, and the feedback we've had has been fantastic, but we are realising that it's going to be so much harder than we initially thought.
I suspect you're not alone. Almost everyone who becomes a consultant soon realises that getting work isn't easy, and there isn't much to go around in most sectors. But then there's probably something to be between satisfying demand and generating demand.
Mr. Millington. That was interesting. I however, disagree for a number of reasons. Actually I think it’s a great time to be a consultant, but it depends on the kind of consulting you’re doing 😉. It also depends on whether someone is trying to make “$1 million a year”.
Everything I have is paid for, and I actually resigned before retirement age in 2021 to care for a mother I almost lost due to poor medical practices and the medical cartel industry. I still hold all my licenses.
I believe there are too many people out there that call themself “consultants” that basically took a nutritional course or certification and call themselves health or life coaches. And these people are actually making darn good money and I don’t know why.
Maybe because people are searching for answers and don’t want to do the research or put in the time themselves. It really goes the same for just about anything else people want to be spoonfed.
I wasn’t raised that way 🙏
My niece who is 30 years old and genius works as a business consultant for a company out of Miami Florida, and makes around $500,000 a year including many weeks of paid vacation, transportation paid for during those times as well, etc. But who wants to work for a corporation? Not me- been there done that 😫
So, depending on a persons area of expertise or niche and deciding on, maybe not, what one is worth, because we never get paid what we’re worth. But what they feel comfortable with charging for their time and helping others.
I believe it’s a calling.
That’s just my five cents worth…. Oh, wait a minute maybe it’s worth more than that lol
I think there's a nuance between whether this is a good time to become a consultant and whether it's a good time to be a consultant.
I'm not sure it's either really. There are certainly many consultants doing well at major organisations (we tend to focus on independent folks), but many of the major consultancies are going through layoffs at the moment and staff utilisation seems to be remarkably low.
I agree with this -- in theory. Yes, when times are good we can take risks, follow our dreams, have a solid foundation for launching something new.
But thanks to the pandemic, many (many!) people couldn't foresee losing their jobs and had no warning that they might be forced to go at it alone.And yes, some took the consulting leap out of desperation but others saw it as a chance to do something brave and ultimately more meaningful.
So I'm standing up for those of us who had to fight our way out of a world shutting down and who found new opportunities in spite of it.
I'm not sure anyone is attacking those you describe. Yet there is something to forging something in the middle of a recession. I began my practice in 2008 - not the most opportune time by any stretch
Super interesting read. I agree macro factors like the economy play into people's ability to successfully land work (of course), but I also think there's a lot that an individual can do to position themselves to succeed even with the market is luke warm.
Definitely they can - but it's stacking the odds against you a little to start a practice when times are tough. Not impossible - but important to be aware of it.
I figured when I started my coaching/consulting business that if I could make it in the middle of the deepest darkest recession (2008) I could make it at any time. So I had nothing to lose. 15 years later I’m still here.
I started around the same time. Back then I didn't realise how difficult it was so it seemed a lot easier after that :-)
Funnily enough I had a plan to be a self employed coach, and likewise, redundancy forced the timing 18 months earlier than I had planned. I did a lot of freelancing work as an associate trainer for the first year, then it become pretty much all coaching with some consulting projects.
Quite sobering reading for me - I had planned to go it alone as a consultant, but redundancy forced the timing. It's been really tough, extremely hard work, but we've had some wins and remain optimistic that we can make our offering 'sellable' even in this market. The work I've done as a consultant has been the most rewarding and interesting work I've done in years, and the feedback we've had has been fantastic, but we are realising that it's going to be so much harder than we initially thought.
I suspect you're not alone. Almost everyone who becomes a consultant soon realises that getting work isn't easy, and there isn't much to go around in most sectors. But then there's probably something to be between satisfying demand and generating demand.
Thanks for the mention Richard!
Interesting, cause it feels like consultants are popping up everywhere hahaha.
Although your point makes a lot of sense.
I think consultants are - but that's also due to layoffs I suspect.
Mr. Millington. That was interesting. I however, disagree for a number of reasons. Actually I think it’s a great time to be a consultant, but it depends on the kind of consulting you’re doing 😉. It also depends on whether someone is trying to make “$1 million a year”.
Everything I have is paid for, and I actually resigned before retirement age in 2021 to care for a mother I almost lost due to poor medical practices and the medical cartel industry. I still hold all my licenses.
I believe there are too many people out there that call themself “consultants” that basically took a nutritional course or certification and call themselves health or life coaches. And these people are actually making darn good money and I don’t know why.
Maybe because people are searching for answers and don’t want to do the research or put in the time themselves. It really goes the same for just about anything else people want to be spoonfed.
I wasn’t raised that way 🙏
My niece who is 30 years old and genius works as a business consultant for a company out of Miami Florida, and makes around $500,000 a year including many weeks of paid vacation, transportation paid for during those times as well, etc. But who wants to work for a corporation? Not me- been there done that 😫
So, depending on a persons area of expertise or niche and deciding on, maybe not, what one is worth, because we never get paid what we’re worth. But what they feel comfortable with charging for their time and helping others.
I believe it’s a calling.
That’s just my five cents worth…. Oh, wait a minute maybe it’s worth more than that lol
Thank you for the article and have a great day 🌞
I think there's a nuance between whether this is a good time to become a consultant and whether it's a good time to be a consultant.
I'm not sure it's either really. There are certainly many consultants doing well at major organisations (we tend to focus on independent folks), but many of the major consultancies are going through layoffs at the moment and staff utilisation seems to be remarkably low.
I agree with this -- in theory. Yes, when times are good we can take risks, follow our dreams, have a solid foundation for launching something new.
But thanks to the pandemic, many (many!) people couldn't foresee losing their jobs and had no warning that they might be forced to go at it alone.And yes, some took the consulting leap out of desperation but others saw it as a chance to do something brave and ultimately more meaningful.
So I'm standing up for those of us who had to fight our way out of a world shutting down and who found new opportunities in spite of it.
I'm not sure anyone is attacking those you describe. Yet there is something to forging something in the middle of a recession. I began my practice in 2008 - not the most opportune time by any stretch
That was my thought--some moments "choose" us!