Are you a contractor or consultantat heart?

Employee

Contractor

What does it take to be a contractor or consultant?

• Business management • Resilience

• Confidence • Effective communication

• Interpersonal skills • Dedication • Hard work

“In my first year of trading I was worried about how it would affect my business if I simply refused work. Now I’m more confident so I discuss areas that don’t fit with my business and if we aren’t a good fit for each other it’s more of a mutual decision.”

Julia Beeton

ConfidenceAs a consultant there is the added conundrum of how to cease working with clients that no longer fit with your business.

ResilienceYou need to be comfortable with the word ‘no’. Not just hearing ‘no’ but saying it too (a lot).

“Saying “No” to another contract extension was more difficult than I’d thought. I was uncomfortable doing it. Now I’ve moved a couple of times, it’s easy.”

James Hollis

TenacityIt takes a good year to get your feet under the table and it takes hard work and dedication to do the ground work to build a successful contracting or consulting career.

FocusIt’s easy to get side tracked but you need to ensure you can focus on your short and long-term business plans. A clear vision of what you want to achieve and remaining focused on how you are going to do it goes a long way to becoming a success.

Interpersonal skillsManaging your core relationships is critical to your business success. You are your own marketing professional, client manager and debt collector as well as project manager and worker so you need to be comfortable in wearing many hats and fulfilling multiple roles.

Management & organisational skillsKeeping on top of the admin is the difference between getting paid and going broke in many cases.

Logging hours, chasing clients, balancing the books, invoicing and the other daily elements of running your own business can take minutes a day if you are really organised.

Being your own boss is exciting and rewardingWorking on your weaker skills and personal development goals will help you become more successful, more efficient and ultimately happier as it leaves you with more time to do the things you really want to.