4 COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CONSULTANCY

There are several attractions to moving from employment to consulting besides the intrinsic motivation to gain independence while building wealth. But is consultancy all that it is hyped to be?

Here are four myths about consultancy and how you can avoid the pitfalls.

Myth No. 1: Be Your Boss.

The thought! You are probably smiling. The most common attraction to going your way and becoming an independent professional is usually the thrill of being your boss. In simple terms, this means working from anywhere, anytime, and anyhow. Most attractively, this may mean being the founder and CEO of your enterprise or gig; not having a direct supervisor who is always looking to ensure that you are toeing the line and delivering on the company’s time, scope, and resources.

Let us see how this plays out in reality. From the day you step out into your free life and sign your first contract, the excitement soon wears down when you realize that, by the stroke of a pen, you have not just one but several new bosses! Yes, every contract comes with its unique web of bosses, as your dream of ‘being your boss’ suddenly melts faster than butter when you wake up, inundated with phone calls from these strange bosses.

Who are these new bosses? The list is endless: the procurement manager, contract manager, finance director, technical manager, associate this…the list is endless. Woe unto you when you suddenly receive that dreaded direct call from the client firm CEO, unless you know you have delivered exceptionally, and the CEO wants to meet with you for future business.

The kind of control these new bosses can have on you will make you nostalgic about your old boss. Now, I see you wincing.

Myth No. 2: Escape Nine to Five

No more clocking in, no more traffic, and no more time sheets, yippee!

The most prominent proponent for escaping the 9-5 workday is Timothy Ferriss, the New York bestseller and author of ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’. With alacrity and, I dare say, audacity, Ferris doles out in his groundbreaking book great hacks on how to escape the 9-5 work existence. A must-read for anyone out there ready to parachute to freedom.

Back to the conventional methods. The consultancy offers one great choice of how to reorganize time; decide when to start and end your day. The only caution is that time will be the consultant's most obviously stretched resource. The notion that you do not have to work 9-5 is a myth. On the contrary, almost by definition, a consultant who is now self-employed typically must burn the midnight oil daily. Ask the IT Systems consultant who has to respond to a client’s SOS call at 3 am as they face a looming deadline.

The utopian way is to work less, earn more, enjoy more, and achieve more. Yet, a common characteristic of consultancy practice is overlapping deadlines and endless bids for new business. You will be polishing up one or two more business proposals as you finish one task. Soon, you will learn that you cannot walk away from either, while the accompanying pressure is simply maddening. So much for escaping 9-5!

But on the other hand, the more work, the larger the cake!

Myth No. 3: Work from Anywhere

First, let us spot the difference. As a self-employed professional, your clients have a direct say in your final output, whether a product or a service. What, then, is the new -found freedom? The freedom herein is that the client will be okay with how you deliver. However, let us put a disclaimer that the degree to which you can flex anytime, anywhere, invariably lies in the type of service you offer and the fine print of your contract. Depending on the nature of your project, and especially if you have to interact with clients, you may not have much room to manoeuvre but rather operate from a physical office, complete with a receptionist, office assistant, a PDQ machine, and a water dispenser!

In some instances, the contract might stipulate that you work from the client’s office a few days a week or month. While this arrangement has some merit, it can be the most irksome for the consultant. The days often roll over into weeks. Sooner or later, you will start feeling, looking, talking, and behaving like an employee. Often, you will be dragged into irrelevant office meetings and called upon to do work beyond your scope of work. You simply become a part of the furniture.

It is essential to keep the line between consultant and hire. That way, you get more work done against your brief and, on the other hand, keep the organization more responsive to your needs, that is, delivering on their part - reviewing your reports, releasing resources, and generally paying attention when you need them to.

Myth No. 4: Pick the jobs that you like.

Did you know that American rapper Ice Cube, London’s creative director John Galliano, American fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford, Actor Samuel L. Johnson, celebrity singer Seal, Model Courtney Cox, and former US president Thomas Jefferson all studied architecture before they wandered off to follow their hearts in other fields, with great success? You get the drill.

If you feel that you have not arrived yet in your professional career and often get this tugging in your heart to try something else, well, you are in the right place as an independent consultant. It is the re-launching pad to ‘new beginnings’ with the extra benefit of holding on to the old straps until you are steadied.

Consultancy is the opportunity to do anything your heart desires. This has been my biggest motivator as an independent expert-the freedom to select what job to do. Indeed, this depends on the range of knowledge, skills, and competencies you possess and their applicability across sectors and industries. For example, auditors, accountants, and legal and tax consultants can source clients from any industry. In the same vein, they may be free to cherry-pick clients; in other words, say no to specific jobs.

Unlike an employee who must stick to their organization’s core business, a consultant can oscillate towards emerging trends at any time. Oil and Gas, anyone? It is reported that over the next few years, there will be 10,000 new entrants to this sector in the United Kingdom alone, 4,500 of them expected to work in roles that don't currently exist. Isn’t this mind-boggling for consultancy practice prospects?

According to Consultancy UK, the main reasons people become consultants include the opportunity to learn new skills, particularly in a mainly digitalizing global economy, and related to this, the chance to sharpen skills that an employee has but is not able to utilize in their current employment. Not surprisingly, the second most mentioned factor is the need to earn more, thus improving one’s quality of life.

What no one tells you, however, is that with this kind of liberty comes more responsibility. How? As an independent consultant, if you hated job-hunting, you will hate it more. Call it contract hunting or whatever you will.

As I mentioned above, your employers and bosses have only multiplied, which means you are also constantly seeking the next client to secure a contract; burning the midnight oil; working weekends; and toiling while others are on holiday becomes the new normal. You become a professional job hunter. As your profile and brand grow, this may get easier, with clients seeking you out rather than the other way around. But the basics remain- you must put in the bid, which is always much work, dear reader.

Could you share with us the main reason why you began consulting, or if not yet, which of the reasons above is driving you to become a consultant?