PICA Member Spotlights

Q&A with independent consultants who successfully “made the leap” and created the consulting career of their dreams

Laura Wilson spotlight image.png
 

Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us about your consulting specialty?

A: Hi, thank you for the opportunity to talk with you and for all the information you've provided to us through PICA. I started BioStrategies Consulting LLC in June of 2020, and I advise biotech companies on clinical development strategy. I provide clinical trial design support and assist with execution of the trials; which means getting the clinical trials started at various study sites.  Additionally, I assist with safety surveillance during the clinical trials, particularly for ophthalmology clinical trials.

Simply put, I help clients with their clinical trials so that they can bring exciting new products to market for unmet medical needs. 

Q: Did I hear you say you specialize in ophthalmology?

A: Yes.  I specialize in ophthalmology clinical trials.  I’ve worked in the retina clinical trial space for over 16 years.  I'm an internal medicine physician by training. I’ve been involved with many types of retinal trials which include the evaluation of new medications for age-related macular degeneration, geographic atrophy, retinal vein occlusion, uveitis and diabetic eye disease. I'm using some fancy terms, but all of these ocular diseases can negatively our vision.  Many (but not all) of these ocular diseases now have some treatment options.  I feel very fortunate to be working with one of the gene therapy companies that is evaluating a potential new medication for age related macular degeneration.

Q:  I always counsel consultants that it's good to have a niche, to be a specialist in something, but I get the impression that you have a niche within a niche. Is that true?

A: Yes. I suppose that I do have a niche within a niche. I really don’t have the bandwidth to take on any new clients, but what would tempt me to take on a new client is if a company were to need support for a COVID-19 vaccine trial or a medication for COVID-19.  I probably could find an extra 10 hours a week if a new client wanted me to work on something to do with COVID-19.

Q: This seems like such a specific niche of running clinical trials. Why did you decide to go independent to do this?

A: I was working for a large bio-pharmaceutical company and had the opportunity to continue working there or do something else.  I had been considering consulting as an option. Therefore, when the opportunity came up, I was excited about the idea of doing something new and the timing just happened to be right. As you are aware, many of the schools closed due to the pandemic so my daughter was in virtual learning, plus many companies were looking for consultants and everybody was working from home. It just seemed like the timing was right, so I started talking with my network of colleagues and friends.  I let them know that I was looking for a different job and also considering consulting. Many people offered their advice and mentioned they had consulting work for me if I decided to go that route.  So, I joined PICA and started taking all the classes I could to learn about starting an independent consulting business. I also enrolled in the ‘Getting Started Bootcamp’ and realized consulting could offer the flexibility that I needed right now. I’ve discovered that I really enjoy consulting!

Q: You mentioned the flexibility, but what else do you like about being independent versus part of a larger company?

A: I like the ability to choose which projects I'm focusing on at a particular time.  I have definite deliverables but I’m able to complete them on my timeline (for the most-part), and as long as I meet (or exceed) the client’s deadline. I'm fortunate in that I have two clients that keep me extremely busy.  My daughter is 13 so I'm beginning to experience the disgruntled teenager that will engage in activities with me on her terms. I know what she is interested in so we are able to spend Wednesday afternoons together doing her favorite activity. If I have a deliverable that day, I get it done in the morning or in the early evening. I'm not sure I’d have the same flexibility if I were working full-time for a company.

Q: What's one of the hardest things that you've had to figure out about being self-employed?

A: The hardest thing for me is the taxes and all of the other business payments that are due and the timelines of when they are due.  I find it difficult to keep track of it all.  I live in a city that has its own city business tax, and of course California has their own state tax.  I’ve hired an amazing Bookkeeper and accountant to help me with all the forms, administration and deadlines. The operational part of the business has been the most difficult for me for me because I’m not terribly interested in the administrative aspects of running a business. As the owner and employee of my business, learning about all the components to run a successful business has been a challenge.  I’ve heard it is like trying to build the car while you are racing down the highway.  Now I understand what they mean.

Q: You pay yourself like an employee of the business? You put yourself on a payroll?

A: Yes. I file a 1099 with the companies that I work for, and then I am paid via payroll by my company. I have it worked out with my accountant. To be honest, it was a little bit of trial and error. I spent some good money on a payroll company that didn't work out at all. I couldn't get anybody to respond to me, but now I’m working with a company that is very helpful and responds immediately when I have a question.  I really enjoy that they try to educate me on how to run the business as well as instruct me on what needs to happen when.  They send regular emails with instructions like -  "Here's what you need to do: A, B and C. This is what we want to see, when we want to see it, and have a margarita while you're doing it." They're funny in how they coach you through it. It actually makes you want to read the newsletters that they send on a monthly basis.

Q: So just to clarify for people, the reason you put yourself up on a payroll was primarily for tax reasons, right? So you are filing your taxes as an S corporation, and to do that, you need to pay yourself as an employee.

A: That's right.  One of the things I learned through PICA was that an S-corporation was an option. When I talked to various people, as well as the accountant that I'm currently with, they felt that based upon my business, that filing my taxes as an S-corporation was going to be the best choice for me.  It is important to realize that once you set up your LLC, you need to determine fairly soon whether you want your business recognized as an S-Corporation (and of course there are more forms to fill out to make that happen).

Q: You seem very happy with the company that's handling your payroll and bookkeeping now. Would you be willing to share that with the PICA community?

A: Oh, I'm sure they'd be happy if I share it. I went with Watson CPA Group in Colorado Springs (https://wcginc.com) . They provide the entire package, accounting, payroll, tax preparation (personal and business).

Q: What was a pleasant surprise of going independent?  

A: I have to say it's really the flexibility – the ability to take time off in the middle of the day if needed and then get the work done later in the evening. The two clients I ended up keeping don’t seem to mind as long as I get the work done. I had a third client who allowed me to do that too, but with three clients I was working from six o'clock in the morning until seven or eight o'clock at night. I realized that wasn’t going to be sustainable because the point of wanting to do consulting was have some balance and flexibility in my schedule.  Two clients is plenty. In California, as I learned through the PICA workshops, in order for you to be paid as an independent contractor you have to be working with at least two companies.

Q:  How did you get rid of a client?

A: I let them down gently. It was kind of easy in that when they first asked me to consult, I said I didn’t really have the band-width but they talked me into it anyway. I said, "Okay, let's give it a try. I'm happy to help you as much as I can." However,  ultimately, the hours they needed from me were too many for me to have any balance and flexibility in my schedule.  I simply reminded them of our original discussion.   I gave them a name of a friend who's also consulting so they talked to her. I have many friends and colleagues who have also decided to start small consulting businesses. I have recommended a couple of people to various companies that have reached out to me.  

Q: If somebody wants to join your network in the clinical trials or biopharma space, what would be the best way to get in touch with you?

A:  The best way to get in touch with me is via my LinkedIn profile, Laura Wilson MD, or via my website, BioStrategies Consulting. I've had a few people email just to ask if I’d be willing to talk with them about how I started my consulting business so I’ve had some informal conversations with people who are looking to do the same.

By the way, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you have done for independent consultants through PICA. The online resources you have are incredibly helpful, and the events I've attended have been very practical. Jumping out on our own is a leap of faith, and it's great to know that there's somebody there to help. You've made it so much easier for me to be successful as a consultant. I would have been way too overwhelmed to do this without PICA’s help. Thank you for providing such a terrific service to the entrepreneur community.

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