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Going Solo (Part 1)
Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.
It takes a special kind of temperament and personality to be an independent contractor. Not everyone has the stomach and endurance for the game. Regardless of the economic climate, IT project managers and consultants going head-to-head with established consulting firms have to be prepared for a bumpy road in the beginning. Most don’t make it--but if equipped with the right skills, work ethic and attitude, success and independence are possible.
We asked a few seasoned and successful independent consultants how they did it. Each has his or her own philosophy and market niche, yet they all started out as a one-person operation with meager resources. Their view of the marketplace and its possibilities may be an incentive and motivation to open new career doors, leading to possibilities never considered.
Contrary to popular opinion, not all lone wolves are laid-off or disenchanted organizational retreads pressured to recycle themselves in order to earn a living. Many independent IT PMs, like Adam Schwam--president of Garden City, N.Y.-based IT consulting company Sandwire Corp.--chose the path. For Schwam, it was a combination of timing, fate and a strong urge to test the entrepreneurial waters.
The result is a small and growing company that has chalked up a consistent growth record since it was launched in 1997. And now, in 2009--when corporate America …
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"Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so." - Bertrand Russell |