I’m an independent consultant, which means I am professionally homeless. My usual glib reply when asked at security desks about what organization I’m with is, “None, I’m dis-organized!” I didn’t incorporate that into the blog title because I thought it sent a worse message than being homeless.
I work out of my home office, but I usually spend up to three days per week in DC meeting with partners, clients, and potential clients about projects…not to mention having coffee or lunch with friends. I know where the cleanest bathrooms are just about anywhere in town, not to mention the best and sometimes free wifi.
I work as something of a social scientist for hire — I teach a grad class on foreign policy at EliteDC University and an intern class for Prairie Univ, I have my own research projects & partners, plus I consult on other firms’ projects. This is a tough business requiring a lot of hustle and entrepreneurial spirit, but I do a lot of fun things and get to travel, so what the hell.
The point of this blog is to be my outlet for random/absurd/funny thoughts and experiences in my life as an independent consultant. It is not intended to be Self-Employment 101 — although elements of that will certainly come through — or a collection of gossipy stories. Because I work out of home, I can no longer share my bon mots or cranky rants with colleagues or fellow trainriders. So, think of this blog as my creative/intellectual version of making kids run around outside before bedtime in order to get their energy out.
My identity is not important, nor are those of my clients and geographic places. This is only partially due to self-preservation — such facts are just not relevant to the stories in the post, and ignoring them keeps me focused on the points/adventures instead of lapsing into boring details or self-indulgent whines.
I think I speak for many folks in this realm who are looking for a “Guide to DC’s Best Daytime (free wireless) Workspaces Who Serve Coffee”.
Comment by Scott Lansell — 12 May 2009 @ 12:10
Great idea…not sure what the tone will be…hopefully semi-serious but funny…at least some of the time. Lots of folks out there. Professionally homeless is a nice phrase. I’ve always listed my self as consultant, sometimes ‘independent consultant’…independent from what? A steady income? My cat? After a while I began to think ‘independent’ had a kind of snobbish ring to it…all you other consultants are really not ‘independent’ sort of implication..so I stopped that.
When I fill out all those immigration cards in places like Tajikistan, I always wonder what they do with them…does someone examine each on for accuracy…do ‘consultants’ end up in a pile set aside for special scrutiny? Sometimes I write “official consultant”…which is equally silly, but in countries where ‘official’ really means something, unlike the United States, I think it gives me a slight edge, especially since I don’t have an ‘official’ passport like I once had…do they still issue ‘official’ passports?
Anyway…have fun with this…I’ll check in from time to time.
rb
consultant (ret., replaced, re-constituted, recognized!)
Comment by Richard Blue — 5 May 2009 @ 08:04