When you’re setting up as a freelance consultant Doing It For The Kids

“Hi Frankie and Steve

I’ve worked for a company (employed) for over 12 years. It’s grown from 50 people to a 5,000+ strong agency.

I work with digital technology as an Account Director and I’ve managed some decent clients. My key skills are listening to, understanding and challenging client requirements, and then translating them into actionable, achievable outcomes. I have the soft skills of technology, but I don’t code.

I’m now fed up with the increasing internal hierarchy, unnecessary process bollocks and the required emphasis on being seen to do things (like PowerPoint decks) rather than actually achieving valuable outcomes for clients.

Anyway, I’m currently on 3 months of gardening leave so I have some time to plan my goals, brush up on skills, and, of course, do some gardening…

Ultimately, I want to go freelance, but I don’t want to be known as a “C” word (Consultant) as I intend to actually roll my sleeves up and do work such as designing Proof of Concepts, helping their development teams and deciding on the right technology.

What advice can you give someone wanting to go freelance when it’s about services and outcomes rather than outputs? That is, I don’t create, say, graphics or videos. Instead, I help clients define their problems and investigate solutions.

Any thoughts? Thanks, Colin”