Starting your own consultant focused business can be an anxious time, especially if you were previously employed by a consultant company. The questions are many and includes many "how's?"- but doing your own thing might actually be easier than you think! Here are our best tips!
The feeling of working just for yourself is the best in the world for many. Freedom in everyday life, the opportunity to choose only the most exciting assignments and to manage your own career is a big motivation for many who choose their own path.
To make the jump into becoming a consultant/freelancer, you must above all ensure you have the necessary contact platforms for establishing relations with clients - and winning assignments. In addition, you must make sure you have a really sharp consultant profile. These are the two most important points for success, everything else will fall into place over time!
Get help from an expert and focus on the assignment
It is common for many consultants making the move to the independent life to worry about all the practical aspects of having your own business. How do I register the company? Shall I choose a limited company or a private company? How do I handle the bookkeeping? Instead of getting stressed about these matters, you should approach an expert straight away for help with all the administration and practicalities. This expert could be a consultant supplier such as Ework. Do not waste your time and energy on comparing bookkeeping systems or doing your own VAT - let the professionals do it instead! This requires you to have a small income in your company already, but will be worth it from the start.
The most important thing is that you have the opportunity to prioritise your actual work, focus on your skills development and win the assignments you dream of. Investing your time and energy on things you are good at is all-important for doing well in your assignments. As a consultant, you are your own product, and showing off your abilities in the right way and demonstrating good results will take you very far!
How to find your place as a consultant
A big part of being your own boss is about networking, creating new contacts and, not least, promoting yourself in the right way. This is an ongoing process and one of the most important for finding (and winning) the right assignments. To make this easier, it is important that you are clear about what you have to offer. What are your strengths? What are your skills? What do you want from your career? Use these questions to adjust your profile - and the answers will make it much easier to promote yourself!
One enormous advantage will also be to register with a consultant supplier - who will have a wide variation and spectrum of both clients and Projects for you. As well as access to many different assignments, certain suppliers such as Ework have various facilities for making sure you feel at ease with your role as a consultant. They will help you with all your questions, make sure you are always paid on time and provide good insurance for your role. All so you can focus fully on your work.
Finally: do not reinvent the wheel! Get help from experts who can help you with any bumps along the road. When your focus is fully on prioritising the things which will affect your results, your career as an independent consultant will really take off.
