Hi Rebecca,

We do have a quite a lot of club members who are self-employed consultants so hopefully, you will get some great advice from them if they see this chat.

My advice (from experience) would be:

• Keep on top of the latest HR and people management trends (spend time on the club!) so you’re confident that you have something unique to offer in terms of knowledge – make sure your LinkedIn profile is always up to date and reflects what you’ve achieved.
• Network externally NOW while you’re employed! Offer to do external free speaking engagements, make LinkedIn contacts, host online events, meet up with other HR and local businesses (if that’s where you want to be).
• Think about what your selling and why someone would pay for it? Is it something in demand?  Describe it in one sentence so it’s easy for anyone to understand. Then work up what that looks like in terms of  a ‘product’ so you can develop your brand, website  i.e. are you going for a particular area of HR or something more generic, what useful resources can you give for free to showcase your expertise etc.)
• Perhaps when the time is you could reduce your hours so you can take on a small bit of consultancy without losing your job security –  perhaps one client on a retainer or approach a slightly bigger HR consultancy that employs associates as that’s a good way to get work rather than having to find it yourself (don’t underestimate how tough it is to get work!)

Hope that helps and good luck for the future!

Karen