Making the move into independent consulting is not for the faint-hearted, but promises a wide range of benefits: from the flexibility to choose where, when and how you work to the freedom to define your ideal work-life balance.
Being an independent also means more control over the clients you work with and the projects you take on. However, the responsibility for finding those clients and projects rests solely on your shoulders.
On a positive note, the market is becoming more fragmented, says Catherine Myszka, partner at April Strategy.
“IR35 has led to some individuals banding together into small SME consultancies to take advantage of the small-companies exemption, and pressure on budgets means that clients are now demanding more value from their consultancies so are open to embracing the smaller, nimbler, more cost-effective options,” she says.
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There has been a rise in fractional working too. Independents with specialisms are, says Catherine, able to pick up multiple clients at once by having a specific USP, specialism or their own IP that allows them to sell their total value, rather than their day rate.
But there’s a flipside, she warns.
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