Will self-employment suit my personality?

I’ve had enough of corporate life, politics and redundancy threats – so I’m thinking of becoming a self-employed consultant. How can I work out if it will suit me?

Consulting is a relatively risk-free way of starting your own business, the overheads are low and you don’t need to buy stock or rent premises but you should take a long, hard look at your personal situation, likes and dislikes before taking the plunge. The majority of consultants say they wouldn’t swap their new work-style for anything, but every year there’s a significant minority who decide the life just isn’t for them and go back to an employed role.

There are 4 key issues you should consider before deciding to explore self-employment further.

What’s your attitude to risk?

In the current climate you may feel that permanent employment is fairly risky, but if you become self-employed you will need to live permanently with the knowledge that a contract can be terminated at any moment, for any reason and that it’s up to you to organise yourself financially to cope with this and to find the next contract. As a baseline it’s a good idea to work out what money you need to keep going and try to make sure you have at least 6 month’s worth of cash available to ease you through any lean patches.

How outgoing are you?

Quiet, shy people often opt to work for themselves because they can escape the chatter and noise of an office environment and cut loose from company politics. But if you don’t enjoy meeting new people and engaging with them at all, you may find it difficult to sell yourself or build relationships with clients. At the other extreme, very outgoing personalities have no problem working the networking circuit and making contacts but often finding working at home alone a very dispiriting and draining experience. The solution for both types is to organise a working environment that works for you – a quiet cubbyhole or shed for the introvert maybe, whereas a room in serviced office is likely to be better for the extrovert. People of all personality types can make a success of being a consultant, the key is to make time to network and meet other people on a regular basis so you don’t get out of the habit.

How motivated are you?

Self-employment is a major change in your working life. Working for an organisation means there is usually a constant flow of work, meetings, crises and activities and most of us spend most of our time just trying to deal with incoming tasks. When you work for yourself nothing happens unless you make it happen, particularly when you’re just starting out. So it’s essential to understand what motivates you and to use that motivation to make you do the things you don’t like but that are essential to your business. If money is the key for you, remember that making the initial sale doesn’t bring the money in, you still have to deliver the service, send out invoices and chase for payment. If you focus more on job satisfaction you may neglect sales but need to bear in mind that without selling yourself you won’t have any interesting new jobs to do!

How well supported are you?

Maintaining focus, motivation and discipline can be hard without the support of family and friends, but you should also look to build a support network that is more business focused. Meeting other consultants allows you to share experiences and talk about business issues without letting problems affect your personal life. Look for events, such as the Skillfair Consultants Conference, where you’ll meet like-minded people who can help support you through setting up and developing your business.

If the combination of risks and the need for self-motivation sound too alarming, then maybe you’d be wise to look for a new job. If not, then as long as you work at every aspect of consultancy and set things up to make the most of your personal strengths you’ll soon join the ranks of the established (and happy) independent consultant.