Why I Became A Consultant
I had the opportunity this past week to meet with some terrific professionals who were considering making the leap into independent consulting. Hearing their stories, along with their concerns, led me to reflect upon my own journey into this line of work.
The pithy answer to this question is “Necessity.” A few years ago, I accepted a separation package from the company I’d been working for and began casting about seeking my next role. I ran into a conundrum right away: my background was too diverse to easily fit into a well-defined role. I had multi-industry experience where most roles at my level favored deep experience within one industry. My skill set ranged all over Operations and Finance; most roles preferred staying within one lane for the length of a career. I was far too experienced in some ways and far too inexperienced in others. I didn’t fit easily into the box hiring managers invariably wanted me in.
It just so happened that my diverse experience which created such headaches for recruiters filling traditional corporate roles was ideal for consulting, where being able to solve a wide range of business problems across many different companies and industries was crucial. I discovered I had a secret superpower: unlike many consultants who are either fresh from business school or have never done anything but consult, I knew how to navigate corporations. Moreover, my constant leaping around looking for the next big problem to solve provided me with a wide network of contacts, many of whom were now senior leaders within their companies. I also already had a consultant’s skillset: 25 years of process improvement and project management wherein you function as an internal consultant (an outsider on the inside) will do that for you.
I met a former colleague for a beer and he recommended hanging out my own shingle as a consultant, having been successful at that enterprise himself. I took his advice, established my LLC, and met with an accountant to get everything set up. He then became my first client.
The first engagement didn’t stretch my skillset any. It involved visiting all of the company’s facilities and fully documenting their production processes. Of course, as I visited each site, more information to be gathered would be requested. By the time this 1st phase concluded, I was the only one in the company besides my client who knew how all of the sites did things. As I proved my mettle with these small deliverables, I was invited to do more. Soon leaders within the company were asking when I’d finally come aboard.
Nine months into my consulting life I was presented with an offer to join the company. Once I did, I worked on a number of projects within Operations, finally winding up managing the capital expense portfolio for the company in what was more of a Finance role than an Ops one. Then Covid-19 hit and threw a monkey wrench into the company’s plans—-and mine.
Now I’m back in the consulting world and more passionate than ever about the opportunities the post-pandemic world provides. Beyond consulting putting food on my family’s table, it also affords me the ability to play on a bigger cross-industry stage than I could in the service of a single company. I get to use all of my skills and experience and—-given the need to avoid too much idle time—-also allows me to develop sales, marketing, finance, and business development skills to boot. I’m a true entrepreneur selling a single product when you boil it down: my ability to solve complex business problems.
When I talk to folks who don’t want to give consulting a try, it is usually because they say they need job security. I suspect they will reach a point in their career where they realize there is no such thing as job security. That layoff sword hangs over us all and dips a little lower with every passing year and every compensation increase. It is true that any entrepreneurial endeavor involves risk. It is also true that every entrepreneurial endeavor provides equity, meaning that as your risk decreases your assets will increase. You won’t leave the game empty-handed unless you leave it early.
As someone who needs to innovate and to help others solve problems, the perfect job is the one which allows me to serve others without asking permission and to never worry about running out of meaty business problems to solve. If there’s any better profession for such people than consulting, I have yet to find it.