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Ask HN: Starting an individual consultancy

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I have been working in the same (highly specialized) area of software engineering for nearly 20 years, and am now considering the prospect of moving into consulting in this area. I will probably not make the move for the next year or two, as I would like to research the prospects, brush up on some related skills, and know what I am getting into.

I am wondering if there are others who have made a similar move, and what advice they have.

Is there any chance of being successful these days in a consulting company where you are the only employee?

Keep in mind that in all likelihood I will be working on one of a couple open source projects, or updating already constructed proprietary software - it's very unlikely that I would be asked to design and construct a new piece of software as it's tens of person-years of effort in this area. As a result, companies that hire me would not be completely screwed if I were to die a horribly tragic death, so being the only person in this consulting company wouldn't have the same drawbacks it might have in other instances.

Also - there tends to be a regular trickle of contract positions in this particular area - I just don't want to work for someone else if I can manage it (although I might be open to that if it's the only way to swing getting out of a full-time gig - take a couple six month contracts a year with a month or so break in between each).

My goals are to be able to work remotely, and take some time off occasionally (more than the 3-5 weeks/year I have gotten in my last couple positions - perhaps more like 6-10 weeks/year), and if possible do a little travel while working remotely (I know, probably pushing my luck on this one). I currently pull down approx $200k + a small amount of stock, and I don't necessarily need to clear that much, but if I am taking care of my own healthcare, etc., I do want to make sure that after all of that I am not too far below that (let's say $140k).

Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated.

3 comments

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michael_dorfman
I have been working in the same (highly specialized) area of software engineering for nearly 20 years

First question: how many potential customers have you come in contact with? Presumably, after 20 years you know the niche: how many companies are there out there that would be interested in hiring your services?

Next question: Any way you can build any "name recognition" in the niche? This is where "personal branding" becomes a good idea-- I'd start blogging, if I were you, and participating in conferences, etc.

The hardest part about being a one-man consultancy is customer acquisition. If you can create a situation where the customers are coming to you, asking you to work for them, you're golden. So: start from there, and work backwards-- how can you make that happen, in two years?

retube
The most important thing you need, besides your skill-set, is an existing market you can tap into. And by that, I mean lots of people you personally know at lots of firms who need the kind of work done that you can provide. Starting out "cold", with no leads, will be tough.

Ideally, your customer set will be behind your move into self-employment. Even more ideally, you'll have a job or two lined up when you quit your day job.

Edit: of course another route to market is via (contract) recruitment agencies. If there is (regular) activity in recruitment channels for your particular specialisation, then obviously that is something you can leverage too.

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