I've been consulting since 1995. I started with a lot of different things (Web projects, Unix system administration, tech consulting), and now do 100% Python training.
I am incredibly happy with my work. I get to do what I want, earn a good living, have almost zero meetings, and am constantly learning new things.
But I made many, many mistakes along the way, leading to years of so-so income, limited sleep, and limited time with family.
My biggest mistake was trying to do too many different things. By focusing on one type of problem, you'll gain expertise (useful when helping clients). But you'll also gain a reputation for solving those sorts of problems, and clients will start to find you.
You still need to learn how to market yourself. You need to learn how to ask for money (which I found hard). You need to get a sense for who will stiff you (and some clients will!).
Indeed, a big problem with many consultants is that they forget they're running a business. When you're an employee, you can ignore all of the business stuff; you get a paycheck, and someone takes care of all of the little and big things, from invoicing to taxes to contracts to angry clients. When it's just you, you get to do all of that.
You can take a look at the podcast I do, the Business of Freelancing: https://businessoffreelancing.com/ (We'll hopefully start to record a third season in the coming weeks.)
Beyond that, I strongly recommend Philip Morgan's "Positioning Manual," which can help you figure out just what niche you want to enter.
Best of luck! And remember: If consulting doesn't work out, you're not a failure. It's not the best match for some personalities, markets, places, and times. But if you can make it work, then power to you, and I wish you the satisfaction and success that I've had.
What does Python training involve? Workshops to large groups of people? Just an overview of the language or deeper dive? How long are the sessions? I've never even considered training or education as an option but I really do enjoy it.
Moving into training was the best decision I ever made for my consulting career. Better pay, better scheduling, and no bug reports!
About 3/4 of my work is going onsite to companies, and teaching 10-20 people Python. I currently offer a bunch of courses, from "Python for non-programmers" to advanced Python workshops. These range in length from 90 minutes (what I call "microcourses") to 4-day sessions.
The other 1/4 (which I'm working to grow) is an array of online courses, with much overlapping content from my corporate training.
Do you think that blockchain is a niche by itself? Really facing issues into understanding what niche I should go to and having anxiety of letting go of clients on the way.
One way to decide if a niche is big enough to support a consulting career is to ask: Are there enough people interested in this topic to support conferences?
In the case of blockchain, the answer is almost certainly "yes."
But then, what do you do with that topic? I can, off the top of my head, think of a few things:
- Teach general "intro to blockchain" courses
- Teach developers how to use the blockchain
- Help companies develop blockchain-related apps
- Help companies optimize blockchain-related apps
- Help companies secure blockchain-related apps
Note that I know almost nothing about the blockchain, and I was able to come up with a few niche-related services you could offer. I'm sure that someone with more knowledge could come up with better, more appropriate ones.
Or, better yet: Ask friends/colleagues working at companies using the blockchain what their problems/bottlenecks are. What problems would they pay money to get rid of? Whatever they answer is your opportunity -- and if multiple people give the same answer, then you should grab it.
I am incredibly happy with my work. I get to do what I want, earn a good living, have almost zero meetings, and am constantly learning new things.
But I made many, many mistakes along the way, leading to years of so-so income, limited sleep, and limited time with family.
My biggest mistake was trying to do too many different things. By focusing on one type of problem, you'll gain expertise (useful when helping clients). But you'll also gain a reputation for solving those sorts of problems, and clients will start to find you.
You still need to learn how to market yourself. You need to learn how to ask for money (which I found hard). You need to get a sense for who will stiff you (and some clients will!).
Indeed, a big problem with many consultants is that they forget they're running a business. When you're an employee, you can ignore all of the business stuff; you get a paycheck, and someone takes care of all of the little and big things, from invoicing to taxes to contracts to angry clients. When it's just you, you get to do all of that.
You can take a look at the podcast I do, the Business of Freelancing: https://businessoffreelancing.com/ (We'll hopefully start to record a third season in the coming weeks.)
Beyond that, I strongly recommend Philip Morgan's "Positioning Manual," which can help you figure out just what niche you want to enter.
Best of luck! And remember: If consulting doesn't work out, you're not a failure. It's not the best match for some personalities, markets, places, and times. But if you can make it work, then power to you, and I wish you the satisfaction and success that I've had.