Are you consultant material? (Am I??!)

Today, I had to be home to let a repairman into my condo, so I’m working from my “home office.” I love how the march of technology has made this possible. I can connect to the same things remotely that I can while I’m sitting in my little office on Huron and Wabash.

There are definitely things to enjoy about this occasional gig. No commute. I’m wearing sweats and slippers and don’t have a stitch of make-up on. The downside is that my upstairs neighbor is a work-from-home computer consultant. She’s very little…can’t weigh more than 80 pounds…but she has a habit of galloping through her condo, which makes all the china in my cabinet shake. (At work, Booklist’s Bill Ott has his office on the floor right above mine…I never hear a peep from him).

Anyway…maybe she’s galloping for joy at being able to work from home. I sometimes think that would be a great gig. But, by the end of the day, I’m not so sure. I feel out of sorts. Sickly, shut in, lonely…

Ironically, the manuscript I happen to be working on right now is veteran consultant Ulla de Stricker’s: Is Consulting Right for You? A Primer for Information Professionals. She provides a good case for all the consulting opportunities for librarians and others in the knowledge biz. And, she goes through all the plusses and minuses. Yep…one of the big plusses is being able to avoid the commute and wear your bunny slippers to work when not calling on clients. But, she is pretty good about helping the reader think through the downsides too…for instance, the loneliness, the fact that you have to rustle up said clients, and the fact that the income may be unsteady until the business develops.

Ever thought about being a consultant? If so, this is a great book for librarians and others in the information business (who, by the way, have great skills that are well-suited to consulting). Among other things de Stricker discusses in the book (like setting up shop, finding gigs, developing your “professional partnerships” [with accountants, IT people, etc.], negotiating contracts, pricing your services…and much, much more!), she asks readers the fundamental questions they need to ask themselves. Am I cut out for this? Does this sound like you:

When librarian consultants discuss among themselves the key reasons they are successful, they often focus on a set of personal characteristics that enable them to tackle the challenges associated with project work and deliver the results clients want. Key among those characteristics is a rock solid belief in their own abilities and a capacity to avoid becoming depressed or insecure as a result of any untoward project experience.

That ability to roll with the punches is key, as are some other important characteristics. Patience, emotional detachment, comfort working alone, time management, being able to see the forest as well as the trees. There are some skills that are innate, others that can be picked up, she says.

Anyway, this will be a great read for anyone who’s ever thought about being a consultant or, who may be trying to get his or her consulting business off the ground.

As for me? I’m glad I live in a time where working from home, if necessary, is possible. But, I think I’ll be just as glad to catch the Red line to be among my colleagues tomorrow.