When a consultancy contract ends there is a sudden change from continuous work to no work. Ideally you’d start looking for your next contract (selling yourself) before the previous job ends, but this can be difficult since the previous job is at its busiest and most stressful time.
And sometimes you end up taking the first new job that comes along, and it might not be most interesting or best paid one – if only you’d played it cool and waited, turning down that first offer. But it’s HARD!
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Training, on the other hand, comes in as many small speckles of work, just a day or two at a time, but lots of them. But there’s more repeat work, much more than most people realise, and you’ve always got a number of enquiries in the pipeline at any one time, all in parallel.
So you don’t tend to get big chunks of time with no work and no income, there are no sudden shocks. And you have enough time to pick and choose the work – if there is a job you don’t fancy you can say no, or you can charge extra and see if they still want to do it. And if you lose a customer it’s not a big deal since they are one of maybe thirty. It’s all more continuous, and your only job is to keep steadily doing it, and turn the wick up or down on your marketing activities. I’m not saying this is trivial, but it’s more easy to be steadily harvesting berries or catching small fish every day, than it is to have to land one huge whale at exactly the right time, often at short notice, which is what selling consultancy feels like.
onwards and upwards!
PS – Are you considering getting into training? Would being a freelance trainer suit you? Get more information here: www.becometrainers.com
