Can you just imagine waking up each morning eager to get to work. You are doing the work that you love to do and being paid well.
You set the hours you work – short or long. You choose the days you work each week – seven days, three days, not at all today. You choose whether to work in the city or at home and you choose when to take your vacation and how long it will be.Your work life is a joy.
You can do all this because you are the boss!
An impossible dream?
Not if you offer your services as a consultant.
Shirley Hated Her Boss – Who Wouldn’t?
Many people are opting out of the rat-race of working for employers who do not appreciate them. They offer their skills in a consulting role and are paid much more for them. Sometimes to the same boss.
Take Shirley for example: She was a very efficient secretary to a most unappreciating employer. Her employer gave her little respect and treated her as his personal lackey rather than a professional secretary. He often gave her complex assignments towards the end of the day and insisted she work after hours to complete them.
He bawled throughout the day for his coffee and expected Shirley to stop whatever she was doing to cater to his needs.
The task she resented most was having to pick up his personal dry-cleaning, but all may have been bearable if only she had received a ‘thank you’ or been shown some sign that she and her services were appreciated.
Frustration Forces Some Action
Shirley became so frustrated and unhappy she thought of leaving her job and seeking new employment. Two things stopped her, first, she needed the steady salary and she was afraid of jumping into the same situation with perhaps an even worse boss. A friend told her that perhaps she could do typing as a home business. The idea didn’t really thrill her, after all, she was much more than just a typist but she decided to find out more about setting up a home business.
So she sought the advice of a business consultant
Shirley Left the Rat-race Forever
With the help of a consultant she listed all the tasks she was now doing. Shirley then prioritized them according the skill required and the level of enjoyment and satisfaction she received in performing them (picking up dry-cleaning came last on each criteria).
Shirley discovered that one of the special skills that she enjoyed performing was organizing meetings, including the arrangement of traveling and accommodation for attendees, the preparation of minutes, the catering and all those other services that allowed the participants to focus on the business of the meeting.
The consultant told her that these were sought after skills and very saleable as both large and small firms preferred to outsource this work. So with his assistance she set up her own consulting firm offering these services.
Now, she has so many clients that she can pick and choose. She even has her old boss as a client but now he regards her as a valuable resource which he needs to nurture in case she becomes no longer available. Her remuneration is much higher than when she worked for a wage. And Shirley…she loves working with him far more than when she worked for him.
Everyone of us has special skills which business owners are searching for and will pay generously for.