The career of management consultant is one of the most envied roles a person can be lucky enough to play. That title, however, is somewhat of a catchall, thrown about by people who provide a wide range of services (accountants, lawyers, strategic planning, HR, operations, etc.). For the most part professionals employed in this field provide outsourced services to organizations in need of whatever specialty that consultant provides.
For our purposes we need to differentiate between three main types of consulting firms: large diversified organizations, medium-sized management consultancies, and boutique firms.

The large diversified firms are represented by the likes of McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen, PWC, and KPMG. Mid-sized consultancies, while smaller than the large international firms, can still employ hundreds of people, and provide broad services similar to those of the large diversified firms. Then there are the boutique firms, typically having only one independent consultant and offering a more specialized suite of services or specialties. It is this last category of consultancy — the independents — that this post will focus on.

Typically an independent management consultant is someone who:

• Works for themselves, or possibly as part of a very small group
• Works from home, or has a small office
• Provides services/solutions to small to medium-sized businesses

What is it that makes this career so coveted?
The following four broad categories summarize the main reasons.

Freedom/Flexibility. As an independent consultant you are com-pletely in control of your own destiny. Many people get into this career specifically because they are tired of working for someone else, or because they were laid off and looking to take control over their career. As an independent consultant you decide when you work, whom you work with, and what you provide. For myself, the benefit of being able to attend one of my son’s school plays, or simply to have a date with my wife in the middle of the week, is an incredible benefit. I worked for a Fortune 100 company for many years and the freedom I enjoy now far exceeds that rat race!
Earnings potential. Working for someone else typically means you work hard to make someone else rich. Sure, you can enjoy a significant salary, but the bulk of the earnings flows not to the workers but rather to the owners. As an independent management consultant you are the owner, and all the profits flow to you. Among independent management consultants we see the complete gamut of earnings. In our own network we have consultants who earn as little as $45,000 a year (by choice, mind you), and as many as 10 who earn over $1,000,000 a year. Of course, the higher levels of income don’t happen overnight, so if you’re expecting to get rich quick . . . well, you get the picture.
Control. One of the greatest aspects of this career is that you control what you provide and whom you provide it to. If you choose not to work with the idiotic owner of XYZ Corp, you don’t have to. As the owner you get to cherry pick only those clients whom you want to work with, think you can do the most for, or enjoy working with the most. In a later chapter I’ll show you how firing undesirable clients is actually a key growth tool.
Fit. Several years back I commissioned a research study that examined 197,000 workers across 23 countries over a seven-year period. The findings empirically proved that the most successful people (in any career or at any level) were those who were the most authentic to their natural talents, passions, and skills. Suffice it to say that most roles professionals find themselves taking, in corporations, aren’t customized to fit personal natural talents. As an independent management consultant you alone will craft a role that is a significantly better fit for you.