Risk is everywhere in life and the only person who knows how much and what kind of risk you can tolerate is you. No one can sincerely tell you how to succeed in overcoming risk and feeling comfortable with it, but we can offer advice on how to avoid failure. Consider the following:
- Start out cautiously. If you think you can only stand a small amount of risk coming out of the gate, try to join a consulting firm to learn the inner workings of the trade. You won't technically be an "independent consultant" since you'll be working for someone else, but you'll move closer to your goal. This environment will help you see if the reality of working as a consultant will satisfy you enough to overcome your fear and give you the courage to go out on your own.
- Identify your niche. Use the time at the consulting firm to identify the specific area in which you operate best. Figure out in which area you excel and how you'll define and sell your expertise in the marketplace.
- Build your customer base. The biggest obstacle you'll face as a consultant will be to find customers who want your services and will pay you what you're worth. If you can find a broad base of customers, you remove 90% of the risk in moving into an independent consultancy. Even a person with a conservative nature like yourself should be able to handle a 10% uncertainty factor.
- For more information about being an independent consultant, check out the Peter Brown's book, "Jumping the Job Track: Security, Satisfaction, and Success As an Independent Consultant" (Crown Publishing Group, 1994).