This just showed up in my email –it made my day! I hope it makes yours too… 

Hi Daryl,

I had a video chat with you quite a few months ago. I finally have a moment to breathe and thought I would give you an update (whether you want it or not…haha). I decided to resign from my steady job and paycheck in September and started consulting.

The day I gave my notice, I was taken out to dinner and offered a job to work for someone else. I declined and have had to decline several other job offers. I have been so busy doing jobs for my own business that I haven’t hardly had time to think.

I’m about to get a pretty good sized contract to provide site support for a mine that just fired it’s engineer. I’m in tight with the corporate guy running the job and he’s thinking it’ll be a good 6-12 months at 20-30 hours a week. It’ll be good to have a steady income but it will also be good to be able to do other jobs as well with extra hours in the week.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update and give you a giant THANK YOU!!! for the content on your website as well as the time you gave me during our chat – both of which pushed me to make my decision to Jump to Consulting…

Thank you,
Ryan Perkins, PE

Here is my reply…

Hi Ryan,

Congratulations! And welcome to the wacky world of consulting!

It sounds like you are off to a rousing start. The part time contract is great, as it will give you both steady business and a cushion without tying you down so you can still develop other business.

I followed the same path with a commitment to use me for training and a commitment to use me for backup at a test lab. Both assured me at least 40 hours a month for the first couple of years.

But keep on marketing — too many people don’t and then fail when the jobs stop. And work to develop a number of clients so you are not too dependent on any one or two.

I’m not surprised about your job offers. I had the same thing happen—one even before I started and several more after hanging out the shingle.

I did not expect it, but soon realized that having the confidence and experience to go on your own was seen as desirable by many employers. Owners and managers are always looking for those who are self-starters and willing to take calculated risks.

IMHO best to avoid the temptation to crawl back into the corporate womb. But it is nice to know there are options if things don’t work out. Besides, an opportunity just might present itself that is too good to pass up. And even then it need not be forever. (See this blog post. )

But once you have tasted freedom, it is hard to give it up.

Best wishes,
Daryl

Always delighted to see a fellow engineer make the JumpToConsulting. It sounds like Ryan is well on his way, and I’m happy to have made a small contribution to his success.

The video meeting Ryan referred to was in conjunction with the free monthly teleconference. As I recall, it was just Ryan and me on the call. The teleconferences usually range from one to a dozen and are always fun and interesting. If you are at all interested in consulting (even if  you are just sticking your toe in the water), join us here.

Although Ryan does not yet have a web site, you can reach him at Ryan@des-nv.com

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