consultantsonthego.com

One of the absolutely most important issues you have to think about is - how will this affect my life? You may think that’s not important now, but trust me, how your family will react to your new career, and the changes that will affect them as well as yourself,

Some questions to ask yourself (along with your significant others) are:

1.) Do I have enough money saved up to put me through the periods where I am not working/I am looking for a position.

Emergency funds are especially important as a consultant. Most contracts allow your employer to terminate you at any time, while you still have to give them anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks advance notice if you want to quit. Make sure that you tailor your emergency fund based on your normal monthly expenditures - create a budget, track your expenses for a couple of months, and you will have a good ballpark of what your initial savings should look like (a good budget tracking sheet can be found here (link)). I would have at least 2 months worth of savings under my belt, although you can (if you’re a risk taker) gamble on the fact that if you’re making triple your normal salary, say $100/hour versus the $30/hour you made in your full-time job, you will save plenty of money once you get the job. The trick is, it’s sometimes difficult to land that first contract, but finding it is a full-time job in its own right, so you can’t always keep your old job while you’re looking. Be smart, plan ahead.

Make sure your spouse is comfortable with the idea of a cyclic income. Make sure he or she is aware of what you’re getting into. More than one relationship fell apart from the stresses of long absences and fluid income cycles.

2.) Am I willing/able to be away from my family/responsibilities at home for extended periods of time?

 The truth is, some people have commitments that do not allow them to be away for extended periods of time such as health concerns, family obligations, etc. You need to decide, ahead of time, whether once you enter into a contract with an employer, those contractual obligations can be met i.e. will you be able to commit the time to the project. Do NOT take a project just because you want it, or because it’s the first offer and you don’t want to lose it, or the one with the most money. Those are not necessarily the best criteria.

3.) Do I mind travel/flying/living in hotels?

 You’ll probably say “heck, no!!!” if you think consulting is glamorous. Read what I have to say and try it again.

Transportation can be a pain. unless you own a private jet (and hey, many consultants DO splurge on chartered flights, as they are readily available these days from reputable aviation companies - many offer special packages where several consultants/business people can contribute to rent a flight OR you can even buy partial ownership in an aircraft, chances are you will have to put up with unreliable flight schedules, weather delays (especially if you work in the Midwest or on the East Coast in the winter), difficult connections - in short, long travel days.

 AMTRAK and other rail services are also available for shorter distances, but I have yet to meet a consultant who can afford the time to take a train in North America. In Europe, this option is more realistic and often quite nice, especially the overnight trains for cross continental trips.

 If you’re consulting within driving distance, this may seem ideal but remember, there are traffic jams as well as the use of your own car, which means you have to establish contractual agreements on reimbursement for travel time, mileage, and other costs. Strangely people often forget this even though they may have no problem billing for their air flights.

 Hotels are not always what they seem. Without a corporate account you quickly find out that hotels are expensive, especially in larger urban centres. They can also be unreliable, and if you favor shorter contracts, you literally never know what you will get even with established chains. Many hotel chains purchase smaller hotels that are not necessarily up to the same standards so know what you’re getting. The other option is finding an executive or regular rental if you’d rather have the flexibility of a kitchen, a yard, or any other amenities that hotels cannot necessarily provide. Renting is also often cheaper, and can be easily found on internet sites such as the ubiquitous www.craigslist.com.

 
Travel planning can be tough. Although you can use a travel agent for flight and hotel bookings or hire a personal assistant (eventually, unless you have a family member who wants to help), I tend to book all my travel by myself, online. The Internet is a treasure trove for those who are willing to make an effort to find best flights at cheaper prices, and if your contract is all inclusive, this makes all the difference in how much money you take home at the end of the month. Good sites for travel planning include www.kayak.com (allows you to compare several vendors for flights, hotels, and car rentals), www.orbitz.com, www.travelocity.com.

 It’s often good to invest in a PDA device (I have to admit though, I LOVE my iPhone and consider it the best device I’ve found on the market) to keep track of flight delays and be ready to re-book at a moments notice so you are not stuck in a 100-long queue of irritated passengers. Or you can hire a personal assistantJ to help you with travel planning and my next point.

4.) Do I mind keeping track of every receipt, every penny, every transaction? How organized am I? Who can organize me better?

This is an important part of your family survival guide for consultants, even if you think that’s your own responsibility. That’s true, to a point - but you are essentially your own business as a consultant, and that comes with all the responsibilities that are usually done by the HR or Payroll departments. This means that your mistakes, your commitments to the federal revenue departments, your ability to document and track will affect your income and ultimately, your family life.

Additionally, don’t expect your spouse to serve as your administrative assistant, especially if he/she has a job of their own. Both timesheet and expense sheet management is another full-time job that you have to consider either a.) outsourcing to an accountant, personal assistant, a virtual assistant, or b.) spending those precious hours in the evening or on the weekends doing it yourself. A mix of the two is also possible, which is what I’ve chosen to do, but my point is to make sure you realize the amount of paperwork you’re going to be responsible for. It is not a small matter, and must be discussed.

Plan your time off.  One of the best things that keep my own relationship going are my times away from work.  We plan these ahead of time however, with input from both of us to make sure we’re utilizing our time wisely. It is not good practice to spring a 2-week vacation on an unsuspecting employer who may have a specific timetable in mind i.e. in my practice it is not good manner to take time off during the final stages of the project or the “go live” period.  Planning time off allows you to get home and deal with local issues, spend time with your family, or truly go on a vacation.

Don’t assume your spouse will “sacrifice”.  And trust me, being a consultant’s partner IS sacrifice, in many ways. At the same time, depending on your personality, it can be extremely rewarding. For example, my ideal situation would be to have my spouse travel with me and live wherever I am on contract, be it a 3-month or a 12-month engagement (we have no kids - and that’s another topic!). That would mean my partner will likely not be able to work (unless it’s in the same country), or will have to find a different, short-term job (which can be difficult). I have lived this ideal situation and I love it, but my partner sometimes finds it extremely limiting especially when in a country where work is not possible. So we alternate - sometimes we travel together, at other times I fly in every week or every two weeks, depending on distance and type of project.

On the other hand, many people are not really comfortable spending most of their time alone - I’ve met consulting “widows and widowers”, who feel very much as if they are single parents, or just single. Make sure that you both know what you’re getting into, and that your spouse is comfortable with the commitments ahead of both of you. My spouse had no idea how lonely and often frustrating it would be living on your own all the time, and living through internet conferencing or phone calls (and the expenses on phone calls when you travel for work is yet another story).

The point is, figure out how you want to do this together.