This has been covered many times before on the forum, so if you search the forum, you should get the answers you need. The main priority is sales, sales, sales, sales sales - lack of clients and poor cash flow easily finish off small one man bands. Also depending what your 'day job' is, it is probably any contact of employment you have will restrict you from taking alternative work and almost certainly if the extra work you propose could be seen as working in competition with your employer. i.e. if you already work for a consultancy, taking your own clients will not go down well! You will get given the push!

Now is not the time, there is no work either for experienced consultants or newbies on the block. If you're already a consultant then read your contract, generally you won't be able to use any contacts you've made for 6-12 months.

Blimey! Its all doom and gloom- maybe I will have a re-think. Thanks for the advice

Flukey, the posts are correct. We have consultants with decades of experience and qualified with post-grads; masters and doctorates who operate as consultants and have done so for many years. These people are struggling to obtain work, due to the current climate? If your working, don’t make yourself unemployed to start doing freelance consultancy work just yet. Unless you actually have clients lined up ready to sign on the dotted line and that this income is one you can live off, I’d take the advice of the people on this forum and wait. Good Luck.

Hi Safety Couch, Thanks for the upbeat and positive advice, its good to know that it not all doom and gloom. Perhaps you would be willing to have an offline chat. I wish you the best of luck with the career move- 'fortune favours the brave'.

I certainly hope that my comment has not been perceived as 'doom and gloom'. It was based on realism and the current 'climate' and not my own position - personally speaking my 'order book' is full until the end of 2013 and thats great for me, but there is enough evidence around that would suggest this is not the 'norm'. Only this afternoon I've had two calls from consultants who have 'nothing doing' and had I got anything to 'pass' their way. These are long established 'lone' consultants who are not charging high fees and have been slowly building there business over many years. I would hate to 'paint' an unrealistic picture looking through my own 'rose coloured spectacles' and advise someone who is now gainfully employed to take a chance, currently. What's the rush anyway, things will pick up, eventually, hopefully. I just wouldn't advise it right now - personally I'd stay where I am and try and see if you can obtain some part-time consultancy stuff first. Find out if you're good at it, can get the work, retain it, obtain 'retainers' and/or contracts and most importantly enjoy it - then maybe take the 'leap'......it worked for me....in a much better 'climate' but it doesn't for everybody.

Thats about right flukey