PICA Member Spotlights
Q&A with independent consultants who successfully “made the leap” and created the consulting career of their dreams
Q: Why did you go independent?
A: I wasn't really looking to become independent. I had a W-2 job and one of my friends knew somebody who needed help and asked if I would consider doing it. And I did, and I really, really enjoyed it. I felt that I was making a big difference for that client. In a corporate job, it's a bit harder to feel like you're making a difference. So as new clients presented themselves, I started taking on more clients. So that's how it began. I guess you could say it started as a side hustle, but I wasn’t really hustling. It was something that just presented itself and that I was open to. I had always wanted to try it, but I'm a little conservative in nature regarding a steady paycheck. Fear kept me from doing it earlier, but the timing of the first client just worked out perfectly. It gave me a little bit of experience and confidence with being self-employed, without really having to jump in the deep end of the pool.
Q: What's been your biggest challenge?
A: I've been really lucky because all of my clients are referrals. I haven't even had a chance to set up a website, so all of my business is by word of mouth. Which is great, but sometimes you get a client who's not a good fit. I did get one company that was just not a fit at all. I ended up transitioning that client to someone else. It was really hard because of my relationship with the person who referred this client to me, and also the income loss. It was very scary to say, ‘Look, this isn't working anymore.’ I also called the person that referred me and said, "It’s not working out with the person you referred. I just wanted to let you know." So they had a heads up and understood the situation and I was able to keep my relationship with that client intact and even get more referrals from her going forward.
I have found that the key to my business relationships is honesty. But sometimes that can be a bit of a challenge. I have to be honest with clients, honest with the people in my network that refer me, and honest with myself as far as what I can handle, and whether the effort and potential stress is worth the money. After I transitioned this client, I ended up getting two additional clients that were both a good fit and the money was considerably better. It reminds me of a comment that a PICA member said recently: “Sometimes you have to say no to get to yes."
Q: So what's next for you and your consulting business?
A: I'm lucky to say that currently, I’m at full capacity. I actually went over full capacity in the last couple of years and realized that I just couldn’t give my clients the service level I am accustomed to giving. My clients weren’t complaining yet, but I want to give my third, fifth, fifteenth, and thirty-fifth client the same level of service that I give my first client. When you reach this point (and you are screaming in your car to let off stress), you realize you either need to hire people, reduce your number of clients or give sub-par services. For me, hiring people just wasn’t an option and there was no way that I could cut services or give clients 80% of what I can do. The clear option for me was to reduce my client load. I’m lucky because I was able to do this with switching to a monthly fee structure that allowed me to stay income balanced.
Q: This may be leading the witness but would you say that your key branding element is your reputation?
A: Yes, yes, yes! There really is nothing else!
Q: What's the best way for PICA members to get in touch with you?
A: At this time, I am just doing networking. Typically the person who has work that needs to be done calls or emails me and gives me the info on the project. I’ll then ask around and see if I can find a good fit for them. If so, I’ll connect the two. In terms of connecting with other PICA members, a direct message via our community app is probably best.
