When I hit my FI number or get very close to it, my plan is to transition into part-time consulting work. I love my field and I'm great at it, but I also love independence and calling my own shots, and I hate office bullshit.
My current numbers have me about 7-10 years away from FI. Last fall, I decided to try looking for short-term consulting work now, because it could accelerate FI significantly. I also wanted a taste of what the work would actually be like - I knew I was idealizing it to some extent because of kvetching I hear from friends who consult in related fields.
Great news! Without trying very hard at all, I found three organizations who were enthusiastic about working with me. This surprised me - I assumed that courting clients would be like pulling teeth, because there's just not a lot of money flying around in the arts/culture sector, where most of my clients would be.
However, I'm already starting to question the initial attraction to consulting:
- Prospective Client 1, a well-established arts non-profit, invited me for a meeting, and told me immediately that they wanted me on board for a high-profile project. Awesome! They then ignored my follow-up questions and dropped off the face of the earth for four months, re-emerging with a grant proposal with my name attached to it, describing a project that was totally different from what we talked about. Oh, and could I sign and return it in the next hour, because the proposal is due this afternoon.(I did it, because what they were describing would actually be only a few hours of work on my part)
- Prospective Client 2, a shoe-string community organization, expressed strong interest in hiring me (as part of a team this time) for a "rescue" project they can't handle. However, they also asked us to respond to a bunch of follow-up questions that raised many red flags, indicating that they were not willing to give us the decision-making authority we needed to execute the project. And which also suggested they were unwilling to change the behavior that got them into such a pickle in the first place. We responded with a polite "our way or the highway" email and might remove ourselves from consideration.
Prospective Client 3 is just in the "we might need you soon" stage, so I'm not complaining about them yet.
So, my first impression is that consulting is just as loaded with pointless bullshit as 9-to-5 office work! Consultants and other independent contractors, I am seeking your wisdom - Is this part of a normal learning curve? Am I just waking up to the reality that consulting isn't the cakewalk it's cracked up to be? Do I just need to be assertive and selective? I get that I can't force clients do anything they don't want to do, but what are the best ways to mitigate indecisiveness and inconsistency?
FWIW, I've read several books on launching a consulting business, but I'll take other recommendations. One significant difference between my situation and what I typically see in case studies is that I can't work 100% remotely and independently. My expertise is in working with physical sites and objects, as well as management and personnel stuff.