(33a) So You Want to be a Consultant?

The practice of consulting can be a very rewarding career choice for someone who has paid their
dues in the corporate world and is looking to be their own boss. Consultants provide value to
clients for many different situations like solving problems, providing
objectivity, and supplementing staff. However before the professional decides to go down the
consulting road, they must assess their commitment and personality against the attributes
needed for the consulting field. Also, they need to dispel the misconceptions they believe about
consulting like the speed to getting rich, escaping the corporate culture, having more time on
their hands, and winning project from just the forcefulness of their personality.

Once one has performed this assessment, the list of tasks to be performed for entry is long and
time consuming. The first steps involve creating the business plan, followed by
deciding the legal and accounting issues, and then deciding your virtual presence. Dealing with
clients is far different from when the consultant was sitting on the other side of the
desk representing the client. Clients present challenges that must be understood and managed.

This paper reflect my journey starting my consulting business as a Reliability Consultant. I had
the advantage of 30 years of industrial experience along with 5 years of consulting experience from
an engineering firm which taught me the ropes. I offer this journey to others as a case study to
use to judge your commitment to a career change when you decide the 9 to 5 has worn out its
welcome.