PICA Member Spotlights
Q&A with independent consultants who successfully “made the leap” and created the consulting career of their dreams
Q: Please introduce yourself and tell us about your business.
A: My name is Jim Rink. I worked for a Fortune 100 company for 30 years in various leadership roles in manufacturing and engineering. I had the opportunity to take an early retirement in 2019, and I launched a company called Integris 360 Leadership (i360L). I specialize in helping mid- to large-sized manufacturing companies to understand the people, performance, and profitability expectations of the organization, and through a process of evaluation, assessment, and team engagement, to deliver an implementation strategy for immediate gains and long-term improvements. Basically, I do operations consulting in the manufacturing sector.
Q: Why did you decide to become an independent consultant?
A: After taking the early retirement I received an invitation to participate in a consulting engagement with a company I knew well. I was interested but I did not want to work for this company full time; I did not want to be limited to working for them and I wanted to experiment with different "alternative revenue streams." The more I didn’t do what I’d always done, the more I liked it, and I realized there were actually other things I liked doing more. This opened several options for me as to how to structure my relationship with the asking company. I soon appreciated my new-found freedom and independence, and I loved learning, so I decided I wanted to "run my own show." That’s when I created a solopreneur LLC and jumped in.
Q: How did you “make the leap” to being self-employed?
A: I was working on a gig but I knew I didn’t want to work for that company. They said, “Well, you’ll have to figure out how to have your own LLC and everything that goes along with that.” I said, “That sounds fun.” So, Google became my coach for a while as I researched which business structure was good for my needs. (Unfortunately, I didn’t know about PICA’s business resources then!) The company offering me the consulting engagement had explicit requirements for insurance which made that part easy. I called a few friends who were already doing similar work and asked for recommendations on insurance companies. [Editor’s note: PICA recommends Hiscox or CoverWallet.]
Q: What’s one thing you know now that you wish you’d known then?
A: There are lots of things, but I think it would be related to calculating your rate, terms and conditions, billing for travel… things like that.
Of course, I wish I had known about PICA sooner. The PICA Network is a great resource for individuals contemplating stepping into consulting or those that have stepped in but want to know more or learn more faster. I met the founder Liz about a year into my journey through a seminar that Patina Solutions was hosting with her. I attended the seminar, checked out PICA, and found my tribe.
Q: What’s been your biggest challenge, or, what have you had to figure out and how did you do it?
A: Building a customer base. I had no idea how long this would take and just kept at it. I didn’t know when the next gig would show up. COVID brought my first engagement to a dramatic stop but I kept experimenting with various opportunities. I also kept my interest alive with the company I did my first consulting engagement with. They had various small engagements that kept me busy and I kept working other options and keeping my name out there in my network. But it was definitely choppy to begin with and a good bit of starting and stopping.
Q: What’s next for you and your consulting business?
A: My next challenge is scaling. Right now, I have more opportunities than I can go after, even though I realize that business could dry up in a moment. This is good because it forces me to be focused, but I also think I could expand my offerings with some scaling. I am still working through this. [Editor’s note: Come to PICA member office hours and we’ll talk through it!]
Q: How can people find out more about you or your business?
A: They can reach out to me on LinkedIn, or check out my website. I would love to connect with more people from the PICA Network!
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