Independent consulting is greatly underscored by entrepreneurship. It takes a lot of brevity to take this leap and stay on course.
The reality of not having a job can be volatile with unbearable uncertainty and it is easy to want to run to Plan B, of which is commonly going back to being employed. Though the freelance alternative has its moments of uncertainty, the good possibilities are endless. But being passive in this role yields no opportunities. A conscious and smart application of one's self will eventually get the cog-wheels turning. Passion is that fire that has to keep burning. Looking at a brand like Apple recently taking the title of "World's Most Valuable Brands of 2017", if Steve Jobs did not have passion, then the brand as we know it would not exist. According the late Jobs, being rational would lead you to giving up, so you have to have a lot of passion. Though it is not the only ingredient, it does give more mileage and tightly girds you with resilience. And as a strategist, your freelance role also calls you to be strategic in managing your career and over time evolve your model. Just as businesses do.
Consulting is collaborative by nature
In essence, freelance consultants are collaborators and thinking outside of having a business pick you, will go a long way in keeping productive. Establish ways of working together with other freelancers on larger projects which could yield top results as well as long and meaningful professional relationships. This also helps in keeping in touch with what is current.
Make yourself visible
Whether on social media, a profile on recruitment portals or website, these platforms are best to build reputation. A post giving an inkling of a current project or a point of view within your industry gives good positioning. To have the consultant title already says you are an expert in your field, but participating online makes you active and attractive.
Create productivity methods
Even when there is no paid work, as a freelancer, you are still working by researching, exploring industries with opportunities and constantly keeping ahead. There's also the game of trying to find clients whom your skill set match and closing those clients. Just as consultants help businesses get to where they want to be, so it is important to work out where you want to be in your career. Keeping that work going will eventually close the gaps between each project until there is no gap at all.
Digital transformation: A changing of business patterns in an unparalleled rate
The measuring of digital businesses and those traditional reveal that the former enterprises move at a faster pace than the latter and are better aligned with the mobility of societies. The market businesses have and are also trying to reach, transact and engage any time and anywhere. And to create an environment with enhanced customer experience - a primary objective for businesses -, digital transformation must take place. Not only that, digital transformation accelerates business activities and is a key to competing in the new economy. Thanks to all the platform-building that technology makes possible. This reshaping of the business, whether innovating through disruptive technologies, known as digitalisation or converting data to be accessed and used via computer - digitization, this is a trending reality and it touches even Africa in its assumed laggardness. But to achieve the mentioned rapid growth, BITS Consulting Services suggests the importance of acting quickly, decisively and strategically. In the firm's recent elaborate 'white paper' titled: The Truth About Digital Economies and Transformation, the study lays out the importance of digital transformation even in the back-end processes of businesses and looks at the landscape of the African marketplace as well as the touchy subject of security.