Why (nearly) all professionals should try consulting before they retire
I’ve been talking with several highly skilled professionals who are preparing to leave their companies at the end of their careers. Some are ready to retire. Others aren’t sure.
My advice is: keep your options open. If you’re done working for a company but still feel like you have something to offer, it’s easy to set yourself up to (possibly) consult. But if you just retire and get bored, it’s a lot harder to start a consulting business from a standing start.
Here’s how to hedge your bets.
Polish up your LinkedIn
The first question anybody considering working for you is likely to have is, “Who is this person? What have they done, and what are they doing now?”
To answer that question, all you have to do is make sure your LinkedIn is up to date.
The moment you leave (or get laid off from) your last job, add an entry that reads “Your Name Associates” or “So and So Consulting” (with your own name, obviously). As soon as you post that, you’ll get a bunch of messages from previous contacts — and some of them may be interested in working with you. You’ve got no obligations (and lots of time), so it’s at least worth considering what people may bring you.
Make a web site
This is also easier than you might think. Companies like SquareSpace can provide a cheap domain and simple template for your site. If you decide to start soliciting business, you’ll want to go further than that. But if you just want to take lazy route, all you have to do is describe some services you might offer, post a link to your LinkedIn profile, and include a form that sends an email to your personal email account.
Track down a few old friends
You’re about to have plenty of time on your hands. Why not connect with some former professional friends and see what they’re doing? It always pays to stay in touch, and you might find some things to interest you.
A little consulting goes a long way (for tax purposes)
Consultants have professional expenses that they can write off against their income at tax time. Depending on your situation, you may be able to claim internet access fees, travel and admission to professional conferences, subscriptions, computers, and health insurance costs. You’ll want to make sure that your run your business in a professional way and that your income exceeds your expenses, but you may be able to do that with a few consultant gigs that don’t amount to working more than 25% of the time. (Please check with your tax advisor on what is actually workable in your situation; this is not intended as professional tax advice.)
Once my consulting business was well underway, I learned I could set up a self-employment 401k account, a retirement account which shielded some of my consulting income from taxes. Don’t take this step lightly — again, check with your financial and tax advisor to see if it makes sense for you.
A few words before you ride off into the sunset
If, as your retirement approaches, you’re solely interested in travel and the grandkids, good for you. I encourage you to enjoy yourself, develop your hobbies, work on your exercise routine and binge that TV series you’ve always wondered about.
But if you aren’t sure a life of idle pleasure is your next step, it’s pretty easy to set yourself up as a consultant and do enough — and make enough — so that you’re not just bored.
One of the best parts of consulting is that you can scale it up and down. If you love it, expand your marketing and networking efforts and pimp out your web site. If you hate it, just leave your online shingle out there and ignore it unless intriguing leads start flowing in.
It’s not a commitment. It’s an option to keep open. And if my experience is any guide, it’s a great way to continue to contribute to the world based on all your hard-earned experience.