Another disadvantage at the commencement of your business will be that your initial cash-flow will be very low or non-existent as you seek out your first customers.
One of the obvious disadvantages of working for yourself in any business is that you no longer have that (in theory) secure job where you are guaranteed to be paid every month. It is usually more comfortable to have a guaranteed salary being paid into your bank account every month than it is to rely on cheques, cash or electronic payments over the Internet. When you are self employed your payments have unpredictable payment dates. For this reason it is essential that ideally you have a few months salary in the bank to support yourself, especially in the initial stages of your business. However, once your business is established this should not be too much of a problem.
Another disadvantage (but could be an advantage, if you are cunning) is that you have to be able to make the best of the economy as it stands at any moment. It is easier to generate business when the economy is sound but not so good when there are company cut-backs and redundancies. It is unlikely that some companies will be unlikely to take on highly paid consultants when they cannot afford to keep existing staff.
The way to make the best of the situation when the economy is not so sound is in your ability in being able to make companies more efficient, and thus hopefully preventing redundancies, and helping companies to survive a turbulent patch.. In some cases though, you may have to recommend cutbacks. Therefore this can make you a hero or a villain depending on the objectives you have set out. Hence, another reason for being thick skinned!
In summary then, here are briefly the advantages and disadvantages of becoming an I.T. Consultant:
Advantages
- You are your own boss
- Being in a position to choose the types of client you wish to work for
- Being in a position to decide how much you will be paid
- Decide where you will work
- Only take on the type of work you are happy with. This could be an area of I.T. you are passionate about.
- You will feel a sense of achievement
- You should enjoy your work, and look forward to the morning alarm for instead of dreading it!
Disadvantages
- Not for the faint hearted, and it helps to be thick skinned!
- You will probably need to work harder than you have ever done before, as you will not just be a consultant, but your own sales person, book-keeper, and administrative clerk in the early stages
- Some people are not cut out for I.T. consultancy. Just because you are a brilliant programmer it does not mean that you can be a brilliant consultant. Consultancy calls for a mix of all round I.T. skills and business acumen.
- The more I.T. skills you posses, the wider the range of services you will be able to offer, unless you have a niche market and a sound customer base.
- You will no longer be in that secure job, unless, initially you work alongside your main job as you build up your business
- You will need to be business-savvy when the economy is not so good, in order to continue obtaining work
What are your lifestyle and earning goals?
The goals you set for your consultancy must be realistic. Set goals that you know you can achieve. However, you should allow for your goals to have an element of challenge to enable you to grow. Setting goals you know you can easily achieve to some extent will limit potential in learning new I.T. skills.
At the end of the day, it's down to you as an individual what your objectives will be, based upon your skills your motivations and your potential client base.
It helps in the early stages if you have friends and potential clients who you know will be interested in yor services. The I.T. skills matrix we looked at earlier should enable you to decide which skillsets you are going to market, and the skills you wish to add to your portfolio.
It is always best to start small, even if your ultimate aim is to make your business into a "big fish". By starting small you will learn about how bigger consultancies operate, and understand the pitfalls before you venture in "too deep" at the outset.
When setting your goals, have a short, medium and long term plan. The range of periods for these is up to you. In this case we have chosen the next month, the next 6 months, and from 6 months to the next 3 years.
In terms of I.T. consultancy, this should take the form of a plan. By fulfilling the steps in the plan, you can see where you are going and achieve your ultimate objectives.
