The life of a "consultant" is quite interesting. It certainly has it's ups and downs - especially in this economy.  With the current downturn, there are many more "consultants" out there looking for work.  You don't just get a job by asking around anymore - and it takes a lot more than just being good at what you do.

I know what you are thinking.  "Consultant" is a code word for "Out of work and looking to make some money until the next job comes along".  I get it - it's true in many cases - but not for me. 

What I can tell you is that, in my case, consulting came to me.  I walked away from a job in the fall of 1994 (for reasons too complicated to get into here) and immediately received a call from a company that I had worked with as a vendor.  They wanted to know if I was available to do a project for them - put together a study that I had the knowledge base to complete fairly easily.  This was the beginning of the first round of LKConsulting.  I then worked with a few more companies, thanks to contacts that I had made over the years and a reputation for getting things done.

As has happened several times since, a client wanted to hire me as a regular employee instead of a contracted one - putting me back into the more traditional workforce.  After moving around a bit more - thanks to companies merging and re-structuring - I went back to working for myself in 2002.  Since then, I have taken some time off, done a lot of volunteer work and even ran a small antiques business for a while - but I always miss the challenges of helping small businesses.  So now I'm back, working hard for clients, but keeping my independence as a "consultant".