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My 2 years journey of going into Solo Consultancy
Personal

My 2 years journey of going into Solo Consultancy

By 3rd June 2024No Comments

I have completed my 2nd year of solo consultancy. I was recently working at Hoxton Hotel and got talking to someone who has been in solo consultancy (in the travel sector) for 5 years. I was asked how it feels to get to the milestone? My answer was it felt like I have got my head above the water, with the all the challenges, I would like to think that’s progress.

A year ago, I shared an article on my first 12 months of solo consultancy which ended up being my 3rd most popular article of my blog, after my 100 not out visits to Dishoom and developing the Analytics and Measurement strategy. On the back of my article, I got a few comments from folks who were looking to go solo or just moved to go solo, the article resonated with many. I feel it’s a good opportunity to share again.

The Set-Up

I set-up as sole trader 2 years ago and I am still a sole trader, I don’t think that will change in the foreseeable future. It works for me, the process around it and managing less paperwork must be seen as a bonus. In terms of cashflow management I started using Xero but after a month I decided not to continue even with the minimal cost it did not provide me any additional value. The going solo cashflow in excel I had built provided me with everything I needed to manage all my expenses personally and professionally. What the excel cashflow it allows me to forecast but also reflect but it does require commitment to use it to its capability.

When I started 2 years I ago I took 3 months of salary for a rainy day to help manage my cashflow. The idea was within 24 months I can put those 3 months of salary back into a fixed deposit, having bought my first flat has halted that.

As much as I would love to put the 3 months back into another fixed deposit, likely those 3 months are going to be with me for rainy days and as a safety net.  It provides protection and the ability to be pickier on the projects I work on.

The Work

The current climate to be a solo consultant is challenging, the biggest bonus is the flexibility that going solo provides. One of the biggest flexibilities is being able to go gym probably 4 to 5 times a week and getting in 20km to 25km (excluding when I am out for meetings and the walking I do). I have mostly stuck to a 4 day working week, with the odd exception when it’s required allowing me to invest time into photography, be more flexible when meeting friends for lunch or dinner etc. I have always kept my working hours flexible having worked with clients in different time zones: UK, US, Australia it means I could have a call at 10am or even 10pm. Being a night owl it’s when my best thinking comes to me, the flexibility works well for me.

If I compare year 2 v year 1, there has been a significant shift doing bigger project work where I have generated: 35% less invoices in year 2 v year 1. In year 2, 20% of invoices came from a fixed term contract which was spread over multiple months.

If I do look objectively across the 2 years, the no. of inbound leads I have received in year 2 has significantly dropped. It’s quite a common where the no. of inbound leads will dry up but what has kept me going in year 2 is having those bigger projects which has allowed me to exceed my income to what I received in year 1. One of the factors I believe in the inbound leads drying up correlates to the traffic to my blog also on the decline comes down to how content is being consumed with podcasts dominating.

Another factor less so is the no. of downloadable resources have also been on the decline which aligns to my most recent articles for the last 12 to 18 months have not been around focused on sharing resources to download.

From the inbound leads I have received, think the overall quality of those leads have been of better quality but then as the saying goes not all leads are the right fit. Something I have tried to stick to is working on a project where I can add value.   

As much as I would love to work on an exciting data project it needs to be balanced out.

One of the biggest obstacles as a solo consultant is pricing,

I have lost many projects due to pricing. What is interesting I have seen a trend of being told my costing is either 30% too high or have found another SOW that was 30% of my price. As the saying goes bullet dodged.

It’s never a great feeling to lose out on a project and more so down to pricing but what you learn is there will be a client who is willing to pay and see the value that is being delivered. Which goes back to my earlier point about working on a project that I can add value and in essence it must work both ways and that also means accepting the price. Some you win, some you lose.

There has also been the occasion where I had turned down a project work after SOW and costings had been approved. I had the feeling I could not add the value required.

Been trying to poke an old client for a while and they realised when they were maybe asking for too much. Time will tell if it converts into new business and a data project.

I love the feeling of receiving an email from a potential client to have a chat.

For this client had a good chat, but they were probably 6 to 9 months away where I can come in and add value.

Good to know that my blog content is resonating with others. This is a good trick for any clients who do email have a read of my blog and maybe say which article is of interest which can help direct the conversation.

I think this is what you call a homerun, there was a good alignment on the zoom call and the project kicked off within a month.

There have been a few occasions I had a meeting with a potential client even there was no work in the short to medium term ended up having a good chat which allowed me to learn, and I was also able to provide some recommendations (LinkedIn post here). I think I would call this a win.

For this potential client we bumped into each other at a breakfast event then ended up meeting for a coffee. The chances of work in the short to medium term are unlikely as they do need to get their ducks aligned. It was a fascinating chat to understand where the business is and provided some recommendations (LinkedIn post here) to get things in play to help along the process if we do speak again.

I have seen consultants who charge for an intro meeting / call as they will be providing intel that can be actioned. Not sure I feel totally comfortable with that kind of approach.

Consultancy can be lonely and brutal at times. When you get a thankyou email it’s nice to be appreciated.

As a consultant project management becomes a core requirement and I do feel its quietly appreciated by clients. It’s one of my strengths.

One of the projects I am most pleased to have worked on took 6 months to get the data project kicked off and then 5 months later to deliver the data project.

As the saying goes sometimes it’s right place, right time. I bumped into a head of marketing for an E-commerce subscription business while working at the Hoxton Hotel ended up having a good chat for an hour.  I was asked if I was keen for some project work which I said yes and shared my business card which is far better than just connecting on LinkedIn.

The business card worked a treat it drove a visit to my blog, had a chat over zoom which then turned into booking at Dishoom lunch. My 99th visit to Dishoom.

From the zoom chat to the lunch, it allowed to build the relationship but also understand what the core business needs were. Post the Dishoom lunch I was able to map out timings, plans and costings which took a month to finalise, and the project kicked off a month later. From the chat at Hoxton Hotel to starting the project took 6 months.

Before the project kicked off with stakeholder interviews, had a kick off meeting to align the plan. It was a last minute meeting that was planned in, but glad I did go as the meeting views were just breath-taking.

The big difference with this project compared to others there was time invested which built the relationship and understand what the core business requirements were which were delivered against. With many projects to build the relationship even before sharing costings etc is rare, it does not mean it cannot work. This project is probably one of my favourites which came down to building the trust and relationship over time which made it a far more enjoyable project to work on.

From the start of the project to delivery took 5 months, in total 11 months from April 2023 to February 2024. The plan was to deliver the project within 3 months by December 2023. There was a delay in the project which took out one month and this one month it felt like it could derail the project down to availability of data. This was the time having the relationship allowed me to approach and explain the situation but then allowed us to work together to finding a solution which in turn found a solution to get the required data. As the goal posts moved with the data available so did the requirements which changed the deliverables to fit in within the approved costings.

Working in data there is something about a visualisation that tell a story, this was one of many charts. Context is first time they have seen these kinds of insights. (data amended for the article)

With most projects they have agreed to pay in full mid project / end of the first month working together, there have been the odd ones who would only pay at the end of the project. With this project being a bigger invoice value, the payment was split into the following:

  • 30% at the start of the project / pre stakeholder interviews
  • 20% post stakeholder interviews
    • I did ask for 50% upfront at the start of the project but the split of 30%+20% was what finance would approve
  • 20% after 6 weeks (midpoint of the 3 months initial agreed delivery)
  • 30% got paid 1st week January (project delivered 1st week February, delayed by 6 weeks)

If I look at the 2 years, I am quite pleased with the variety of data projects that I have worked on. Every project provides a different perspective when looking back, hoping it can help on the next project and provide more value in return.

With the projects I have worked on what it has allowed is the ability to solve a business problem.

Couple of the data projects I have worked on have been talked about at the board level which is great to see.

The best example of a data project being talked about at boardroom was my first solo consultancy project that I worked on 2 years ago was a 6 month gig to help develop the retailers analytics and measurement strategy. A year later I bumped into the client in Dubai over Christmas. Had a very good chat, it’s good to see that the 6 months project I worked on in 2022 laid the foundations. 2024 should be the year when analytics and measurement truly flourish to drive the business impact. It’s worth reading the article and the thread (LinkedIn post here)

The additional context behind this project was the process had started in 2020 to rip up their analytics and measurement strategy which was non-existent and start again. To get to where they are in 2024, the 6 month project (which I really enjoyed) was part of a bigger puzzle, it requires far more than just ‘good data’ to ultimately drive business performance positively.

From the variety of data projects I have worked on, the common narrative amongst them all to simplify it. There was a clear end goal in the use of the data to drive business performance which could then be reversed engineered in how to deliver against them.

The projects I have worked on I have thoroughly enjoyed, the best way to summarise the projects I have worked on it has solved a business and marketing challenge which I love it gets my brain into overdrive (LinkedIn post here).

The bonus of working on a variety of data projects is being able to share frameworks and code (LinkedIn post here). As the saying goes sharing is caring.

I am a big data and tech geek but many times data can sometimes feel like the end goal. For the projects I have worked on I think I can say data is not the destination, it’s part of the journey.

The Stats

Top 5 stats behind 2 years of solo consultancy:

  • 30% success in converting inbound leads for project work
  • 85% income has come from project work
  • 70% of income has come from ‘known’ contacts
  • Year 2 earned 20% more income than Year 1
  • 40% of income has from 2 big projects, 1 project each in year 1 and year 2

Bonus stat:

  • Across the 2 years, I have had no work for 3 months
    • 2 of the 3 months came in year 2

My income was shared across 3 core services:

Looking ahead

Over the 2 years my income has come via inbound leads and as mentioned earlier in the article those leads have been drying up. Would love to work with someone who is more salesy allowing me to focus on my strengths and what I am good at.

I have worked on and delivered 3 data and tech audits to brands which have been fascinating to work to understand through the lens of business and marketing.

With all 3, the direct contacts are no longer in the same role so unable to action what came out of the data and tech audit. With all 3 brands they were probably not at the right maturity mainly in terms of there was not a dedicated person to own the data and tech strategy. In the 2nd year it was something I did not have additional time to really focus on. I still believe there is a lot of value that the data and tech audit can provide it’s finding those brands who can drive it forward.

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