The Perils and Pitfalls of Consulting

This could be called the inverse of Scott Davis' Success in Software Consulting session because I think there will most likely be topics and questions that overflow that discussion.

Consulting can be very rewarding both financially and from a personal development and experience standpoint but it is not without its risks and downsides. I'll have some examples from my experiences running the software development consultancy, Refactr and we'll collectively explore questions and circumstances that other Minnesota consultants will bring to the session.

Some topics we may get to include:

• How to distinguish yourself
• Contracts, NDA's and other annoyances
• Practical matters like incorporating, paying yourself, your toolset, etc.
• When to take equity (and when not to)
• Strategies for acquiring client work (hint: it rhymes with belationships)
• Getting too close: when you're actually an employee
• Your goals as a consultant